Bulk Deleting Discord Messages and GDPR Compliance

[abigailwillow]

Note

This thread has been getting a lot of attention lately, and because of personal circumstances I have not been able to keep up with all the new activity. One day I hope to get around to updating this thread with more recent information. For now, please find advice from other helpful users below. There's a good chance your question has already been answered before, or someone else has already had a similar situation to yours.

For a while now I have been talking with Discord's privacy team about bulk-deletion of messages. Initially they were very persistent in their stance to not allow users to bulk-delete their messages. However, I pointed out to them that this is by any and all means not compliant with GDPR policies, especially since deleting your account (which is the solution they kept offering) does not get rid of any of your messages either.

Therefore I decided to go the extra mile by contacting my national data protection authority. Not long after filing my complaint to the DPA, Discord's support got back to me after a long period of Discord ignoring my emails by allowing me to provide a list of IDs of DM and guild channels that I wanted my messages wiped from. They have since processed my request, and all the messages I provided in all channels were successfully and instantly wiped.

Unfortunately at the time of writing, Discord still does not allow users to bulk-delete messages themselves. But it seems that they are accepting such requests via support tickets.

I have obtained the channel IDs from my data package and provided them with a comma-separated list for the channels I wanted to have wiped.

If anyone reading this decides to make a similar request, please let us know about the outcome. Together we can help make Discord a better place that actually respects the data protection rights of its users.

Data Deletion Request Template

To: [email protected]
Subject: Data Deletion Request

Hi,

I have recently requested my data package from Discord and found some data that I would like to have wiped in compliance with GDPR.
I would like to request all my messages from the channels with the following IDs to be deleted:
123456789123456789, 234567891234567891, 345678912345678912, 456789123456789123, 567891234567891234

I would have done this myself, but unfortunately, this still isn't possible.

Thank you in advance,
[Your Name]

Warning

I am not a lawyer, therefore, this is not legal advice.

[ghost]

I wasn't able to achieve this. I tried to contact support and told them I want to delete these messages on this specific channel. Also gave them the specific ids for server and channel. But they said they don't bulk-delete messages because my messages serve important context to the conversation. Even though that channel is constantly getting messages and nobody reads older messages in that specific channel.

[ghost]

Thanks for the reply and I'll do that

[TCNOco]

Were you able to get them to do it?

[ghost]

I'll give an proper update once Discord answers to my latest email

[ghost]

To note, I haven't contacted DPA yet and I haven't made that point that when deleting account the messages won't be removed, to support. They have kept saying to me that "they are happy to delete specific messages which are in inaccessible areas." To be clear my messages aren't in "inaccessible areas" but I still provided them the IDs (all message IDs and the specific channel ID) but haven't heard from them since.

[underswitch]

I have one question.

Ultimately, in order to delete messages in Chrome, you only use one file called 'deleteDiscordMessages.user'.

Question 1: Why are there multiple directories and files other than 'deleteDiscordMessages.user'? I don't use them.

Question 2: When I try to code and use it in IDE, an error always occurs. How did you code it? I use vscode.

[Deemo82]

I just wanna pop in and say some things from my experience the first email had a great response and they basically said give the channel ID’s and message ID’s and they’ll take care of it for us problem is there was about 50k messages we sent a second email and we got a different individual this person we felt like we were talking to a robot who 100% was copying and pasting the same email to everyone from the looks of the tread we got the same email twice there was 2 people trying to get messages deleted in our group.

The email caused outrage I am not even joking they said the equivalent of your personal data is not important to us we care more about other individuals then you because it might cause confusion for them we know it’s your personal data but we don’t care we understand it’s your right to request it to be removed but we don’t care about that either again others are more important than you thank you very much that’s basically what they told us.

Personal note’s

You can get your messages deleted as per your rights even if it means you have to bully them into doing it they literally got find €800,000 as of recently by a French company for breaking GDPR they were withholding data for people who haven’t used Discord for years and not informing individuals that they were still in calls after they have turned off Discord i’m pretty sure there’s other things too but that’s the bullet points (In our situation we got everything dealt with privately with the server owner) Discord will cave the law is on your side especially if your a European Citizen you just gotta keep pushing it.

Also it is completely unreasonable how much you have to do in order to get them deleted in the first place it should just be an email with the server ID and then it be the end of it especially for non-tech savvy people.

PS: thanks to abbydiode for their help.

[JoeBond1]

@JoeBond1 you probably didn't install extension such as ViolentMonkey to use userscripts.

If you're outside of EU, you can simply pretend that you are from EU. Once they proceed with bulk deletion, then finish up with scripts. Once you get banned for selfbotting and they "anonimize" your messages - it's over and you won't be able to do anything.

Also, you should use Discrub instead of Undiscord: https://github.com/prathercc/discrub-ext

@surfaceflinger thank you for the reply and the kind advice.

I tried installing Violentmonkey but Chrome Web store doesn't have it available anymore and said, "This extension is no longer available because it doesn't follow best practices for Chrome extensions." So I tried using Tampermonkey.

I heard Google just made an update so maybe that is the reason I cannot install the userscript?

By the way I forgot to mention Abigail in my previous message. I just edited it to include her mention, will she be notified?

[surfaceflinger]

By the way I forgot to mention Abigail in my previous message. I just edited it to include her mention, will she be notified?

idk, probably not

I tried installing Violentmonkey but Chrome Web store doesn't have it available anymore and said, "This extension is no longer available because it doesn't follow best practices for Chrome extensions." So I tried using Tampermonkey.

Probably because of mv2 deprecation. If you managed to install tampermonkey then it should work as well. But please try to do a bulk removal through the support first.

[JoeBond1]

Probably because of mv2 deprecation. If you managed to install tampermonkey then it should work as well. But please try to do a bulk removal through the support first.

Noted, I will listen to your advice. Do you happen to know if/when Discord will implement the ability for users to do it themselves? or if there are currently any efforts to start lawsuits (class action or otherwise) to push Discord to implement the feature for all users?

Just FYI, I did install Tampermonkey but as previously mentioned, a pop-up said "Apps, Extensions and User scripts cannot be added from this website". But, I think I can use Discrub, with caution.

[JoeBond1]

Hey @abigailwillow , I am not a European Union citizen myself but I am hoping that Discord allows users to mass delete messages ourselves. I recently tried installing Undiscord but when I pressed "Install" on Greasy Fork, it said "Apps, Extensions and User scripts cannot be added from this website". Do you happen to know what the problem is? Is it possible to take a class-action suit against Discord to push them to implement such a feature in the future?

Thanks for your time

Hey @abigailwillow sorry if this pings you repeatedly, I just decided to add this extra message and draw your attention to my original message in case you were not notified, as surfaceflinger told me you might not be.

[abigailwillow]

Hey @abigailwillow sorry if this pings you repeatedly, I just decided to add this extra message and draw your attention to my original message in case you were not notified, as surfaceflinger told me you might not be.

No worries, this thread has just grown incredibly rapidly, and I've been quite busy and unable to keep up with every single post in this thread. Luckily, there are lots of helpful people who have been active here from the start who are still responding very often.

I presume you are the same person who emailed me yesterday. I'll give you a more in-depth reply later, but for now, I just want to say that I do not think a class-action lawsuit is realistic in this scenario, as messages are not inherently PII. Additionally, please take into account the disclaimer at the end of my original post.

I do believe it would benefit Discord more if they voluntarily implemented a bulk-deletion option, or simply opted to delete messages along with user accounts upon account deletion. But whether they will do this is something that I have absolutely no insight into. I hope that the popularity of this thread and similar bulk-deletion tools might push them to one day implement it themselves. But perhaps that is wishful thinking.

