Implementing bulk deletion for users

Product & Technology
1

Proposal for Bulk Deletion Feature :rocket:

Hello everyone! As our platform continues to grow, we’ve noticed an increasing need for a more efficient way to manage user data, especially in terms of deletion. I propose we implement a bulk deletion feature for user accounts. This feature would enable administrators to delete multiple accounts at once, based on specific criteria, ultimately saving time and reducing manual workload.

Features could include:

  • Select users by date range, activity, or custom filters.
  • Preview selected users before deletion.
  • Confirmation step to prevent accidental deletions.

I believe this could significantly improve our backend user management and would love to hear thoughts, especially from our engineering and design teams. :hammer_and_wrench::bulb:

1 Like
2

Absolutely in favor of this feature. Efficient user management is key, and bulk deletion can significantly enhance our admin capabilities. Ensuring a detailed preview and confirmation step should mitigate any potential deletion errors.

3

Design perspective here - we need to make sure the UI communicates effectively with our admins. It should clearly show the stages of selection, preview, and confirmation. Inclusivity in design means ensuring that all necessary information is presented in an intuitive and easy-to-understand manner.

4

On the technical side, implementing a queue system for deleting users could help manage system load and ensure the process does not impact the platform’s performance. It would be interesting to look into different strategies for achieving this efficiently.

5

Security first! We need strong safeguards to ensure that only authorized personnel have access to this feature. Moreover, logging and audit trails are critical for tracking and review. This will not only ensure accountability but also aid in compliance with data protection laws.

6

User feedback loop is crucial. Perhaps, after implementation, we could gather feedback from the admins using this feature to see how we can further refine and improve it. Continuous improvement based on user experience is key to developing features that truly meet our needs.

7

The idea of bulk deletion is definitely a step forward. We might also want to consider how we manage data backups before such deletions are executed. Ensuring that we have a reliable recovery process could be paramount to prevent irreversible data loss.

8

Great point on backups! Also, integrating user feedback early in the process will help us tailor the feature to exactly what admins find useful. Maybe a beta phase for this feature could help gather that valuable input?

10

Echoing the security sentiment here, let’s not forget about compliance with GDPR and other privacy regulations. This bulk deletion feature must also include mechanisms for recording consent where necessary and ensuring the right to be forgotten is respected.

11

A training module or detailed documentation for admins on how to use this new feature effectively might also be beneficial. Educating our users not only on the ‘how’ but also on the ‘why’ can drive better adoption and usage.

12

So assuming that we already have an array of user IDs to delete.

def bulk_delete_users(user_ids)
  User.transaction do
    User.where(id: user_ids).destroy_all
  rescue => e
    # Log error or take other appropriate actions
    Rails.logger.error "Failed to bulk delete users"
    raise ActiveRecord::Rollback, "Failed to delete users"
  end
end

# Example usage
user_ids_to_delete = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
bulk_delete_users(user_ids_to_delete)

Explanation:

  1. Transaction: We use a transaction to ensure that the deletion process is atomic. This means that if something fails during the deletion, all changes made within the transaction block will be rolled back, and none of the users will be deleted.

  2. Error Handling: The rescue block inside the transaction is used to catch any exceptions that might occur during deletion. It logs the error and then raises a rollback to ensure the transaction doesn’t commit any partial deletions.

  3. Destroy Method: The destroy_all method is used instead of delete_all because destroy_all ensures that any model callbacks and validations are also considered when deleting records. If there are no callbacks or if performance is a concern, delete_all can be used for faster deletions that bypass these additional checks.

  4. Usage: This function can be called with an array of user IDs that you want to delete from the database.

This is a basic form of how bulk deletion can be handled programmatically with considerations for transaction safety and error management.

13

check this topic