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Deleting a record from a data backup job
Deleting a record from a data backup job

How to remove records from your backups as part of your compliance or legal requirements

Jason Mann avatar
Written by Jason Mann
Updated over a week ago

You can delete individual records from a data backup job to ensure that they're no longer being stored by Gearset. This process will delete all records of the ID from all the backup runs that Gearset has stored. This not only helps you meet legal obligations (for example under GDPR compliance) but may also be required as part of your contractual obligations with your customers.

Find the record ID

The first step is to find the Salesforce ID for the record you want to delete.

If the record still exists in your org

  • Navigate to the record in the Salesforce UI

  • In the URL in your browser, look for the string of numbers and letters that represents the ID

  • In the example lead below, the URL is https://eu14.lightning.force.com/lightning/r/Lead/00Q24000004NMfDEAW/view The record ID is 00Q24000004NMfDEAW 

  • Make a note of the ID

If the record no longer exists in your org

You should be able to get the ID at least from one of the backup job runs. Select to View records for the run that includes the record being deleted from the org and look for that specific record (you can use the filters to narrow it down). Once you find the record, you can make a note of the ID.

Delete the record

Once you know the ID of the record you wish to delete you can delete it from the data backup job dashboard.

  • Click EDIT JOB... in the data backup job you wish to delete the record from

  • Click Remove records from backup history... 

  • Paste in the record ID

  • Enter the reason for deletion

  • Enter the confirmation text

  • Click Delete records 

  • The record will be removed from this backup job's history. It may take a few minutes for this change to be reflected through the job's data browser

Any deleted records will be listed in the Audit history tab in the backup job with details about which Gearset user made the request and when, as well as when it was processed.

Ensure the record is also removed from your orgs

Deleting a record from a job's history in Gearset does not prevent it from being re-downloaded in the future, and does not remove it from Salesforce. You should ensure the record is also deleted from the source Salesforce org as well as Gearset's backup jobs. 

If the record still exists in the source org, the next time the backup job runs the record will be re-captured in the job. If this happens, you can repeat the steps above to delete the record again.

Deleted records can't be restored

Deleting a record from a data backup job is irreversible. Once it has been deleted, it is removed from our systems and Gearset will be unable to restore it. 

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