[Deemo82]

I’m currently experimenting whit template’s with my friends and sending them to Discord. If we find a working one i’ll make sure to let everyone know and make a video on it that way everyone can have there rights respected. I’m going to post my third draft of the template I would really appreciate if there’s any comments you can make to make it better or share a working one you have so I can improve on it. Everyone is welcome to use this one I don’t know if it works yet were currently finding out. This is the one going to be sent to discord we will find out soon.

[Deemo82]

Hello I’d like my personal data regarding my messages deleted.

Channel ID’s
( )
( )
( )
…

I’d like all messages in those channel’s to be deleted i’m not giving message ID’s because I want everything gone which should be easy for you considering you have the channel’s and my account.

I understand you might have concerns about the context for other users. I don’t really care about the context for other users my privacy should come first and if you disagree that’s a conversation you should have with my national data protection authority’s. I’m exercising my right to be forgotten thanks.

PS: I’d recommend adding bulk deletion as an option in the privacy section of Discord It would be beneficial for everyone. Including those who can’t delete all messages off of servers they don’t have access to. It’s ridiculous that we have to go through all these hoops on your platform.

-regards (alias name)

[Deemo82]

By the way I went through a bit of their TOS privacy department is where you wanna go for this situation.

(ignore my battery I just grabbed my iPad to take the screenshot)

[TCNOco]

Did the email work?

[Deemo82]

To be honest with you lad the email was only sent today so I’ll find out when they respond

[abigailwillow]

I sent them a comma-separated list of channel IDs, I assumed it'd be easier for them to work with. I would also suggest to keep it short, that way they can process your email faster. Enough of these should definitely get the point across.

[MasicoreLord]

Surprised you didn't get an error for too many requests discussions when attempting to post this /j

[Deemo82]

Okay so tiny update I sent it to the wrong department and some guy who’s job it was just to explain the TOS was just there like 😬 because I had basically sent him a hitpiece the message links lead to a private server which I had transferred to my friend where I completely shit talked discord and called them weirdos for some of their policies I can give more information on that but not here I don’t think that would be appreciated.

Anyways I haven’t followed up with it kind of forgot about it and I don’t really feel like doing it today only reason I’m back here is because I got a email on my protonmail account.

I’m just popping in to say if you got the same email I put it into virus-total It gave me 7 red flags so don’t click the link It was posted here and I presume it was deleted but I still got an email for it so some of y’all probably did too I’m just here to say don’t click on that shit that’s all.

i’ll probably do a follow-up after New Year’s and happy late Christmas to everyone.

[abigailwillow]

Which email address specifically did you send it to that it wasn't supposed to go to? I had assumed [email protected] would be the right one since someone mentioned it in a post somewhere in this discussion, is that not correct?

[Deemo82]

I sent it to the privacy department linked on the website turns out what they consider privacy is clarifying there TOS typical.

[TCNOco]

I have just submitted my own request using a similar template as mentioned above to the Discord support requests page, with a little more pleading and reasoning... I do hope something is done. Will update when I get a response.

[TCNOco]

I'll share the script I've worked on here once everything's done.
Basically .py parses all csv files in the data package/messages folder.
Saves all messages in plain text for a single channel, and asks 1, 2, or 3 (ignore, 404, to delete) -- Ignore if it's fine, 404 if I run the channel through victornpb/undiscord and it comes up with 404, otherwise to delete if I run it through and see 403 (no permission, I must not be on the server anymore).

The list of "to delete, no access" is what I'm putting together into this email.

[TCNOco]

Try sending my template completely unmodified it wouldn’t do you any harm it’s made to counteract their bullshit

Did it work for you? Did they delete all of your messages in the channels you mentioned?

[abigailwillow]

Did it work for you? Did they delete all of your messages in the channels you mentioned?

I've personally sent an email similar to the template you can find in the original post and gotten several channels completely wiped without a need to list specific messages.

[TCNOco]

I've sent practically a carbon copy of the email from @Deemo82 (Dec 12, 2022). Will update you, and for now prepare a list of messages incase nobody understands again.

[TCNOco]

Nope, same carbon copy email response. From the "Legal Team", not Clyde. I have prepared a list of channels and messages anyways. I will send those in a response.

[AthAshino]

Hey
I tried to ask them 6 month ago. And after ignoring me every time they closed the ticket with the "context" excuse. I did insist a lot of time, using the fact that the CNIL (french legal organisation) took action against them but they didn't care at all.
Today I'm trying it again by creating a new ticket, hoping someone else will get it and correctly wipe my data this time.
I don't understand how they can keep violating our rights even after being sanctioned..

I will update when I receive an answer (maybe in a few month)

[AthAshino]

Yes, I will try, but last time when I sent them just channel Id they were asking for specific message id

[abigailwillow]

People in this thread, including myself, have had success with just channel IDs. Howerver it could just depend on who's answering your emails unfortunately.

[Deemo82]

Message IDs have been the problem throughout the entirety of the thread I see you having 3 options

A) you wait until there is a viable method to go through your data package and extract message ID’s from individual servers into a text file.

B) you wait until discord get fined and are forced to change their policies

C) Just keep going at it until you get results.

Now that’s just my personal opinion but I am genuinely considering tipping off the data protection commission (same people who tried to kick Facebook out of Europe) and hopefully they would do something.

[abigailwillow]

I am genuinely considering tipping off the data protection commission

This is what I did. Having more people send in complaints would only strengthen our case. I would seriously encourage anyone facing any kind of issues relating to this to reach out about it. I'm still waiting for an answer from my data protection authority, and I hope I can post an update about it soon!

[AthAshino]

Here we go

I'm doing to call the data protection commission, it seems to be the only way for them to understand that they're against the law

[ghost]

Heya, I know some individuals here have had success in getting Discord to bulk delete their messages.
But does anyone know if it'd be possible to get them to delete another's messages as well i.e. wipe a whole DM channel?
I found a closed DM in my data package and I hate the thought of having data I can't access.
And I'm totally not afraid to contact authorities either.

[Deemo82]

Apologies for any spelling mistakes I was in the middle of something when I got the notification so I just had to put it together real quick @anon813

[Deemo82]

I hope they saw my message before deleting there account it would be a shame if they didn’t

[ghost]

Hi again!
Sorry for worrying you, I sent my ticket but it being so unorthodox stressed me and I deleted the github account woops.
But also I just want to clarify I am not in any danger myself and I just want to see if I am able to pressure Discord into wiping a whole dm. Cause I disagree with data in closed dms still being stored, and not being able to wipe dms in general.
But I only just sent a (lengthy) ticket so it might be a while until I get a response.

[ghost]

Unfortunately they also gave me exactly the same response they gave to others here, almost a copy paste. I'll send another response and see what happens.

[ghost]

Their team keeps asking me to send specific message IDs as they did with many other people here. However because I am trying to get the whole DM wiped I do not think this method will work. But I hope the rest of you can get your messages bulk deleted because it is entirely within your rights.

[Deemo82]

Alright so new discovery I just made Discord delete your email off there servers within 14 days when you delete your account meaning you can’t legally prove that whatever messages that were sent from a deleted account are yours meaning GDPR law does not apply to deleted accounts because all messages are anonymized it’s very unfortunate for me in my case because 14-year-old me said some stupid stuff so I hope you learn a lesson form my mistake do not delete your account until those messages are gone only deactivate.

[Deemo82]

Trying a different approach i’ll keep you all updated on how it goes.

