NIP-62 defines vanish requests, kind 62 events that ask specific relays to delete all events from the requesting pubkey. The request is relay-targeted by default, and it can also be broadcast as a global request using the special ALL_RELAYS tag value.

How It Works

A vanish request is a kind 62 event signed by the pubkey that wants its history removed. The tag list must include at least one relay value naming the relay that should act on the request.

{
  "id": "a7b8c9d0e1f23456789012345678901234567890abcdef1234567890abcdef12",
  "pubkey": "f1e2d3c4b5a697887766554433221100ffeeddccbbaa99887766554433221100",
  "created_at": 1743465600,
  "kind": 62,
  "tags": [
    ["relay", "wss://relay.example.com"]
  ],
  "content": "Requesting deletion of all events from this relay.",
  "sig": "11aa22bb33cc44dd55ee66ff77889900aabbccddeeff0011223344556677889911aa22bb33cc44dd55ee66ff77889900aabbccddeeff00112233445566778899"
}

The content field may include a reason or legal notice to the relay operator. Clients should send the event directly to the target relays instead of posting it broadly unless the user intends a network-wide vanish request.

Relay Behavior

Relays that see a vanish request and find their own service URL in a relay tag must fully delete any events from that pubkey up to the request’s created_at. The spec also says relays should delete NIP-59 (Gift Wrap) events that p-tagged the vanished pubkey, so incoming DMs get removed alongside the user’s own events.

The relay must also ensure those deleted events cannot be re-broadcast into the relay. It may keep the signed vanish request itself for bookkeeping.

Global Requests

To request deletion on every relay that sees the event, the tag value becomes ALL_RELAYS in uppercase:

{
  "kind": 62,
  "pubkey": "<32-byte-hex-pubkey>",
  "tags": [
    ["relay", "ALL_RELAYS"]
  ],
  "content": "Global vanish request"
}

Clients should broadcast this form to as many relays as possible.

Why It Matters

NIP-62 gives clients and relay operators a shared deletion signal that goes beyond ad hoc moderation APIs or relay-specific dashboards. A user can publish one signed request and let each relay process it with the same event format.

It also goes beyond NIP-09. NIP-09 deletes individual events and relays may comply. NIP-62 asks tagged relays to delete everything from the pubkey and prevent those events from being re-imported.

Implementations

Primary sources:

Mentioned in:

See also: