How to use delete_user action in WordPress

delete_user action

Fires immediately before a user is deleted from the database.

To use delete_user action, first you have to register it using add_action. You can write this code into functions.php of your activated theme or in a custom WordPress Plugin.

We at WePlugins always prefer to create a custom WordPress Plugin while using hooks so nothing breaks when you update your WordPress Theme in the future.

In the below live example, we have defined a function weplugins_execute_on_delete_user_event which takes 3 parameters and we registered using add_action. The first parameter delete_user is the name of the hook, the second parameter weplugins_execute_on_delete_user_event is the name of the function which needs to be called, the third parameter is the priority of calling the hook if the same hook is used multiple times, and the last parameter is the number of arguments (if any) to be passed in the registered function.

Sometimes, you have to remove a registered hook so you can use remove_action to remove delete_user action.

Parameters

Below are the 3 parameters required to use this hook.

• $id: (int) ID of the user to delete.
• $reassign: (int|null) ID of the user to reassign posts and links to. Default null, for no reassignment.
• $user: (WP_User) WP_User object of the user to delete.

Live Example

Example 1: Sending an Email Notification

This example demonstrates how to send an email notification to the user when their account is being deleted.

    function weplugins_my_delete_user( $user_id ) {
        global $wpdb;
        $user_obj = get_userdata( $user_id );
        $email = $user_obj->user_email;
        $headers = 'From: ' . get_bloginfo( "name" ) . ' <' . get_bloginfo( "admin_email" ) . '>' . "rn";
        wp_mail( $email, 'You are being deleted, brah', 'Your account at ' . get_bloginfo("name") . ' is being deleted right now.', $headers );
    }
    add_action( 'delete_user', 'weplugins_my_delete_user' );
    

Example 2: Executing Custom Functionality

This example shows how you can use this hook to execute custom functionality when a user is deleted.

    function weplugins_execute_on_delete_user_event($id, $reassign, $user){
       // You can write code here to be executed when this action occurs in WordPress.
       // Use the parameters received in the function arguments & implement the required additional custom functionality according to your website requirements.
    }
    // add the action
    add_action( "delete_user", "weplugins_execute_on_delete_user_event" , 10, 3);
    

Example 3: Removing a Hook Callback

To remove a hook callback, use the example below.

    remove_action( "delete_user", "weplugins_execute_on_delete_user_event", 10, 3 );
    

Please make sure to provide the same callback function name, priority, and number of arguments while removing the hook callback.

Contact Us

If you’re having any trouble using this hook, please contact our team and we’d be happy to assist you.