[Deemo82]

Ok I’ve been in a long email exchange with Discord for a while after my last update discord flat out denied my rights and I’ll be on a phone call with Irish government officials after the bank holiday I’m not sure how much I’m legally allowed to disclose but I will let you know if I’m successful.

[AnnoyedDev]

Hey @abigailwillow I am sincerely sorry if I have offended or hurt anyone. I must admit that my intention was not to hurt but to inform, and it turns out that I did it poorly. To qualify and try to excuse my poorly worded message, I had consulted with the data protection department in my country and at the European level, and I also contacted a lawyer (from my country). The lady who answered my call (from the data protection department in my country) talked to me a bit as if I were an idiot, explaining what I had explained, being a bit upset that is the reason why I expressed myself poorly, sorry once again, I hope my message, even if it was clumsy, was understood...

[abigailwillow]

No hard feelings @AnnoyedDev! I don't think you offended anyone! It's always nice to have new information from local Data Protection Authorities as they are in the end the relevant authority on this. Do I correctly understand that they told you that messages are excluded unless they specifically contain personal information? Also for context which country's DPA is this regarding? Any new information on the topic is always appreciated.

[AnnoyedDev]

@abigailwillow That's right, they explicitly told me that message that Discord were mandatory to delete were message that could identify me. They also told me that if i want more information and to have more precise information about my specific case i would need to make a complaint. I'm located in France, my DPA name is CNIL.

[Deemo82]

Ok so I did my own research and looked into the matter so I can contribute towards the conversation and the information I have found is individual member states maintain the right to pass their own data protection laws individual member states decide how strict their data policies are themselves with GDPR being the minimum set across the entirety of Europe it’s still the responsibility of the member state to decide what conduct is allowed and isn’t allowed under GDPR that’s why @abigailwillow case was considered a violation of GDPR and your one wasn’t @AnnoyedDev it’s depending on the member state you’re in and what extra powers they have allotted to GDPR each member has a different policy basically that’s what I’m seeing but if they have no policy, they just rely on the bare bones GDPR which is the framework they have to build off of.

[abigailwillow]

Makes sense considering my DPA is the Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens of the Netherlands and our government tends to be relatively secure with privacy-related issues. I suppose these differences between member countries also make it more challenging for these companies to know which rights their users have as it can differ quite a bit per country.

[RaxVander]

everywhere i tried its always can anyone help me?
Error searching messages, API responded with status 401!
{"message":"401: Unauthorized","code":0}
CoreException {}

[Qgw792]

[abigailwillow]

If you can identify that you are the owner of the deleted account then I think it'll be fine, they won't check if you are or aren't in an EU country. Besides, perhaps your country or local authority has similar regulations?

[abigailwillow]

Most likely they'll require you to contact them from the email address that was previously registered with them. But they might give you a hard time since the account is already deleted. If this is regarding the US then check if your state has similar laws in place to GDPR. For example, I believe CA does.

[Deemo82]

To be completely honest under the table they would probably click like one message just to make sure that the links work and then they would just feed every single one of the message links into a system to delete all the messages for them so that way not manually doing it they wouldn’t manually delete thousands of messages it would be a script of some sort.

[Deemo82]

Great news everyone an old acquaintance of mine successfully got his messages deleted by Discord!!! he created a bot to scrape all the message links and put them into a text file sent them off to discord and they deleted everything without a hitch only caveat is messages in threads weren’t touched but altogether it was a success.

[Deemo82]

Personal information being your real name address use your common sense

[Deemo82]

Okay so the difficult thing is it’s completely anonymized just because you can prove one of the messages on the account belong to you doesn’t mean that the next deleted user is the same person they will only delete the exact message that you’re able to prove belong to you they physically have the account mixed in with millions of other accounts they can’t tell it apart there’s no unique identifying parts in the code that says that this user is connected that’s what anonymized means. Discord will only delete messages that you can prove “””individually””” belong to you or contain personal information.

[Deemo82]

When this thread originally opened up my first round of experimentation relating to getting discord to delete messages was actually on a deleted account I was lucky to get in contact with a human and that person told me point blank there’s no hope when it comes to deleted account’s because they can’t identify who is who with enough accuracy for it to be worth the trouble that’s why they deal with everything on an individual message basis when it comes to deleted accounts. That’s what I got from my interaction with the individual from the general support on the discord white page of doom.

[abigailwillow]

I think it's a totally logical expectation to believe that your messages will be deleted as well when you delete your account. As for identifying deleted accounts, I'm 99% sure under the hood they still have your unique user snowflake. Can you right-click your deleted account and copy it, if you have it turned on in developer settings? That should realistically help them identify all your messages.

Converting the data package to a list of message ids shouldn't be too difficult, but I don't have the capacity right now due to personal circumstances. I'll see what I can do.

[abigailwillow]

The long string of numbers you mentioned is the snowflake I mentioned, as for a data package if you haven't yet requested one before then you can't request one anymore now as the account is deleted, though technically speaking if you could prove the account used to be yours they should provide you with one.

Getting banned and not having a way to delete your messages or otherwise no longer having access to your messages is one of the biggest problems I have with the whole system. This is what I pressed them on before they complied with my request as I personally believe it's very much infringing on users' privacy.

[McDic]

When I first submitted an inquiry on their customer support center, their first reply was "Deleting message should be inquiried via (some other link)", because "it is beyond CS's resources".

After their first reply I pushed them with strong arguments, and they said I need to export a list of discord message IDs via privacy package.

After I passed them a list of discord message IDs, they said I have to reformat those IDs in following form; (They did not tell the exact form at the first, I guess this is because they wanted to delay message deletion process as long as possible)

Channel ID:
Message ID, Message ID, Message ID

Channel ID:
Message ID, Message ID, Message ID

...

After a week they said my messages are all deleted, but many of my messages WERE NOT DELETED at all. Therefore I reported the Discord on some national privacy-related instituitions including KOPICO.

After a public servant sent an email to the Data Protection Officer, they finally deleted(at least those were invisible) almost all my messages(but there were still few left) and they added the "Korean local terms".

Discord is not deleting your messages easily. They will try to give you many excuses if you seems not urgent. You should prepare your plans properly, and need to push them hard.

If you are interested about my code to export list of discord message IDs, check my repo.

[Deemo82]

Very much appreciated i’m sure this will be a great help to everyone hopefully now we’re going to start getting more and more people trickling in saying they successfully got messages deleted thank you @McDic 😄 it’s unfortunate that you had such a hassle but it’s good because around 3 or 4 people have managed to get messages deleted now that’s a big step up from only one person and we seem to have a working method thanks again for sharing your resources it’s a big help for everyone.

[jaashuu]

would it be the same if gdpr was substituted for the various consumer protection laws for specific US states, like the vcdpa, ccpa, or cpa?

[surfaceflinger]

Just talk as if you were in the EU, I don't think they verify that

[Neppkun]

You can request a GDPR request even if you aren't in the EU. Use a VPN from a EU country if you want.
They can see if you're bullshitting them, but they don't care.

I live in Turkey. Discord can see that every device I'm logged into has "Turkey" as the location. But I sent a GDPR request, and was asked for the message IDs like the normal process.

This is the case with basically any company out there.
I'm not a hundred percent sure why it's this way but if I had to guess, I think they'd rather just comply with your request rather than risk getting into legal trouble with the EU over some geolocation misunderstanding.

[nyntix]

So here we go. I'll make this short because we all are busy.

