Can Discord retain backups or logs after a user requests deletion and how to confirm complete removal?
Executive summary
Discord’s policies say deleting an account removes identifying information and anonymizes other data, but some content can remain in backups for “up to 45 days” and other categories may be kept longer for legal or product reasons (Discord privacy pages and support docs) [1] [2] [3]. European enforcement found Discord lacked retention specifics and resulted in an €800,000 CNIL fine; Discord has since adopted a written retention policy including deleting inactive accounts after two years [4] [5].
1. What Discord’s official rules actually say about deletion and backups
Discord’s Privacy Policy and support pages state that deleting your account “permanently deletes identifying information and anonymizes other data,” but also that personal information is retained “until we determine it is no longer needed for the processing purposes” and that some backup copies can persist for a short period — support articles say backups can take “up to 45 days” to purge identifying information [1] [2] [6]. The standard user-deletion flow also leaves accounts in a “pending deletion” period (15 days) during which the user can cancel deletion by logging in [3].
2. What remains after deletion: messages, DMs, and public posts
Multiple Discord pages and community posts make clear that messages and chat history behave differently: visible posts in servers or DMs may remain even after account deletion (they show up as “DeletedUser#xxxx”), and Discord says some public posts may be retained for 180 days to two years for product uses such as model training — aggregated or anonymized data may be kept indefinitely for analytics [2] [6] [7]. Community threads report that other users’ local copies, bots, and moderation logging systems can preserve deleted content independently of Discord’s server-side deletion [8] [9].
3. Law enforcement and preservation requests: Discord may not notify users
Discord’s guidance for law enforcement states that it will preserve and provide user data when required and notes Discord “does not notify users of preservation requests or emergency disclosure requests” where the law allows nondisclosure; preservation by authorities or legal process can keep records beyond ordinary retention windows [10].
4. Regulatory context: why retention language matters (CNIL case)
France’s CNIL fined Discord €800,000 for failing to provide clear retention periods and lacking a written retention policy; the regulator found millions of long‑inactive accounts retained without justification. During the investigation Discord implemented a written policy and a two‑year deletion of inactive accounts, demonstrating regulators treat vague “as long as necessary” language as non‑compliant [5] [4] [11].
5. Third‑party copies and server admin logs: deletion ≠ erasure everywhere
Even if Discord deletes or anonymizes your account data on its systems, server administrators, bots (Dyno, etc.), or other users may have logged or copied messages. Discord’s audit logs record moderation actions and server owners cannot erase those logs; community posts and help articles discuss bots and notification logs that retain deleted messages locally, meaning content can persist outside Discord’s central retention regime [8] [12] [13].
6. How to try to confirm as-complete-as-possible removal
Follow Discord’s formal deletion flow (initiate deletion in Account → Confirm; note the 15‑day pending deletion window) and request your data or deletion confirmation through Discord’s privacy contact if needed (support/deleted account pages) [3]. For EU/CCPA-style rights, Discord’s privacy pages and local‑law pages direct users to exercise rights and contact privacy@discord.com or use the documented channels; the CNIL ruling shows regulatory enforcement can compel more complete disclosures [14] [4] [15]. Remember to remove shared content you control (messages, servers, attachments) before deletion and to ask server owners/bot operators to delete any logs they hold — available sources note bots and server logs are independent [9] [13].
7. Limits, tradeoffs and what sources do not say
Discord’s documentation makes explicit that backups and certain categories can persist for limited periods, and regulators have forced more specific retention rules [2] [4]. Available sources do not mention a guaranteed, verifiable way for an ordinary user to audit and confirm every backup wipe inside Discord’s infrastructure or to force deletion of copies held by other users or bots — community threads instead recommend preemptive deletion of posted content and contacting server admins [9] [16]. Also not found in current reporting: any public, user-accessible certificate of complete erasure for an individual account issued by Discord.
8. Practical checklist (what to do if you want maximum removal)
- Delete or edit messages and attachments you control before initiating account deletion, and transfer ownership of any servers you own (support guidance) [17].
- Initiate account deletion and wait out the 15‑day pending window; do not log in during that period [3].
- Contact Discord privacy channels (privacy@discord.com or the in‑app privacy/data request routes) to request an account/data deletion confirmation or exercise local privacy rights [14] [15].
- Ask server owners and bot admins to remove any logs or exports that include you; those are outside central Discord deletion [8] [13].
- If you are in the EU/UK and think retention is inappropriate, regulatory complaint routes exist — the CNIL example shows enforcement is possible [4] [5].
Final assessment: Discord’s published rules commit to deleting identifying data and anonymizing other records but also allow short backup windows and longer retention for legal/product reasons; copies outside Discord (bots, admins, other users) are a persistent source of residual data, and regulators have forced clearer retention policies but ordinary users lack a technical audit to prove every backup has been wiped [1] [2] [4] [8].