Customer deletion is a permanent, irreversible action. Make sure to confirm the deletion intent and understand the implications before proceeding.
Delete a Customer
Parameters
The unique identifier of the customer to delete
Cascade Deletion Behavior
When you delete a customer, the following associated data will also be permanently removed:- Customer profile information
- Saved payment methods
- Billing addresses
- Transaction history references
- Subscription associations
Transaction records themselves are preserved for compliance and audit purposes, even after customer deletion.
Data Retention Policy
After deletion:- Customer data is immediately removed from active systems
- Backups are retained for 30 days as per our data retention policy
- Transaction records are maintained in compliance with financial regulations
- Anonymized analytics data may be retained
Request Examples
Response
A successful deletion returns an HTTP204 No Content
response with no response body.
Error Scenarios
404 - Customer Not Found
404 - Customer Not Found
403 - Deletion Restricted
403 - Deletion Restricted
409 - Deletion Conflict
409 - Deletion Conflict
Recommended Deletion Workflow
1
Verify Customer Status
Check for any active subscriptions, pending transactions, or other dependencies that might prevent deletion.
2
Backup Data
Consider exporting customer data before deletion if needed for records.
3
Request Confirmation
Implement a confirmation step in your interface to prevent accidental deletions.
4
Execute Deletion
Perform the deletion API call with proper error handling.
5
Verify Deletion
Confirm the customer record has been removed by attempting to fetch it.
Best Practices
Deletion Guidelines
- Implement confirmation workflows for deletion requests
- Handle cascade deletion effects in your application
- Maintain audit logs of deletion operations
- Consider soft deletion for recoverable data
- Respect data privacy regulations (GDPR, CCPA)
If you need to preserve customer data for compliance or business purposes, consider implementing a soft delete mechanism instead of permanent deletion.