1. Dont write the support write the GPO Email Directly (for the sake of escalating to Data protection authority)
2. Go to the website of your local DPA and copy paste the sample text for data deletion into a mail saying something in the lines of "personal information, $17 DSGVO removal of personal data"
3. you will probably receive a bot answer thirst, just resend the mail or change the text a little
4. discord will probably say something like "we removed messages that you cant acces but we balance gpdr and our goals and wont delete ur messages in bulk"
5. Now I have been writing with normal support and GPO for a while now and got annoyed, so I asked them to tell me the DPA (for the country you live in). They probably didn't like that and after 3-4 days I got the following messages.

"We don't offer the ability to delete your messages in bulk right now. If, however, you believe you have sent messages which include specific identifiable personal data and/or sensitive personal data — e.g. your name, or other information about you — we can certainly help you remove such information.
Please understand that we need specific information when processing deletion requests for messages that contain personally identifying information, but we have to have the data formatted in a particular way. In this case, we need your message ID + channel ID for any messages that contain personally identifying information. A simple channel ID does not contain enough information for processing.
Please provide us with a CSV file of the messages containing personally identifying information in the following format:"

So I will now resend the csv I have already shared multiple times and then keep you updated :)
Important is that you do this in the language of the country you reside in and keep all the Mails as proof. I also put my IRL name as signature to make it more official(they already had it from paypal etc.)
If they dont want to comply you can try contacting your DPA and filing a complaint
(I also already deleted 50-60k messages with the script before the answer came.... fml)

---

edit:
Got this email today:

This is your confirmation email that we have successfully submitted the message IDs that you have provided for deletion. Please allow up to 24 hours for the deletion process to be completed. After 24 hours, you can confirm that your messages are deleted by requesting your

I will wait a few days and request a new data package then use the script to delete the rest of the messages I typed in the meantime :)
Happy undiscording to y'all

another edit:
they did nothing, i think im going to escalate it....

[ae00n]

@asynclol your account will be safe as long as you specifically tell them you just want the messages deleted they have to verbally warn you if they intended to delete your account you just say no to that and you're fine.

Okay thank you. 🙏🏼

[StormMeow]

@StormMeow remake the file (do not open it) when you open the file for some reason Microsoft physically change the values in the file when they shouldn't super dumb just directly send it to Discord don't open it and you'll be fine

@Deemo82
I exported my Discord data using a Python script, and the text file’s formatting looks perfect. However, Excel can’t handle the file size, so I convert the file to CSV. formatting directly in my folder—but Discord staff say the formatting is off, even though it appears fine to me. Any advice?

[StormMeow]

did they ask you to send the file or did you just do it?

Both, I sent the file and re-sent when they asked again. I've sent them both a google sheets file (like the example they sent) and along-side sent the CSV itself.

[StormMeow]

@StormMeow remake the file (do not open it) when you open the file for some reason Microsoft physically change the values in the file when they shouldn't super dumb just directly send it to Discord don't open it and you'll be fine

@Deemo82 I exported my Discord data using a Python script, and the text file’s formatting looks perfect. However, Excel can’t handle the file size, so I convert the file to CSV. formatting directly in my folder—but Discord staff say the formatting is off, even though it appears fine to me. Any advice?

Try the step again and do not convert the file. Maybe there's a problem with Excel as of why it couldn't handle the size of the file. Leave it as Excel file and export it to Discord.

I do not use Excel, I am using Google Sheets and also just Windows File Explorer to directly change the format to CSV.

[nyntix]

Edit:
After 2 Days I checked a channel for old messages and if they got deleted. As exspected the did not.
Because "you can delete them urself" I wanna send them this text now. Any tipps?

I find it very presumptuous that you do not meet my request, no messages have been deleted. This is inexcusable. I will contact the responsible data protection authority and lodge a complaint if you do not remove all in the .CSV transmitted data. To quote the DGSVO again: "The data subject has the right to require the controller to delete personal data concerning them immediately, and the controller is obliged to delete personal data immediately if one of the following reasons applies:" Art. 17 DSGVO § 1. You have to delete my data and cannot ask me to do this myself.

Any objections?

[xqstrslr299]

[Deemo82]

It's such a weird thing because in Europe we do have the right to withdraw so we have the right to request them to delete everything if we so chose so I don't understand why they are so reluctant to comply with it it's literally the law and this is the really weird thing that keeps getting me I was on Instagram the other day and I was going through the legal stuff and I quite literally found a section on Instagram dedicated to get like messages deleted and a bunch of other stuff for them to comply with GDPR and deleting whatever is requested it was so streamlined it was just a form I had to fill out how the hell does Facebook have better procedures in place for privacy than discord it's the only thing that's been in my head the past couple days it's actually a joke.

[Deemo82]

@StarSailorRiley I’ve been on this project since day one, I’m literally the third message down in the thread, and I’ve seen some absolute horror stories from people. Stuff like blackmail, minors posting things they really shouldn’t have, and a lot of it happened on deleted accounts.

The worst part is, under European law, they would’ve been fully entitled to get those messages wiped. But Discord made that impossible. When you delete your account, they strip the identifiers from your messages which they’re not supposed to do over here. In Europe, platforms are meant to keep that info so they can show what data they’ve got on you and so people can use their rights properly.

Discord just got rid of it for deleted accounts, no real reason, and now even if someone can prove they’re the one who sent something, they’ve got no way to link it back. So even if the data protection authorities step in and force Discord to fix things going forward, they can’t undo that part. The messages are just left out there, and the people affected including kids who might be adults now are stuck with nothing.

[Deemo82]

@StarSailorRiley when you get a reply make sure you bring up the fact that they have already gotten in trouble in the Netherlands and their data protection authority for this exact problem and it's still a problem referring to @abigailwillow ' s case (apologies for tagging you abigailwillow I know you're busy I just don't like talking about people without them knowing)

[victornpb]

@StarSailorRiley I’ve been on this project since day one, I’m literally the third message down in the thread, and I’ve seen some absolute horror stories from people. Stuff like blackmail, minors posting things they really shouldn’t have, and a lot of it happened on deleted accounts.

The worst part is, under European law, they would’ve been fully entitled to get those messages wiped. But Discord made that impossible. When you delete your account, they strip the identifiers from your messages which they’re not supposed to do over here. In Europe, platforms are meant to keep that info so they can show what data they’ve got on you and so people can use their rights properly.

Discord just got rid of it for deleted accounts, no real reason, and now even if someone can prove they’re the one who sent something, they’ve got no way to link it back. So even if the data protection authorities step in and force Discord to fix things going forward, they can’t undo that part. The messages are just left out there, and the people affected including kids who might be adults now are stuck with nothing.

I think they are relying on some clause about GDPR laws having some kind of exception to "anonymising the data" being treated as personal data. Don't quote me on that as I have no qualifications to talk about law. But I heard about something like that before.

Of course I don't agree, as this data could never be fully anonymised in any meaningful way, but I think thats their excuse marking messages as authored by "@deleted" user.

[Deemo82]

@victornpb What you’re talking about is actually a very common workaround used by companies. I’m formally qualified in GDPR because of my career in health and safety, where I’m expected to handle highly sensitive personal information. Having proper GDPR training and education is absolutely essential in my field.

Now, back to your point Discord anonymizes data they want to retain while still aiming to comply with GDPR. This is a widespread practice. A good example you might be familiar with because you work in the tech field is the way advertisers use cookies. (Apologies in advance for dumbing this down a bit it’s more for anyone reading this later who’s looking to understand.)

Advertisers assign unique identifiers that aren’t directly tied to your real-world identity similar to how Discord uses user IDs. This allows them to track your habits across sites without technically knowing who you are, which helps them work around GDPR. But you still have the right to request deletion of that data if you can prove it’s yours. That’s the crux of GDPR compliance.

