Guide 85 · Admin · GA4 + Tag Manager
User data deletion requests in GA4: schedule a deletion, and know what it erases
A data deletion request removes chosen event parameters or user properties from a GA4 property. Schedule it from Admin, note the scope, and check the request after it runs.
After the trace, the deletion request is scheduled with its scope written down, and the events and parameters it covers are named in the request record.
Download the reference: the user data deletion requests reference (JSON) (362 bytes, MD5 0d72bde1cfbf53812c7ed3ee04145342). It holds the worked example from this guide with every figure recomputed. The file was built for this guide and checked the same day; it was not exported from a live property.
What you need
- Editor access at property level.
- The exact event names and parameter names to delete, copied from the property, not typed from memory.
- A note of why the request was made, for the change history.
The trace
- Open Admin, then under Data collection and modification click Data deletion requests. This is the screen that schedules deletions of collected data, separate from the retention setting.
- Choose the scope first. The options cover deleting all parameters on all events, deleting all registered parameters on selected events, and deleting selected user properties. Pick the narrowest scope that covers the request.
- Name the events and parameters. For a selected-events deletion, pick the events from the list. Copy each parameter name exactly; a near match deletes nothing and the request still runs.
- Schedule the request and write down what it covers: the date, the scope, the events, and the parameters. The request record is the only proof of what was asked for.
- Check the worked example in the download. A request covering 3 events and 5 parameters each touches 15 event-parameter pairs. If one event is added later, the count becomes 4 events times 5 parameters, which is 20 pairs, and the new event needs its own request.
- Wait for the request to finish, then confirm in a report that the deleted values no longer appear. A deletion that ran is not reversible, so the confirmation step is a read, not a second request.
Dead ends
DEAD END — DELETING THE PROPERTY INSTEAD OF THE DATA. A data deletion request removes chosen data inside a live property. Moving the property to Trash removes the whole property. They are different actions with different recovery windows.
DEAD END — A PARAMETER NAME WITH A TYPO. Parameter names are case-sensitive and exact. A request for plan_type does not delete Plan_Type.
DEAD END — EXPECTING THE DELETION TO APPLY TO FUTURE EVENTS. A deletion request removes data already collected. Events sent after the request still arrive with their parameters unless the sending code is also changed.
End state
The worked example counts 15 event-parameter pairs across 3 events and 5 parameters, and 20 if a fourth event is added. The request is scheduled, scoped, and written down before anything is deleted.
Sources
- Analytics Help — Data retention — retention deletes data automatically at the end of the period, on a monthly process
- Analytics Help — Edit / delete accounts, properties, and data streams — Editor role needed to edit and delete at property level
Checked 11 November 2026. The click paths above are the ones in Google's help and developer pages, opened 11 November 2026. No step in this guide was run inside a live Analytics property or a live Tag Manager container, because both need a Google sign-in and this site does not sign in as anyone. The figures on this page were recomputed in Python 3 and are shown in the downloadable file, which was checked the same day. Google moves menu items without warning; if a path on this page no longer matches, the linked help page is the current map.