API at a glance
Description:
This API permanently deletes all personal data associated with a customer and removes them from tracking.
This action is irreversible and supports GDPR and other privacy compliance requirements.
Authentication & testing
Testing the API on this page
How to try it here
- Use your User API Key as the Username (leave Password blank).
- Select the appropriate API endpoint based on your Blueshift region.
- Enter the necessary parameters and click Try It to run the request.


Authentication using Base64 encoding
Note for developers
API requests require authentication using HTTP Basic Authentication with an API key.
The API key serves as the username, while the password field should be left empty.
The format to encode is: your_api_key: (note the trailing colon).
This string must be Base64-encoded and included in the request's Authorization header as follows:
Authorization: Basic encoded_valueYou can generate the encoded value using a trusted Base64 encoder.
Postman collection
Try it with Postman: Explore the API using Blueshift's Postman collection.
Things to know before you start
- Permanent deletion: This action permanently deletes all customer data and cannot be undone.
- Asynchronous deletion: Customer data deletion is not immediate. It can take a couple of hours to complete fully across systems.
- CRITICAL – Required identifier: You must provide at least one identifier:
email,customer_id,cookie, ordevice_id.
Without a valid identifier, the request will fail. - Campaign exclusion: Once a customer is forgotten, Blueshift stops tracking the customer and excludes them from all campaigns.
- Use case: Best for GDPR “right to be forgotten” requests, privacy compliance, and removing customers from all tracking and messaging.
Request parameters
Check out the request parameters
Body parameters
Note: At least one identifier is required.
| Parameter | Type | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
email | string | ❌ No | Email address of the customer to forget. |
customer_id | string | ❌ No | External customer ID of the customer. |
cookie | string | ❌ No | Cookie ID assigned to the customer by your website. |
device_id | string | ❌ No | Device ID linked to the customer’s mobile or web device. |
Example requests & responses
Stop tracking by email
{
"email": "[email protected]"
}{
"status": "ok"
}Stop tracking by customer ID
{
"customer_id": "CUST-12345"
}{
"status": "ok"
}Successful response with customer object
What happens: The customer is marked as forgotten. Background deletion may continue for a few hours.
{
"customer": {
"is_forgotten": true,
"forgotten_at": "2025-12-23T13:20:40.622571Z"
}
} 200OK
400The request was invalid or cannot be otherwise served. An accompanying error message will explain further.
404Resource not found. This can happen due to resource conflicts. Retry with exponential backoff. If the issue persists, contact Blueshift.
409Conflict error, please retry. The request could not be completed due to a conflict with the current state of the target resource. Retry with exponential backoff.
413You can upload up to 50 users in an API call.
429Rate limit exceeded. Too many requests. Contact us at [email protected] for recommended throughput.
500Internal server error. Contact Blueshift for more information.
502Service unavailable, please retry. Bad gateway.
503Service unavailable, please retry.
504Service unavailable, please retry. Gateway timeout.