Where Discord fails, in my view, is that they remove those identifiers completely. So when a user says, “Hey, that’s my data,” there’s no way to prove it because the link is gone. Most companies anonymize but retain enough context to allow identification if the user comes forward. That’s industry standard. Discord, from what I understand, breaks that link entirely, making it impossible to exercise your GDPR rights.

Let me give a quick analogy to explain this better:

Imagine your data is a ball. You’re a kid, kicking it around, and it flies over your neighbor’s fence. Now, your neighbor has a yard full of balls. You knock on the door and say, “Hey, can I get my ball back?” A GDPR-compliant company says, “Sure can you describe it?” You say, “It’s red with white stripes,” and they hand it over. Done.

Discord, on the other hand, from my understanding paints all the balls grey and deflates them. You say, “Can I get my ball back?” and they say, “Which one?” You don’t know, and neither do they. They slam the door in your face and they turn around and throw your ball back in the pile of thousands they have accumulated over the years.

That, in my view, is not compliant. Also sorry if I sound a bit intense I’m just very passionate about this topic because of my career.

[Bubba8291]

[Zarq0]

ill probably try deleting my messages again once i have more information about how this works, i have tried around 3 times as of recently, each time they say they don't offer bulk deletion of messages even if i try saying that the messages contain PII :/

[Zarq0]

if anyone has any tips, it'd be appreciated :)

[Deemo82]

@Bubba8291 thanks for sharing this is very optimistic news for us we have been dealing with them for awhile denying people from deleting messages from channels they have access to

Naturally because you're the first person to publicly say that you've had success with their policy changes you're going to get a lot of questions and I do apologise for that if you're willing to share more details like what you said to them in your follow up resubmission that would be appreciated but if not that's more than fine we do really appreciate you letting us know it really does help a lot. 😄

[Zarq0]

Agreed to what Deemu82, sorry if you feel pressured in any way, its understandable if you get questions as they've been denying people a lot.

If you're ready to share more information it'd be great, but its fine if not :)

[wtweekPR]

could you please share more please?

[hotshot-ctrl]

Hey there guys, I've been keeping up with this thread for awhile and would someone be able to help me out on how to create a csv file manually?
as I only have a few messages to be deleted from a few channels.
also can I request discord support to delete a few messages sent by bots as it does show some information like my name and profile picture.

[SAUCE-2]

https://dorifor.github.io/undiscord-package-util/

[wtweekPR]

@hotshot-ctrl any updates?

[JoeBond1]

I know abigail mentioned to me that it is not possible, but after reading all the new messages in this thread, I'm wondering again if anyone in this thread has the capability to start a class-action suit against discord and whether anyone knows if it's feasible? Because that might be an action that will finally force them to take action

…

On Sat, May 17, 2025, 9:39 PM Abigail de Joode ***@***.***> wrote: I've been quite busy and haven't been able to respond to many replies to this thread, but I deeply sympathize with your situation. Please don't worry, this is absolutely related to this discussion. Unfortunately, this particular aspect of Discord's GDPR compliance seems to be uncharted territory. However, if I'm not mistaken, photos of you would certainly constitute PII, regardless of who sent the message. After a month you absolutely have the right to send follow-up requests to Discord, and reaching out to your DPA is something you should seriously consider. If any of these photos are more sensitive than regular selfies, if this constitutes bullying, or if there are any more severe aspects to the situation than you're letting on, please do reach out to your local police department. They can often help accelerate such a process significantly. Good luck, please do keep us posted so others can learn from your experience in the future. — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <#429 (reply in thread)>, or unsubscribe <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/BRQXTM4JHWRSD345EZQWAI326432LAVCNFSM6AAAAAARXHO2MSVHI2DSMVQWIX3LMV43URDJONRXK43TNFXW4Q3PNVWWK3TUHMYTGMJXHEZDENQ> . You are receiving this because you were mentioned.Message ID: ***@***.***>

[Deemo82]

Personally, I think the most realistic outcome of any legal action would be an investigation or audit of Discord by data protection authorities. If they’re found to be in violation of GDPR, the result would likely be a financial penalty and a legal requirement to change their data handling practices. That’s generally how GDPR enforcement works it’s not usually about individual compensation which is normally what class actions aim for, but about fines and compliance orders.

[CloudySn0w]

Hello! For those reading this, this isn’t my first time trying a “bulk deletion” of messages (even though Discord keeps crashing out on me). I don’t want to read through every single message in this thread, but my most recent deletion attempt was blocked. Here’s their response:

Hi there,

Thank you for your response.

At this time, Discord processes message deletions for content located in spaces the user no longer has access to. We do not offer the bulk deletion of messages in spaces that the user does have access to. While we understand you may have questions about what constitutes an “accessible space,” we’re unable to provide further internal details, as access permissions are managed dynamically within our platform and may vary depending on a number of factors.

We try to balance the interests other users have in a conversation, as well as the ability for us to provide the service as a whole. Discord is a communications service and its users have a legitimate interest in having access to content sent to them. Consistent with GDPR, Discord balances the privacy interests of the user against the interests other users have in a conversation and the ability for us to provide the service as a whole. Because of how Discord works, content is sent to other users, and those users rely on having access to that content. If a given text channel were suddenly missing important context, it would be confusing to other users or possibly mislead those users about what happened in that conversation.

That being said, users always have the ability to delete their own messages individually in any space they can still access. If you are concerned about specific messages, we encourage you to review those conversations directly and delete the content manually using the steps outlined in our [Help Center article here](https://support.discord.com/hc/en-us/articles/5431812448791-How-long-Discord-keeps-your-information#:~:text=for%20specific%20purposes.-,Information%20You%20Can%20Delete%20Directly%20From%20The%20Services,-You%20may%20edit). You can manually delete your own messages by right-clicking on the message and selecting “Delete Message,” or by hovering over the message, clicking the “…” menu, and choosing “Delete Message.” Holding the Shift key while clicking the delete icon will bypass the confirmation screen for faster deletion.

For more information on how you can delete messages directly from inside the app, please check out this [Help Center Article.](https://support.discord.com/hc/en-us/articles/5431812448791-How-long-Discord-keeps-your-information#:~:text=for%20specific%20purposes.-,Information%20You%20Can%20Delete%20Directly%20From%20The%20Services,-You%20may%20edit)

Please note that at this time, system messages generated by the platform, like call logs, are tied to core functionality and cannot be individually deleted. These messages are an inherent part of the platform’s communication system and are not stored as typical user-generated content.

Finally, if your concern involves harassment or safety, please report the messages directly to our Trust & Safety team through the app so they can investigate and take appropriate action. The Privacy team is not able to handle abuse reports or moderate content. If you need assistance with the reporting process, you can also reach out to our Customer Service team [here](https://support.discord.com/hc/en-us/requests/new?ticket_form_id=360000029212). For tips on customizing your Discord experience and avoiding unwanted interactions, check out our [Safety Center](https://discord.com/safetycenter).

⚠️ If you or someone else is in immediate danger, we strongly encourage you to contact your local law enforcement for assistance.

Thank you for your understanding in this matter.

Sincerely,
Discord Privacy Team

I replied once more demanding they change their stance, and they sent this:

Hi there,

Thank you again for reaching out.

We understand this may be a frustrating experience, and we’ve taken care to provide a thorough explanation of Discord’s current policy and our approach to message deletion. To reiterate, Discord only processes deletions for messages located in spaces the user no longer has access to. We do not offer bulk deletion for messages in spaces that remain accessible to the user at this time.

