Bulk deletion: Setting up contact groups and running a bulk delete

To bulk delete contacts in Alto, you set up a contact match group with Personal Information Deletion ticked, then run Bulk Delete on the contacts in that group. Before you start, read Bulk deletion: Overview, validation rules & planning, which explains the validation rules and the settings to decide on first.

Permissions for bulk deletion

Only users with the right permissions can run a bulk delete or restore deleted records, so you control who can remove personal data. Users with the GroupAdministrator role have these permissions automatically. The relevant permissions are:

• BulkDelete - Controls access to mark Contacts records for deletion, to run a bulk delete
• RestorePersonalInformation - to restore bulk deleted records within the 7-day window
• DeletePersonData - to delete an individual contact
• BulkArchiveContact and BulkArchiveProperty - to bulk archive contacts and properties

To give these permissions to other users:

1. Click Tools (the cog) on the main navigation bar
2. In the dropdown menu, click Templates and admin
3. On the side menu, under System Tools, click System Administration
4. Click Group Roles
5. Click Edit next to the relevant group
6. Give Full access to the permissions called BulkArchiveContact, BulkArchiveProperty, BulkDelete, DeletePersonData and RestorePersonalInformation
7. Select the appropriate user(s)
8. Click Save

Creating a contact group for bulk deletion

Create a contact match group that describes the contacts you want to delete. Ticking Personal Information Deletion makes the group available for bulk deletion and applies the validation rules, so protected contacts are left out. 

1. Click Contacts on the main navigation bar
2. Click Groups in the top left
3. Click the + symbol alongside My Groups to create a new match group
4. In the New Match Group window, enter a Name for the group in the Group section
5. Tick the criteria you need across the sections and tabs
6. Click the Bulk Actions tab
7. Tick Personal Information Deletion
   
8. Click View Results to preview the group and refine it before saving, or click Save
9. After saving, refresh the page

Your group now appears in Groups, under Groups Supporting Bulk Actions on the left.

Running a bulk delete

Select the contacts in your group that you want to delete, then confirm. The confirmation has a short delay, to give you time to check before anything is deleted.

1. In Groups, under Groups Supporting Bulk Actions, click your group to open it
2. Tick the box at the start of each record you want to delete, or tick the box in the header to select all records
3. Click Bulk Actions
4. Click Bulk Delete
   
5. A message asks Are you sure you would like to delete x records?. After 10 seconds, the Yes button appears. Click Yes to delete the selected records, or click No to exit without deleting anything

The selected records are marked for deletion straight away and removed from the group. If you selected all records, the group is now empty. The records can be restored for 7 days before they're permanently deleted.

Group Administrators receive an email telling them that a group of contacts has been marked for deletion, including the name of the user who ran it.

FAQs

• Why are some contacts missing from my deletion group?

Alto's validation rules leave out contacts you might still need, such as those with a current offer, a current property for sale or to let, or a current tenancy. Depending on your settings, contacts may also be protected for AML or accounting reasons. See Bulk deletion: Overview, validation rules & planning for the full rules.

• Why can't I see Personal Information Deletion or Bulk Delete?

These options are only available to users with the bulk deletion permissions. See Permissions for bulk deletion above.

To view the records you've deleted, or restore any deleted by mistake, see Bulk deletion: Viewing and restoring deleted contacts (7-day rollback).

• Related Help Centre articles that you may find useful.

  Individual data deletion

  Personal Information Requests