Question

What is the difference between the Delete Profile Identifier API and the Regulations API, and how does each affect the data synced to my Profiles Sync data warehouse?

Product

Segment

Environment

Segment Console

Answer

The Delete Profile Identifier API removes a single identifier from a profile and automatically flags this removal in your Profiles Sync warehouse, whereas the Regulations API fully deletes the user profile from Segment.

Here is how each API specifically behaves within Profiles Sync:

• Delete Profile Identifier API: This API is used to unlink a specific external ID (like an old email or phone number) from a profile, but it cannot delete the entire profile. When this API is called, the deletion appears in your Profiles Sync warehouse as a row with __operation = 'REMOVED' in the external_id_mapping_updates table. The identifier is also automatically filtered out of the user_identifiers materialized view.

• Regulations API (SUPPRESS_WITH_DELETE or DELETE_INTERNAL): This API is used for full GDPR/CCPA compliance. It deletes the entire user profile, identity graph, and traits not only from Segment Unify but from your workspace as a whole, including internal stores. 

Additional Information

• For more details on unlinking identifiers, see the Delete Profile Identifier API documentation.

• For more details on full profile deletions, see the User Deletion and Suppression documentation.

• Segment Profile Sync Deletions and Null Trait Propagation