---
title: "Purge type settings"
slug: "purge-type-settings"
tags: ["Reference", "Site Administrator", "Totara Platform"]
updated: 2026-08-13T16:01:10Z
published: 2026-08-13T16:01:10Z
canonical: "totara.help/purge-type-settings"
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://totara.help/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Purge type settings

When [creating or editing a purge type](/totara-20/docs/create-a-purge-type) as part of your [user data management](/totara-20/docs/user-data-management), you can decide which information should be included in the purge.

| **Setting** | **Description** | **Notes** |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Full name | The name of the purge type. | - |
| ID number | This is a unique ID number used to identify the purge type. | - |
| Description | This can be used to describe the purpose and limitations of the purge type. This is especially useful if there are multiple purge types and/or the **Full name** is not very descriptive. | - |
| Permitted use | Decide whether to set a manual or automatic purge. | For automatic purging, the relevant purge type can be assigned before or after the user’s status changes. When the user's status matches that specified by the purge type, the data purge occurs during the next scheduled purge task. |
| **Data to be purged** |
| User data | Choose which pieces of user data to include in the purge, such as first name, username and email address. | Some details, such as first and last names, are not available for **Suspended user** purge types. |
| Activity | Decide which user-generated content to include, such as posts, comments or ratings. | Totara Learn only. |
| Article | Tick to enable the purging of resources and/or resource views. | Totara Engage only. |
| Atto HTML editor | You can choose to include Atto editor autosave data in the purge. | - |
| Badge | Decide whether to purge connected backpacks and/or issued badges. | - |
| Blocks | Choose which user-generated content from block types to include, such as **Recent activity** or **Admin bookmarks**. | - |
| Certification | Choose whether to purge certification assignments and completion. | Totara Learn only. |
| Skills | You can select the skill data to include: - **Skill assignments:** Includes individual and group-based assignments. - **Achievement records:** Achievement data is removed but may be recreated if still valid. - **Manual ratings on self** - **Manual ratings on others:** Ratings are anonymised but retained. | Totara Perform only. |

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