Here’s what actually needs to happen when someone exercises one.
WHAT A REAL REQUEST NEEDS
A CHANNEL
Somewhere to actually ask
Published on the website or app — not something a user has to hunt for.
A PROCESS
A defined path to resolution
Someone owns it, and it doesn’t rely on the request happening to land on the right desk.
A LIMIT
Erasure isn't unconditional
It can be declined where retention is legally required — the burden is on the organisation to justify why.
That last point matters in both directions: organisations can’t simply ignore an erasure request, but they also aren’t required to honour one that conflicts with a genuine legal retention duty, like tax or audit records. The right is real, but it isn’t absolute — and explaining the boundary clearly is part of handling the request properly.
Common misconception — That erasure is guaranteed the instant someone asks. It’s the default outcome, but it can be declined where the law requires the data to be kept — with the organisation expected to justify that, not just assert it.
Rights in practice mean a working channel and a real process — not just a clause in a privacy policy that says the right exists.
SOURCES The DPDP Act, 2023 — official text, MeitY — https://www.meity.gov.in/static/uploads/2024/06/2bf1f0e9f04e6fb4f8fef35e82c42aa5.pdf