GDPR / CCPA - Member Profile Deletion

The Loyalty platform supports the ability to delete Member data from your system in order to satisfy California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) requirements.

The platform provides three methods (described below) of removing a Member Profile, along with all related data referencing the Member, such as associated responses, Activities, Events, etc.

Note: Optionally, by means of the Response Data to Preserve when Member is Deleted Program Setting, you can preserve selected types of response data when a Member Profile is deleted. Please see Program Settings for more information. 

Manual Member Deletion

The platform allows you to manually delete a Member from the Member Profile screen. For details on this process, please see Delete a Member Profile.

API Member Deletion

To delete Member accounts via your website or mobile app, the Member deletion API must be used.

By default, you must first validate the Member’s password and access token before deleting their account. Optionally, you can configure a Program Setting to instead require a one-time-password (OTP) and access token, or just a valid access token by itself. All three methods are described below.

Current Password and Access Token

This method is the default setting. To delete a Member Profile using their current password (current_password) and a valid access token (access_token), use the following cURL command:

Copy 
curl -X DELETE
     -H 'Accept: application/vnd.stellar-v1+json'
     -H 'Authorization: Bearer <access_token>'
     -F "current_password=<current_password>"
     <base_url>/api/profile

One-time Password and Access Token

If using the One-time Password (OTP) method, the most secure option is to send the Member the OTP via their email on record. By default, this OTP expires in 5 minutes. Optionally, you can configure the timing expiration by means of the Multi-Factor Authentication Program Setting. Within this Program Setting, change the value in the Direct MFA Code Validity in Minutes to the desired timing.

Note: Using the OTP code option requires email service, a valid access token, and to request that an extra environment variable be set: MFA_SECRET_ENCRYPTION_KEY.

To first request a new OTP code be sent to the Member’s email on record, use the following cURL command:

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curl -X POST
     -H 'Accept: application/vnd.stellar-v1+json'
     -H 'Authorization: Bearer <access_token>'
     <base_url>/api/profile/otp

To then delete the Member Profile using the OTP code and a valid access token, use the following cURL command:

Copy 
curl -X DELETE
     -H 'Accept: application/vnd.stellar-v1+json'
     -H 'Authorization: Bearer <access_token>'
     -F "code=<code>"
     <base_url>/api/profile

Access Token Only

This method is less secure, as it allows Member Profile deletion with just a valid access token.

To delete a Member Profile with just the valid access token, use the following cURL command: 

Copy 
curl -X DELETE
     -H 'Accept: application/vnd.stellar-v1+json'
     -H 'Authorization: Bearer <access_token>'
     <base_url>/api/profile

Import Member Deletion

The platform allows you to delete one or more Members by importing a file containing the Member identifiers that you want to delete.

Note: If you need assistance with importing a file, please reach out to your Marigold team.

For more information on importing a file, please see Imports. When configuring an import with the intent of deleting Member Profiles, use the following settings:

  • Table: Person

  • Origin Settings: File has Column Header: Yes (using column headers is helpful for troubleshooting possible errors)

  • Action Settings: Action: Delete Records

  • Map & Transform: Select a key Member identifier such as Integration ID, Member ID, or email address.

Troubleshooting Import Member Deletion

Below are several troubleshooting tips when deleting Members via an import file.

  • The Import shows Status = Failed

Click the red Information icon. A pop-up message is displayed with an error message. The most typical error is “Missing headers in file.” Make sure the import file has the correct header row and retry the import.

  • Not all the records in the import file were successfully deleted.

Click the Download icon to export a file with the import result. In most cases, the deletion process skips Members because they don’t exist on the platform.

  • Deletion is processing extremely slowly or it is taking a long time to be completed.

Depending on the size of the imported file, it could take a few minutes (approximately 15 minutes) to process. If the import is still processing after refreshing the job history, please reach out to your Marigold team.

Note: Deleting Member Profiles is a complex process because many components are shared across different databases. For example, the process requires synchronization of MySQL child tables (around 50 tables), HBase tables (Members, Activity, Events, etc), and also Hive tables.