User Deactivation & Data Retention FAQs

Overview

When employees leave your organisation, their accounts can be permanently deleted from your 5Mins account. This guide explains how deleting a user works, what happens to their data afterwards, and how to access information during the retention period.

General Questions

What happens when I delete a user?

When you delete a user account:

  • Immediate effects: This immediately removes their access to the platform and removes all their data from your admin views and reports.
  • Data retention: We'll securely store their data for 3 years for compliance purposes. If you need this data, contact support and we can provide it to you.
  • Reporting impact: By default the user no longer appears in your people list, course enrolments, or reports. In Learning Records you can turn on Include → Deactivated users to bring deleted accounts back into the results and the CSV export, so you can still report on the learning history of people who have left.

Why do you keep user data for 3 years?

When an account is deleted, we securely store the user's data for 3 years for compliance purposes. If you need this data during that period, contact support and we can provide it to you.

For Administrators

How do I delete a user?

  1. Go to the People section in your admin panel
  2. Find the user you want to delete
  3. Click the more actions (⋯) menu next to their name
  4. Select Delete user account
  5. Review the information in the Permanently delete account? confirmation dialog, including the data retention notice
  6. Click Delete Account to confirm

How do I delete several users at once?

You can remove multiple people in one go from the "Remove people from account" page. After selecting the people you want to remove, you'll see a Permanently delete N accounts? confirmation dialog with the same data retention notice. Click Delete Accounts to confirm.

Can I recover a deleted user?

Deleting an account is permanent and cannot be undone from the admin panel. The user's data is stored securely for 3 years for compliance purposes. If you need that data, contact support and we can provide it to you.

What if I delete the wrong person?

Because deletion is permanent, please double-check the account before confirming. If you believe an account was deleted in error, contact our support team with the user's email address and the details of what happened, and we can help you with the data we have retained.

Can I disable a user’s access to 5Mins.ai, but still see their data in Admin?

Since using the “Delete user account” feature removes their access to the platform and also remove their data from your admin views and reports, the best solution in this scenario is to contact support, providing the user’s email address.

Data Access & Retrieval

How can I access a deleted user's data?

During the 3-year retention period, contact our support team with the user's email address and let us know what information you need. We can then provide the retained data to you.

Reporting & Analytics

Why don't deleted users appear in my reports?

By default, a deleted user's data is hidden from your admin views and reports, so they no longer appear in your people list, course enrolments, or most reports. One exception: in Learning Records you can switch on Include → Deactivated users (off by default) to include deleted accounts in the results and the CSV export, which is useful when you need the learning history of people who have left.

Getting Help

When should I contact support?

Contact our support team for:

  • Accessing data from a deleted user during the 3-year retention period
  • Questions about an account that was deleted in error
  • Technical issues when deleting users
  • Questions about specific retention requirements

How to contact support