Our decision is based on a careful consideration of privacy obligations, service integrity, and the rights of all users involved in shared conversations. We are confident that our approach is consistent with applicable data protection laws, including the GDPR, and we do not have further information to provide on this topic.

As such, this will be our final response regarding your request. We will not be able to offer additional clarification or continue this conversation further.

We appreciate your understanding.
Sincerely,
Discord Privacy Team

They then closed the conversation. I wasn’t going to back down, so I sent this:

Hello Discord Privacy Team,

I am writing in follow‑up to my original erasure request sent on 31 March 2025, submitted under Article 17 GDPR. As a resident of Sweden and a minor ([redacted]), Article 17(1)(f) expressly entitles me to erasure of personal data collected in relation to “information society services.”

Under Article 12(3) GDPR, you must notify me of any action on my request “without undue delay and in any event within one month” of receipt. If you refuse, Article 12(4) GDPR obliges you to provide me, within that same one‑month period, with:

1. The precise GDPR article(s) you rely on to refuse erasure.
2. Your factual and legal justification for why an exception applies.
3. Notice of my right to lodge a complaint with the Swedish Authority for Privacy Protection (IMY) and to seek a judicial remedy.

Discord’s current refusal, citing only “service integrity,” does not identify any valid GDPR exception under Article 17(3) and lacks a formal decision as required by Article 12(4). Please issue a written decision complying with these legal requirements by 30 April 2025.

Thank you for your prompt attention.

Sincerely,

That finally got them moving—and they sent this confirmation:

Hi there,

Thank you for your patience.

This is your confirmation email that we have successfully resubmitted the message IDs that you have provided for deletion. Please allow up to 24 hours for the deletion process to be completed. After 24 hours, you can confirm that your messages are deleted by requesting your data package [here.](https://support.discord.com/hc/en-us/articles/360004027692-Requesting-a-Copy-of-your-Data)

Please note that some messages may not be deleted due to the following reasons:

• Messages that were sent by another user will not be deleted.
• Messages with invalid or incorrect message/channel IDs will not be processed.

For more information on how you can delete messages directly from inside the app, please check out this [Help Center Article](https://support.discord.com/hc/en-us/articles/5431812448791-How-long-Discord-keeps-your-information#:~:text=for%20specific%20purposes.-,Information%20You%20Can%20Delete%20Directly%20From%20The%20Services,-You%20may%20edit)

We appreciate your understanding in this matter.

Sincerely,
Discord Privacy Team

In the end: don’t mess with us, and don’t give up, lads. They’re scared now.

[wtweekPR]

I am still stuck at this stage:

Please note that some messages may not be deleted due to the following reasons:
Messages located in spaces that you still have access to will not be deleted.

I replied with:

Hello Discord Privacy Team,

I am writing to follow up on my original erasure request submitted on 19 May 2025, pursuant to Article 17 of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). As a resident of Sweden, I am entitled under Article 17(1)(f) to request the erasure of personal data collected in connection with “information society services.”

Under Article 12(3) GDPR, you are required to respond to such requests without undue delay and at the latest within one month of receipt. In the event of a refusal, Article 12(4) obliges you to provide, within that same timeframe:

1. The specific GDPR article(s) you are relying on to refuse erasure.
2. A clear factual and legal explanation of why an exception applies.
3. Information on my right to lodge a complaint with the Swedish Authority for Privacy Protection (IMY) and to pursue a judicial remedy.

Your current response, which cites only “Messages located in spaces that you still have access to will not be deleted.” does not identify any valid exception under Article 17(3) and does not fulfill the formal response requirements under Article 12(4).

I have once again attached the messages.csv file as evidence of the personal data I am requesting to be erased. Please issue a written decision in compliance with GDPR requirements by 19 June 2025.

Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter.

Sincerely,
@[username]

Still no reply.

[CloudySn0w]

Just a heads up for those that said things above, what I pasted in the initial message is NOT templates you can copy paste and send to discord directly without reworking them, If you aren’t a resident of Sweden for example you need to change that info, the DATE is also important. Be careful so you don't forget things like that. If Discord don't answer to that email after a few days to a few weeks I recommend you reach out to YOUR local data protection authority. @tilly-boop @wtweekPR

[CloudySn0w]

Yes, I deleted the 3rd message and removed the "as a resident of Sweden" and replaced it with Europe.

If you haven't gotten an answer yet after sending those mails then just contact your local data protection authority. But also if they say at the end "As such, this will be our final response regarding your request. We will not be able to offer additional clarification or continue this conversation further." you need to remail them with their support email. WITH that last "Under article" message. Otherwise I think the messages wont arrive.

[wtweekPR]

they took their sweet time in replying.. 8 days..

Discord Privacy Team (Discord Support)

May 27, 2025

Hi there,

Thank you for your response.

At this time, Discord processes message deletions for content located in spaces the user no longer has access to. We do not offer the bulk deletion of messages in spaces that the user does have access to. While we understand you may have questions about what constitutes as an “accessible space,” we’re unable to provide further internal details, as access permissions are managed dynamically within our platform and may vary depending on a number of factors.

We try to balance the interests other users have in a conversation, as well as the ability for us to provide the service as a whole. Discord is a communications service and its users have a legitimate interest in having access to content sent to them. Consistent with GDPR, Discord balances the privacy interests of the user against the interests other users have in a conversation and the ability for us to provide the service as a whole. Because of how Discord works, content is sent to other users, and those users rely on having access to that content. If a given text channel were suddenly missing important context, it would be confusing to other users or possibly mislead those users about what happened in that conversation.

That being said, users always have the ability to delete their own messages individually in any space they can still access. If you are concerned about specific messages, we encourage you to review those conversations directly and delete the content manually using the steps outlined in our Help Center article here. You can manually delete your own messages by right-clicking on the message and selecting "Delete Message," or by hovering over the message, clicking the "..." or "more" menu, and choosing "Delete Message." Holding the Shift key while clicking the delete icon will bypass the confirmation screen for faster deletion.

For more information on how you can delete messages directly from inside the app, please check out this Help Center Article.

Please note that at this time, system messages generated by the platform, like call logs, are tied to core functionality and cannot be individually deleted. These messages are an inherent part of the platform's communication system and are not stored as typical user-generated content.

Finally, if your concern involves harassment or safety, please report the messages directly to our Trust & Safety team through the app so they can investigate and take appropriate action. The Privacy team is not able to handle abuse reports or moderate content. If you need assistance with the reporting process, you can also reach out to our Customer Service team here. For tips on customizing your Discord experience and avoiding unwanted interactions, check out our Safety Center.

⚠️ If you or someone else is in immediate danger, we strongly encourage you to contact your local law enforcement for assistance.

Thank you for your understanding in this matter.

Sincerely,
Discord Privacy Team

[CloudySn0w]

they took their sweet time in replying.. 8 days..

