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The Danger Zone

Written by , Founder, AskVault · Reviewed by Aashiq
Last updated: · 4 min read

Why a separate "Danger Zone"

Irreversible actions belong in a section that's:

  • Visually distinct. Red border, danger icons, separated from routine settings.
  • Confirmation-gated. Type the exact name (workspace or account) to confirm.
  • Audit-logged. Every action recorded with author, timestamp, and reason.
  • Recoverable when possible. Soft delete with 30-day window for most actions.

Hard delete should never happen by accident.

Workspace-level danger actions

Three actions under Workspace Settings > Danger Zone:

1. Archive workspace

Read-only mode. Workspace stops accepting new conversations but preserves all data.

When to use:

  • Seasonal campaign ended. Pause without delete.
  • Project completed. Keep history but stop billing for active features.
  • Migrating to a different workspace. Archive the old once new is live.

What happens:

  • Conversations stop. New customer messages get a "We're not staffing this channel right now" reply.
  • Billing pauses. Archived workspaces don't count toward your plan's workspace cap.
  • Knowledge preserved. Indexed content stays for 90 days.
  • Reversible within 90 days. Click Unarchive to resume.

After 90 days, archive auto-converts to delete. Data wipes within 30 days following.

2. Transfer ownership

Move workspace ownership to another account user.

Steps:

  1. Open Workspace Settings > Danger Zone > Transfer.
  2. Pick the new owner (must be an existing team member).
  3. Add a reason for audit.
  4. Confirm.
  5. New owner gets a notification and must accept within 7 days.
  6. On accept, ownership transfers.

Useful for:

  • Team member departures. Hand off before they leave.
  • Project handoff. Transfer to the new responsible owner.
  • Account restructuring.

You become a workspace Admin after transfer (or whatever you specify). Not removed automatically.

3. Delete workspace

Permanent removal.

Steps:

  1. Workspace Settings > Danger Zone > Delete.
  2. Confirmation modal asks you to type the workspace name exactly.
  3. Optional reason for audit.
  4. Click Delete.

What happens:

  • Workspace marked for deletion. Status shows "Pending deletion" for 30 days.
  • Reversible within 30 days. Restore via Account Settings > Recently Deleted.
  • After 30 days, hard delete:
    • Conversations wiped.
    • Knowledge sources wiped.
    • Audit logs retained per workspace policy (typically 365 days).
    • Backups purge at 90 days.

API: DELETE /v1/workspaces/ws_xxx. Same 30-day soft-delete window.

Account-level danger actions

Two actions under Account Settings > Danger Zone:

1. Delete account

Removes your AskVault account and all data.

Steps:

  1. Account Settings > Danger Zone > Delete Account.
  2. Confirmation modal: type "DELETE MY ACCOUNT" verbatim.
  3. Pick reason (helps us improve).
  4. Confirm.

What happens:

  • Account marked deleted. Login disabled within 30 seconds.
  • All workspaces soft-deleted with same 30-day window.
  • Pending invoices charged immediately or pro-rated.
  • Subscription cancels.
  • 30-day recovery window. Email support to restore.
  • After 30 days: hard delete.

What's not auto-deleted (you need to handle):

  • Customer data subject requests if you had any pending; complete those first.
  • API integrations on your side pointing at AskVault. Re-route or remove.
  • Linked accounts (Google OAuth, etc.). Those external accounts persist; only the AskVault link removes.

2. Bulk data export before delete

Recommended before any irreversible action:

  1. Account Settings > Danger Zone > Export All Data.
  2. Format: JSON (machine-readable) or CSV (spreadsheet-friendly).
  3. Wait for export to complete. Larger accounts (over 10,000 conversations) take 15 to 60 minutes.
  4. Download via secure link (expires in 7 days).

Includes: workspaces, conversations, contacts, leads, knowledge, audit logs.

Useful for:

  • Legal compliance. Keep a copy for retention obligations.
  • Migration to another platform. Take your data.
  • Personal records. Maintain your own history.

Soft delete vs hard delete

Two stages of deletion:

Soft delete (days 1 to 30).

