# Close Your Workspace

> Pause your workspace temporarily or permanently close it, including how customer data is handled during closure.

The Danger Zone in Settings gives you two options: **pause** your workspace temporarily, or **close** it permanently. Both options are at the bottom of the Settings page under `?section=danger-zone`.

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> **Caution:** Workspace closure is permanent. A 30-day grace period lets you reverse the decision, but after that your data cannot be recovered.

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## Pause your workspace

Pausing temporarily suspends public access to your workspace and stops billing. All your data, integrations, connected messaging providers, and AI keys are preserved exactly as they are.

Click **Pause workspace** to activate the pause. A banner appears at the top of your dashboard confirming the paused state.

To resume, click **Resume** on the pause banner or in the Danger Zone card. Billing resumes from the date you reactivate.

**What happens during a pause:**
- Your forms and public-facing pages are taken offline
- Running journeys are suspended
- Your team can still log in to the dashboard
- No new campaigns are sent

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## Close your workspace permanently

Click **Close workspace** to open the four-step closure wizard.

### Step 1 — Reason for closing

Select the reason that best describes why you are closing, and optionally add a short note. If you select **Just need a temporary pause**, you are redirected to the Pause flow instead.

### Step 2 — Customer data handling

Choose how Caramel handles your customers' personal data during closure. This is a GDPR Article 28 decision — you are the data controller.

| Option | What happens |
|---|---|
| **Anonymise (recommended)** | Personal identifiers are removed; aggregate records are retained for legal compliance |
| **Return the data** | A data export is prepared and sent to you before closure completes |
| **Hard delete** | All customer records are permanently destroyed with no recovery |

You can optionally ask Caramel to **notify your customers by email** before closure (not available if you choose Hard delete).

To continue, type the confirmation phrase exactly as shown: `I am the data controller for these records`.

### Step 3 — Schedule and refund

Choose when the closure takes effect:

| Option | Refund eligibility |
|---|---|
| **Close immediately** | A prorated refund may apply if you are within the 14-day refund window |
| **Close at end of billing period** | No refund; you keep access until the end of the period you have paid for |

The wizard loads a live refund preview based on your current billing status.

### Step 4 — Confirm closure

Review the list of what will be removed:

- All workspace data, forms, and campaign history
- Connected integrations and messaging providers
- Customer accounts linked to your workspace

Type `DELETE <your-workspace-slug>` exactly (the wizard shows the exact phrase) and click **Deactivate workspace** to proceed.

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## Grace period

After closure is confirmed, your workspace enters a **30-day grace period**. During this time:

- Your workspace is inaccessible to customers and team members
- You can contact [Caramel support](../resources/troubleshooting) to reverse the closure
- The permanent purge date is shown on the confirmation screen

After 30 days, all data is permanently deleted and the workspace cannot be recovered.

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## What you keep after closure

- Any data export you requested in Step 2
- Billing invoices (retained as required by financial regulations)

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## Related

- [Data, privacy & GDPR](./data-privacy-and-gdpr) — export your data before closing
- [Billing](../billing/index) — understand refund eligibility and your current billing period
- [Settings overview](./index)