Discord Privacy Team (Discord Support)
May 27, 2025
Hi there,
Thank you for your response.
At this time, Discord processes message deletions for content located in spaces the user no longer has access to. We do not offer the bulk deletion of messages in spaces that the user does have access to. While we understand you may have questions about what constitutes as an “accessible space,” we’re unable to provide further internal details, as access permissions are managed dynamically within our platform and may vary depending on a number of factors.
We try to balance the interests other users have in a conversation, as well as the ability for us to provide the service as a whole. Discord is a communications service and its users have a legitimate interest in having access to content sent to them. Consistent with GDPR, Discord balances the privacy interests of the user against the interests other users have in a conversation and the ability for us to provide the service as a whole. Because of how Discord works, content is sent to other users, and those users rely on having access to that content. If a given text channel were suddenly missing important context, it would be confusing to other users or possibly mislead those users about what happened in that conversation.
That being said, users always have the ability to delete their own messages individually in any space they can still access. If you are concerned about specific messages, we encourage you to review those conversations directly and delete the content manually using the steps outlined in our Help Center article here. You can manually delete your own messages by right-clicking on the message and selecting "Delete Message," or by hovering over the message, clicking the "..." or "more" menu, and choosing "Delete Message." Holding the Shift key while clicking the delete icon will bypass the confirmation screen for faster deletion.
For more information on how you can delete messages directly from inside the app, please check out this Help Center Article.
Please note that at this time, system messages generated by the platform, like call logs, are tied to core functionality and cannot be individually deleted. These messages are an inherent part of the platform's communication system and are not stored as typical user-generated content.
Finally, if your concern involves harassment or safety, please report the messages directly to our Trust & Safety team through the app so they can investigate and take appropriate action. The Privacy team is not able to handle abuse reports or moderate content. If you need assistance with the reporting process, you can also reach out to our Customer Service team here. For tips on customizing your Discord experience and avoiding unwanted interactions, check out our Safety Center.
⚠️ If you or someone else is in immediate danger, we strongly encourage you to contact your local law enforcement for assistance.
Thank you for your understanding in this matter.
Sincerely,
Discord Privacy Team

Good! Now you reply with something similar to what I said above. Of course changing SOME of the information in it. Not just copy paste.

FYI This:

Hello Discord Privacy Team,

I am writing in follow‑up to my original erasure request sent on 31 March 2025, submitted under Article 17 GDPR. As a resident of Sweden and a minor ([redacted]), Article 17(1)(f) expressly entitles me to erasure of personal data collected in relation to “information society services.”

Under Article 12(3) GDPR, you must notify me of any action on my request “without undue delay and in any event within one month” of receipt. If you refuse, Article 12(4) GDPR obliges you to provide me, within that same one‑month period, with:

    The precise GDPR article(s) you rely on to refuse erasure.
    Your factual and legal justification for why an exception applies.
    Notice of my right to lodge a complaint with the Swedish Authority for Privacy Protection (IMY) and to seek a judicial remedy.

Discord’s current refusal, citing only “service integrity,” does not identify any valid GDPR exception under Article 17(3) and lacks a formal decision as required by Article 12(4). Please issue a written decision complying with these legal requirements by 30 April 2025.

Thank you for your prompt attention.

Sincerely,

REMINDER change the info. Primarily the message was oriented towards me

[UncreativeXenon]

discord emailed me this, what do I do about it?

I want all messages in the csv gone regardless if I have access to them or not.

[surfaceflinger]

I'm at this stage too, I'm now trying to get them to mention "service integrity" and once they do that I'm going to copypaste what CloudySnowX sent before they removed everything. I'll let you know how it goes!

[Fauxres]

I have emailed everything that has been said above and they are still outright refusing to remove messages that I “have access to” however wont elaborate on what “having access is”. When i scrolled back to the very start of my server to someone who has left the server over 2 years ago, who i have never had added, my dms are still there with that said person.

[AvisVanBruch]

Please read CloudySnowX's comment for a detailed conversation when you are in Europe.

Talk to Discord in your own language, I know translating the texts and templates is annoying, but you have to expect that they pick up every little crumb to not do what they should.
Also use your full name and surname as signature, I dislike that too, especially because of their data leaks, but it has to be as official as possible.

For everyone in Germany, I found several official resources to help you,
Language can be changed to English in the top right corner.
I would suggest sending them a DSGVO request directly, since it could be argued, that it doesn't have any legal grounds if not send first.
I doubt it would go so far to court but better be safe than sorry.
(it could be that you don't have to, please correct me if I'm wrong, but I would still follow my advice)

From my knowledge, it is best to contact [email protected] directly instead of opening a support ticket but I can't say anything on that matter, maybe do both?

DSGVO:
https://dsgvo-gesetz.de/art-17-dsgvo/

General templates for data protection with contact formula:
https://www.bfdi.bund.de/DE/Buerger/Mustertexte/Zwischenordner-f%C3%BCr-Mustertexte/Mustertexte_Allgemein.html?nn=340980

Contact finder:
(private company - general private company- HQ in foreign countries) which also directs to the link under this one
https://www.bfdi.bund.de/DE/Service/Kontakt/Kontaktfinder/kontaktfinder_node.html?cms_klvl2=272378&cms_klvl3=272398&cms_klvl1=272344#kontaktfinderDown

Contact information for state authorities:
https://www.bfdi.bund.de/DE/Service/Anschriften/Laender/Laender-node.html

Do not contact your legal authorities unless Discord refuses and clearly states they won't follow the DSGVO request.
If they don't clearly say that, you will probably have no legal case because it's too ambiguous/unclear.

That is everything I found on the spot, I'll add as I find more and correctly translated templates to German.

[AvisVanBruch]

Update:
I received on the 27th of may at 1:40 Am the E-Mail, that everything gets deleted and to wait 24h.
Now it's the 28th of May at 4:30pm, so about 29h later and the messages in spaces I don't have access to anymore seems to be deleted.

As you all know, I can't request my data package again until next month (so stupid >->) so I have to rely on answers from friends and idk what the server themselves deleted already, or I did myself.

I send [email protected] a template from the BfDi using the first one and then the second option. (05/24)

The already known bot answer came along the lines of "This channel is reserved for individuals who need clarification about our privacy policies or practices, beyond what it is available in our online resources." and so on. (05/25)

I reminded them, that they have to follow the DSVGO laws and I will contact local Authorities after 14 days, if they don't follow my request. (Text will be at the bottom of this Update) (05/25)

They said to wait 24h. (05/27)

That seemed to work, and since I don't have many messages left in spaces I have access to, that's okay with me. (05/28)
The rest I want gone I can use undiscord or contact the server owners.

If you want messages gone, in spaces you have access to as well (as they should delete in the first place because of the laws but eh..), I guess you have to threaten them again or something.

Hope that helps someone.

Ich beziehe mich auf meine vorherige E-Mail vom 24. Mai 2025, in der ich die umgehende Löschung meiner personenbezogenen Daten gemäß Art. 17 DSGVO gefordert habe. Leider habe ich bislang keine zufriedenstellende Rückmeldung erhalten.

Ich fordere Sie hiermit erneut auf, meine Anfrage durch einen menschlichen Repräsentanten zu bearbeiten und mir eine schriftliche Bestätigung über die vollständige Löschung meiner personenbezogenen Daten zukommen zu lassen.

Sollte ich innerhalb der nächsten 14 Tage keine angemessene Rückmeldung erhalten, sehe ich mich gezwungen, mich an Die Bundesbeauftragte für den Datenschutz und Informationsfreiheit (BfDI) zu wenden und eine offizielle Beschwerde einzureichen.

Ich bitte um eine zügige Klärung und danke im Voraus für Ihre Kooperation.

Mit freundlichen Grüßen
[Name and surname]

[Signature]

[CloudySn0w]

Genuinely if you feel overwhelmed by what discord is sending you with their ai messages just send the ai stuff back. In the ordeal I had all I did was ask an AI. "What should we do now?" Or "This is completely illegal write a response to pressure them into submission." It works. I did start a quite larger deletion about a week ago and I haven't gotten an answer there so I'll keep yall here up to date!