  • Marked deleted but data preserved.
  • Login disabled for accounts; workspaces hidden from active list.
  • Reversible. Restore via Account Settings > Recently Deleted, or email support.
  • Doesn't bill during soft-delete window.

Hard delete (day 30+).

  • Data wipes from primary storage.
  • Backups continue to retain for 90 days.
  • After 90 days, backups purge.
  • Not reversible after 30 days.

Some data may persist longer for legal compliance (e.g., billing records 7 years, audit logs 365 days). See data handling.

Confirmation patterns

Each danger action uses one of three confirmation patterns:

  1. Type the name. Workspace delete requires typing the workspace name.
  2. Type a specific phrase. Account delete requires "DELETE MY ACCOUNT".
  3. Two-factor confirmation. SSO or MFA-protected accounts also require a fresh auth challenge.

Defeats accidental deletes from a misclick.

Audit trail

Every danger action logs:

  • Action type (archive, transfer, delete).
  • Target (workspace ID, account ID).
  • Author (user or API key).
  • Timestamp.
  • Reason if provided.
  • IP address and user agent.

Retained 7 years for compliance, even after the workspace or account is deleted.

Useful for:

  • Forensic investigation if an account is compromised.
  • GDPR audit to prove timely deletion.
  • SOC 2 evidence.

GDPR Right to Erasure

For end-customer deletion requests (not workspace owner):

  1. Customer requests deletion.
  2. You as the data controller delete the contact (DELETE /v1/contacts/contact_xxx).
  3. AskVault propagates within 60 seconds (soft delete); 30 days (hard delete); 90 days (backups purged).
  4. Provide evidence to the customer if requested.

See GDPR compliance.

Recovery from accidental delete

Within 30 days:

  1. Email support@askvault.co with the workspace or account ID.
  2. Or use the in-app restore: Account Settings > Recently Deleted.
  3. Restoration takes about 30 minutes.
  4. All data restores to the state at deletion time.

After 30 days: data is gone. Backups still exist for 60 more days but aren't customer-restorable from the dashboard.

API access

Danger actions are scriptable:

Terminal window
curl -X DELETE https://api.askvault.co/v1/workspaces/ws_xxx \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer ak_xxx" \
  -H "X-Confirmation: ws_xxx" \
  -H "X-Reason: project_complete"

The X-Confirmation header must match the workspace ID exactly (parallel to typing the name in UI). Missing or wrong = HTTP 400.

For account delete, use a parallel pattern with X-Confirmation: DELETE MY ACCOUNT.

Planned features (on the roadmap)

Documented for accuracy:

  • Multi-party approval. Today, owner can delete unilaterally. Two-person rule for Enterprise planned.
  • Conditional auto-archive. Today, manual. Auto-archive workspaces idle for 6+ months planned.
  • Granular export filters. Today, all-or-nothing export. Filter-by-date-range or filter-by-channel export planned.

Limits

  • Soft-delete window. 30 days.
  • Backup retention. 90 days.
  • Audit log retention. 7 years.
  • Workspace transfer acceptance window. 7 days.
  • Bulk export size cap. Up to 100 GB per export.

Common pitfalls

Deleted by mistake. Use Account Settings > Recently Deleted within 30 days.

Confirmation phrase mismatch. Type exactly as shown. Case-sensitive.

Transfer not accepted in time. Re-initiate; previous transfer expires after 7 days.

Bulk export takes too long. Large workspaces split into multiple files. Wait for the email notification when complete.

Archive vs delete confused. Archive is reversible; delete (after 30 days) is not.

FAQ

Can I undo a workspace delete?

Yes within 30 days via Account Settings > Recently Deleted. After 30 days, no.

Will deleting my account stop billing immediately?

Yes within 30 seconds. Final invoice is pro-rated.

Does deleting a workspace affect my other workspaces?

No. Each is independent.

Can I bulk-delete contacts within a workspace?

Yes via Contacts > Bulk Actions > Delete. Same 30-day soft-delete window.

What if I forgot my password and can't access Danger Zone?

Use password reset first. Then access Danger Zone normally.

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