Delete, deactivate or archive?
Before deleting an advert, check which action best suits your purpose.
- Delete: the advert is permanently removed and cannot usually be restored.
- Deactivate: the advert is temporarily taken out of active publication and can be reactivated later.
- Archive: the advert is moved to the archive area and remains available there for possible later reuse.
If you may still need the advert, deactivating or archiving it is often the better choice.
Further information can be found in How do I deactivate my advert? and How does the archive system on suchen.expert work?
What should I check before deleting?
Before deleting, check carefully that you have selected the correct advert.
In particular, check:
- the title and preview image,
- advert ID,
- the current status,
- the publication date,
- the selected advert type and category,
- whether there is any ongoing communication about the advert,
- whether you wish to reuse any text or images later,
- whether an additional service or promotion has been booked for the advert.
Save any text, images and other materials of your own that you need outside the platform first. After deletion, this content may no longer be accessible through the advert.
Deleting an advert does not automatically terminate agreements already made with other users. Therefore, clarify any outstanding questions or arrangements through the messaging function before deleting it.
Furthermore, do not assume that a booked additional service will automatically be transferred to another advert or refunded after deletion. If necessary, check the terms and conditions of the additional service or contact support before deleting the advert.
How do I delete a single advert?
Follow these steps:
- Log in with the account used to create the advert.
- Open ‘My Adverts’.
- Go to the area containing the advert, for example ‘Active’, ‘Pending’, ‘Rejected’, ‘Deactivated’ or ‘Archived’.
- Use the title, image and advert ID to find the correct advert.
- Open the advert or the management functions available for it.
- Select the bin icon or the ‘Delete’ function.
- Read the confirmation message in full.
- Check one last time that the correct advert has been selected.
- Confirm deletion only if you want to remove the advert permanently.
Do not close or refresh the page unnecessarily while deletion is in progress. Afterwards, check under ‘My Adverts’ whether the advert has been removed.
How do I delete several adverts at once?
Using multiple selection, you can select up to eight adverts in one operation, provided this function is available in the relevant view.
Proceed as follows:
- Open ‘My Adverts’.
- Switch to the relevant status section.
- Select only the adverts that are actually to be deleted.
- Check the titles, images and advert IDs of all selected entries.
- Select the bin icon or the ‘Delete’ function.
- Check the confirmation notice to see how many adverts are affected.
- Only confirm the process once you have carried out this check.
If you want to delete more than eight adverts, make the selection in several operations if necessary. Do not mix adverts that definitely need to be deleted with entries about which you are still uncertain.
Further guidance can be found in How can I deactivate or delete several adverts at once?
What happens after deletion?
Once successfully deleted, the advert is generally no longer available for further management, editing or activation.
In particular, this may mean:
- The advert is no longer displayed as an active offer.
- The previous advert link no longer leads to the full offer.
- The advert cannot simply be reactivated.
- The title, description and images can no longer be edited through the deleted advert.
- Views, favourites and other advert-related information may be lost.
- A booked additional service is not automatically transferred to a new advert.
- Information, messages or screenshots already saved by other people are not automatically removed when the advert is deleted.
After deletion, it may take a short time for the change to become visible in every view of the platform. Refresh the page and check ‘My Adverts’ before repeating the process.
Can a deleted advert be restored?
A deleted advert cannot usually be restored. Support cannot guarantee restoration either.
If you wish to repost the same item, service or event, you may need to create a new advert.
Please note the following:
- The new advert receives a new advert ID.
- Text, images and details must be re-entered.
- The advert type, category, situation and location must be selected again.
- The new advert is reviewed under the designated publication process.
- Previous views or favourites are not transferred to the new advert.
- Previous approval does not automatically guarantee approval of the new advert.
Detailed instructions can be found in How can I recreate and republish a deleted advert?
What should I do if I accidentally deleted an advert?
First check whether the advert was actually deleted or merely deactivated or archived.
To do this, check:
- the ‘Active’ section,
- the ‘Pending’ section,
- the ‘Rejected’ section,
- the ‘Deactivated’ section,
- the ‘Archived’ section.
If the advert was archived, it may be possible to put it back online. Further information can be found in How do I repost an archived advert on suchen.expert?
If the advert has indeed been deleted, create a new one if necessary. Make sure you only use up-to-date and accurate information. Do not publish several new, almost identical adverts to replace the deleted one.
Why isn’t the delete function showing?
If the bin icon or the ‘Delete’ function is not displayed, please check:
- whether you are logged in with the correct account,
- whether the advert was actually created using this account,
- which status area contains the advert,
- whether another management function needs to be opened,
- whether the page has loaded completely,
- whether the advert has already been deleted or moved,
- whether you have refreshed the page following a previous change.
Refresh the page once and reopen ‘My Adverts’. Do not repeat deletion several times in quick succession while the user interface is still processing the request.
If an error message appears, note its wording and the advert ID. A redacted screenshot can help the support team investigate the technical problem.
What data are not automatically deleted when an advert is deleted?
Deleting a single advert is not the same as deleting the entire user account.
Depending on the specific context, other data may still remain, for example:
- the user profile,
- other adverts from the same account,
- message histories,
- reviews,
- log data required for technical or legal reasons,
- information that other users have already saved,
- content that has been shared outside the platform or saved as a screenshot.
Information on the processing and deletion of personal data can be found in the Privacy Policy.
When should I contact support?
Please use the contact form if:
- the delete function is unavailable even though you are signed in to the correct account,
- an error message appears after confirmation,
- the deleted advert is still displayed in your management area,
- you cannot tell whether the advert was deleted, deactivated or archived,
- a booked additional service may be affected,
- you encounter a technical problem with multiple selection.
Please provide the following where possible:
- the advert ID,
- the title of the advert,
- the last status displayed,
- the time of the deletion attempt,
- the wording of any error message,
- a redacted screenshot, where applicable.
Do not send passwords, one-time codes, complete activation links or session cookies. Support can investigate the matter but cannot guarantee restoration of an advert that has already been deleted.
