The Subscriber Purge

Contributors: emrikol \ Tags: spam, subscribers, users, cleanup, automation \ Requires at least: 6.9 \ Tested up to: 6.9 \ Requires PHP: 8.4 \ Stable tag: 1.1.0 \ License: GPL-2.0-or-later \ License URI: https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-2.0.html

A simple WordPress plugin that automatically purges inactive subscriber accounts to help keep user spam down.

Description

The Subscriber Purge automatically removes inactive subscriber accounts from your WordPress site to help combat spam registrations.

Features

• Automatic Purging: Runs every 15 minutes via WordPress cron to remove inactive subscriber accounts (one user per run, oldest-first)
• Configurable Inactivity Period: Set how many days (1-365) a subscriber can be inactive before purging (default: 30 days)
• Comment-Based Filtering: Only purges subscribers who have never made any comments
• Email Notifications: Optional email notifications sent to users before their account is deleted
• Admin Notifications: Optional email notifications sent to the site admin whenever a user is purged, with full account details
• Multisite Support: On multisite networks, users belonging to only one site are deleted network-wide; users on multiple sites are removed from the current site only
• Upcoming Purges Dashboard: Admin settings page shows which accounts are queued for deletion, with a "Days Overdue" indicator
• Simple Admin Interface: Easy-to-use settings page in WordPress admin dashboard

How It Works

1. The plugin is activated and sets up a 15-minute cron job
2. Every 15 minutes, the plugin checks subscriber accounts
3. It identifies subscribers who:
   • Have been registered for more than the configured number of days
   • Have never made any comments
4. The oldest matching account (one per run) is automatically deleted
5. If email notifications are enabled, the affected user receives a notification email before deletion

Notes

• This plugin only affects subscriber accounts; administrators, editors, authors, and contributors are never deleted
• Only subscribers with zero comments are deleted
• The purge runs automatically every 15 minutes (one user per run, oldest-first)
• On multisite networks, users present on multiple sites are removed from the current site only; full network deletion occurs once they are down to a single site
• All settings are stored in the WordPress options table

Installation

1. Upload the the-subscriber-purge folder to your /wp-content/plugins/ directory
2. Activate the plugin through the 'Plugins' menu in WordPress
3. Go to Settings → Subscriber Purge to configure the plugin

Frequently Asked Questions

Will this delete active users?

No. Only subscriber accounts with zero comments that have been registered longer than your configured inactivity period will be deleted.

Can I stop the automatic purging?

Yes, simply deactivate the plugin. The cron job will be automatically removed.

Does this delete other user roles?

No. Only subscribers are affected. Administrators, editors, authors, and contributors are never touched.

Settings

Days Inactive Before Purge

Set the number of days (1-365) after which inactive subscriber accounts will be deleted. Default: 30 days. An account is considered "inactive" if the subscriber has no comments.

Send Email Notifications

Enable/disable email notifications sent to users before their account is deleted. When enabled, users receive an explanation of why their account was removed. Default: Enabled.

Notify Admin on Purge

Enable/disable email notifications sent to the site administrator when a user is purged. When enabled, admins receive detailed information about the purged account. Default: Enabled.

Changelog

1.1.0

• Fixed user deletion bug: wp-admin include files are now properly loaded before calling deletion functions, preventing silent deletion failures
• Improved multisite user deletion: users belonging to a single site are deleted network-wide with wpmu_delete_user(); users on multiple sites are removed from the current site only — other sites running the plugin progressively reduce the user to one site, at which point the next run deletes them network-wide
• Admin upcoming purges table now shows "Days Overdue" (days past the inactivity threshold) instead of the non-functional "Days Until Purge" column
• Updated minimum WordPress version requirement to 6.9

1.0.0

• Initial release
• Automatic purging of inactive subscribers
• Configurable inactivity period
• Optional email notifications
• Admin settings page

Support

For issues or questions, you're on your own. Good luck!

This plugin is provided as-is under the GPL-2.0-or-later license.