[CloudySn0w]

Genuinely if you feel overwhelmed by what discord is sending you with their ai messages just send the ai stuff back. In the ordeal I had all I did was ask an AI. "What should we do now?" Or "This is completely illegal write a response to pressure them into submission." It works. I did start a quite larger deletion about a week ago and I haven't gotten an answer there so I'll keep yall here up to date!

Does Discord really uses AI to send their messages? I thought some person who wrote it before and the team just copy-paste the message to reply to the related requests we sent to them. But tbh I admit I have no clue how to tell if a text is generated by AI but I think it could be either one.

Pretty sure it’s basically an automated response, but I think you HAVE to reply with that email in FAQ to reiterate that it is the correct place and all. I just did that and got a “submitted id’s 24hrs” response. So I’ll keep y’all updated

[wtweekPR]

since disc*rd is refusing to delete “messages located in spaces that i still have access to,” is it possible to write a script that goes through the CSV file (with message IDs and channel IDs) and deletes them manually?

i realize this kind of defeats the purpose of this discussion, but I really want to purge my messages asap and i am tired of playing these games with discord (which is probably exactly what they want).

[Deemo82]

Set up this browser extension https://www.tampermonkey.net and make sure it has developer enabled (might not be necessary depending on browser) and add this script to it https://pastebin.com/KibdNwfP after doing all this you will get a little delete button in the corner and you can wipe the messages

[hotshot-ctrl]

Sorry for the tag @Deemo82 but how would the bot developers be able to delete messages sent by the bots in other servers?

[Deemo82]

@hotshot-ctrl https://support-dev.discord.com/hc/en-us/articles/8562894815383-Discord-Developer-Terms-of-Service?

[Deemo82]

@tilly-boop

[email protected]

[Deemo82]

@tilly-boop they removed the images? Is your situation finally dealt with?

[CloudySn0w]

Just asking, does the report feature even worked at all? The emails Discord replied to me kept telling me to use their report button to report the posts. I've tried it but nothing happened. I remember using that feature to report an offensive post on a server and the Discord team did nothing to remove it. The message was there until I DMed a mod to remove it. Like I'm sure that report feature is just there, and does nothing to it. In my opinion, the feature is just there to make the user feel like they have control or smth.

Gonna be straight honest discord doesn't really give jack until it can actually hurt discord itself. Reports are like 99% of the times always ignored. Also from my viewpoint and what I know it's definitely discords responsibility somwhat over bot messages.

[hotshot-ctrl]

@Deemo82 would the bot devs be required to delete messages upon requesting them regardless of the context of the said messages?

[ae00n]

[Zarq0]

Its very frustrating, as I have been dealing with this for months. I'm sick of this, and it feels like something that violates GDPR. I think I might contact my DPA because even if it'd be invalid atleast they looked at it.

[lmkwyd]

Hi guys Im reading through this thread to prepare my request to Discord, but I have a few questions. If I understood correctly:
There's no way for me to delete all the messages I've ever sent, right? And if Discord says they can't delete messages I still have access to, does that mean I have no way of clearing my DMs with certain users?
Thanks in advance for helping me clear up my confusion! 😄

It's definitely possible to* delete messages you have access to! I did manage to get through their illegitimate wall. You can see my conversation from step to step. However they have been growing more persistent by the second. I'm currently in the fight as well. So its starting to sound like I got quite the story to share here once it's done.

I am gonna assume you mean this conversation: #429 (comment) I am gonna read through it.

Correct. That's the one, however do not directly copy paste what I said as some parts of is directly formatted and not a template ifykwim.

I sent this and they left me on open with no reply for a 1 month+
I tried to send a followup a week ago but still nothing.

[CloudySn0w]

Hi guys Im reading through this thread to prepare my request to Discord, but I have a few questions. If I understood correctly:
There's no way for me to delete all the messages I've ever sent, right? And if Discord says they can't delete messages I still have access to, does that mean I have no way of clearing my DMs with certain users?
Thanks in advance for helping me clear up my confusion! 😄

It's definitely possible to* delete messages you have access to! I did manage to get through their illegitimate wall. You can see my conversation from step to step. However they have been growing more persistent by the second. I'm currently in the fight as well. So its starting to sound like I got quite the story to share here once it's done.

I am gonna assume you mean this conversation: #429 (comment) I am gonna read through it.

Correct. That's the one, however do not directly copy paste what I said as some parts of is directly formatted and not a template ifykwim.

I sent this and they left me on open with no reply for a 1 month+ I tried to send a followup a week ago but still nothing.

Contact your DPA then and make a very strong complaint with your DPA regarding discords blatant refusal.

[AZthemute]

I sent this and they left me on open with no reply for a 1 month+ I tried to send a followup a week ago but still nothing.

Contact your DPA then and make a very strong complaint with your DPA regarding discords blatant refusal.

It's been 3 weeks for me and I'm tired of waiting. Can I just contact my DPA right now rather than having to wait for another response?

[CloudySn0w]

I sent this and they left me on open with no reply for a 1 month+ I tried to send a followup a week ago but still nothing.

Contact your DPA then and make a very strong complaint with your DPA regarding discords blatant refusal.

It's been 3 weeks for me and I'm tired of waiting. Can I just contact my DPA right now rather than having to wait for another response?

If its been more than one month from the start of your Bulk Deletion go ahead.

[AZthemute]

I'm looking to delete >100,000 messages from a server I no longer have access to. I have the CSV file ready, using this helper tool, but just one look at this thread makes me nervous to try on my own. I'm having trouble thinking what to write in the description, here's what I have right now:

Edit: I will probably just use this template as I'm a UK citizen, however I still have a couple other questions.

Should I threaten off the bat using the same method CloudySnowX did?

It seems like I can also contact the ICO if they refuse.

Side note: Is there any active progress on a lawsuit or something to stop this madness? If not then is there anything a UK citizen can do to report it as a violation?

[CloudySn0w]

Tbh I wish someone would file a lawsuit against Discord for doing this. It's literally insane about how much they brag about they care about teen's safety while not deleting all messages when users deleted their account. There's also a lot of questionable people on Discord doing gross stuffs on the platform. I'm sure Discord is well aware of these issues but choses to ignore it as all this could generate more profits.

I'm working on something but I really can't promise or say anything about it

Wait... you're actually gonna make Discord to do smth about it?

As I said I can't say too much but I am HOPING that it will make discord understand that they need to respect the law.

[AZthemute]

Tbh I wish someone would file a lawsuit against Discord for doing this. It's literally insane about how much they brag about they care about teen's safety while not deleting all messages when users deleted their account. There's also a lot of questionable people on Discord doing gross stuffs on the platform. I'm sure Discord is well aware of these issues but choses to ignore it as all this could generate more profits.

I'm working on something but I really can't promise or say anything about it

Wait... you're actually gonna make Discord to do smth about it?

As I said I can't say too much but I am HOPING that it will make discord understand that they need to respect the law.

My bad I misread that sentence. Tbh somebody that's higher up really should make Discord fix these issues.

The people higher up don't care about actual issues, only share price and profits.

[AZthemute]

Update: I threatened to contact my DPA and they replied in about 28 hours lol

It was the same old email that we know about. I confirmed the messages are deleted by just checking the attachment links - all of them are 404. Kinda sad but I was never going to look at them again so who really cares.

[IkaRest]

well good because I threatened to contact my DPA and they did nothing? idk why tf

[AZthemute]

Sorry to hear that, they are extremely inconsistent. I don't know what to do next but maybe you can actually contact your DPA.

[flaymind]

How long did it take for Discord to reply to your first message? I fear I might be ghosted...