GDPR — Erasing a Buyer's Data

If a buyer requests deletion of their personal data under GDPR or a similar privacy regulation, you can process the request directly from your audience dashboard. Erasure is permanent — it cannot be undone.

Who Can Trigger Erasure

Only org owners and admins can erase buyer data. Event managers and check-in staff do not have access to this action.

What Erasure Does

When you erase a buyer's data, the following happens immediately:

On their orders:

• Buyer name is replaced with "[Deleted]"
• Buyer email is replaced with an anonymized hash (the original email address is permanently unrecoverable)

On their tickets:

• Buyer name, buyer email, attendee name, and attendee email are cleared

On your audience dashboard:

• Their buyer record is deleted entirely and will no longer appear in your audience list or exports

What is not erased:

• Financial records — order amounts, payment totals, and transaction records are retained for accounting and legal compliance. These records no longer contain identifying information after erasure.
• Check-in logs — check-in timestamps and status are retained but are no longer linked to a named individual.

How to Erase a Buyer's Data

1. Go to Dashboard > Audience
2. Search for the buyer by name or email
3. Click their row to open the buyer detail panel on the right side of the screen
4. Scroll to the bottom of the panel and click Delete buyer data (GDPR)
5. A red confirmation panel appears — review the warning, then click Confirm Delete to proceed (or Cancel to go back)

The erasure takes effect immediately.

Handling Buyer Requests

Under GDPR, buyers have the right to request erasure of their personal data. These requests should come to you as the event organizer — you are the data controller for your attendees' data. Equaticket does not accept or process erasure requests directly from buyers.

When you receive a request:

1. Verify the buyer's identity (confirm the email address matches their order)
2. Process the erasure from your audience dashboard using the steps above
3. Confirm to the buyer that their data has been erased

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I undo an erasure?

No. Erasure is permanent. The anonymized hash that replaces the email address cannot be reversed.

Does erasure cancel the buyer's tickets or trigger a refund?

No. Erasure only removes identifying information — it does not affect order status, ticket validity, or payment records. If you also need to cancel and refund the order, do that separately before or after erasure.

What if the buyer has orders across multiple events?

A single erasure covers all of the buyer's orders and tickets across all your events — not just one event. Their entire purchase history with your organization is anonymized in one action.

We're not based in the EU. Do we need to worry about this?

GDPR applies when you have buyers who are EU residents, regardless of where your organization is based. If any of your buyers are in the EU, you may receive erasure requests. Other regions have similar regulations (CCPA in California, LGPD in Brazil, and others). Consult your own legal counsel for compliance obligations specific to your situation.

Still need help? Contact support.