Data removal

This guidance sets out the process to be followed by data owners in instances where they choose to remove data published to the IATI Standard.

Data removal process

IATI is an open data standard, therefore publishing data to IATI is a commitment to having this data openly shared. Public data must be shared under a user-selected Open Data licence. However, IATI is aware that due to security concerns or privacy issues the data owner may choose to remove their data, either temporarily or permanently. The IATI publisher then has two options to proceed with removing their data:

Make the dataset ‘Private’

IATI publishers have the option to share datasets ‘privately’ through the IATI Registry. Private datasets will only be accessible to members of the publishing organisation with the required permission. Private data sets are held securely on the IATI Registry and are never shared by IATI.

Delete the dataset

IATI publishers also have the option to delete their dataset through the IATI Registry. The dataset will be deleted immediately from public view.

In order to make a file ‘private’ or ‘delete’ it, the data owner needs to login to their IATI Registry publisher account, select ‘manage’ and then go to the ‘Datasets’ tab. Here, the data owner can find options to make their datasets public, make them private, or delete them.

If the data owner encounters any issues in the process of making their file private or deleting it, they should contact the IATI Secretariat for support.

What happens when IATI data is removed?

The IATI Registry does not store any IATI data, but it does provide links to places where the data can be downloaded. Links to these places can be found under the ‘Datasets’ section of individual IATI Registry publisher profiles. Other applications also use and store data published to the IATI Standard. These are known as ‘consuming applications’ and each should have its own data removal guidance. Not all of these applications are designed and managed by the IATI Secretariat.

1) Consuming applications managed by IATI Secretariat: If a data owner decides to remove their data from the IATI Registry, the IATI-managed tools will refresh in the following specified time frames, and the data is removed from these applications accordingly:

Important note: Once data has been removed (made private or deleted) from the IATI Registry, the data will be removed from the above consuming applications at the time they are refreshed. If however the data is inaccessible at the time the application is refreshed (because of either a server error or a Registry error), but the data set is still marked as public on the IATI Registry, then the above consuming applications will continue to display the last available version of the data. Data owners are therefore advised to reconfirm that the data is no longer available on the Registry after 24-36 hours has passed, and contact the IATI Secretariat if further assistance is required.

2) External consuming applications not managed by IATI: As an open data standard, IATI data is available for use by anyone wishing to build a consuming application that uses IATI data. If a data owner decides to remove their data from the IATI Registry, the data owner should contact the external tool provider to check their data removal policy and refresh times.

Data removal requests

If a user becomes aware of data shared through the IATI Registry that they feel should not be shared openly, the user should contact the publishing organisation directly to request that the data be removed. The person making the request should refer to the contact information provided in the profile of the publisher in the Registry, and should:

  • Confirm their role and relationship to the data;
  • Clarify which specific data item(s) they are requesting be removed;
  • Establish the reason for the request.

If you receive no response from an IATI publisher or have a question on this Data Removal Guidance, please contact us for support.

IATI reserves the right to update or amend this guidance at any time and without prior notice.