Clerk Data Handling

Overview

Manage user data, implement privacy features, and ensure compliance with regulations.

Prerequisites

Clerk integration working
Understanding of GDPR/CCPA requirements
Database with user-related data

Instructions

Step 1: User Data Export

// lib/data-export.ts
import { clerkClient } from '@clerk/nextjs/server'
import { db } from './db'

interface UserDataExport {
  clerk: ClerkUserData
  application: ApplicationUserData
  exportedAt: string
}

interface ClerkUserData {
  id: string
  email: string | undefined
  firstName: string | null
  lastName: string | null
  createdAt: Date
  lastSignIn: Date | null
  metadata: Record<string, any>
}

interface ApplicationUserData {
  profile: any
  orders: any[]
  preferences: any
  activityLog: any[]
}

export async function exportUserData(userId: string): Promise<UserDataExport> {
  const client = await clerkClient()

  // Get Clerk user data
  const clerkUser = await client.users.getUser(userId)

  // Get application data
  const [profile, orders, preferences, activityLog] = await Promise.all([
    db.userProfile.findUnique({ where: { clerkId: userId } }),
    db.order.findMany({ where: { userId }, orderBy: { createdAt: 'desc' } }),
    db.userPreference.findMany({ where: { userId } }),
    db.activityLog.findMany({
      where: { userId },
      orderBy: { timestamp: 'desc' },
      take: 1000
    })
  ])

  return {
    clerk: {
      id: clerkUser.id,
      email: clerkUser.primaryEmailAddress?.emailAddress,
      firstName: clerkUser.firstName,
      lastName: clerkUser.lastName,
      createdAt: new Date(clerkUser.createdAt),
      lastSignIn: clerkUser.lastSignInAt ? new Date(clerkUser.lastSignInAt) : null,
      metadata: {
        public: clerkUser.publicMetadata,
        // Note: privateMetadata should be handled carefully
      }
    },
    application: {
      profile: sanitizeForExport(profile),
      orders: orders.map(sanitizeForExport),
      preferences: preferences.map(sanitizeForExport),
      activityLog: activityLog.map(sanitizeForExport)
    },
    exportedAt: new Date().toISOString()
  }
}

function sanitizeForExport(data: any): any {
  if (!data) return null

  // Remove internal fields
  const { id, createdAt, updatedAt, ...rest } = data
  return rest
}

Step 2: User Deletion (Right to be Forgotten)

// lib/user-deletion.ts
import { clerkClient } from '@clerk/nextjs/server'
import { db } from './db'

interface DeletionResult {
  success: boolean
  deletedFrom: string[]
  errors: string[]
}

export async function deleteUserCompletely(userId: string): Promise<DeletionResult> {
  const result: DeletionResult = {
    success: true,
    deletedFrom: [],
    errors: []
  }

  // Step 1: Delete from application database
  try {
    await db.$transaction([
      // Delete related records first (foreign key constraints)
      db.activityLog.deleteMany({ where: { userId } }),
      db.order.deleteMany({ where: { userId } }),
      db.userPreference.deleteMany({ where: { userId } }),
      db.userProfile.delete({ where: { clerkId: userId } })
    ])
    result.deletedFrom.push('application_database')
  } catch (error: any) {
    result.errors.push(`Database deletion failed: ${error.message}`)
    result.success = false
  }

  // Step 2: Delete from Clerk
  try {
    const client = await clerkClient()
    await client.users.deleteUser(userId)
    result.deletedFrom.push('clerk')
  } catch (error: any) {
    result.errors.push(`Clerk deletion failed: ${error.message}`)
    result.success = false
  }

  // Step 3: Delete from external services
  try {
    await deleteFromExternalServices(userId)
    result.deletedFrom.push('external_services')
  } catch (error: any) {
    result.errors.push(`External service deletion failed: ${error.message}`)
  }

  // Log deletion for audit
  await logDeletionEvent(userId, result)

  return result
}

async function deleteFromExternalServices(userId: string) {
  // Delete from analytics
  // Delete from email service
  // Delete from payment provider
  // etc.
}

async function logDeletionEvent(userId: string, result: DeletionResult) {
  // Maintain audit log of deletions (anonymized)
  await db.deletionLog.create({
    data: {
      anonymizedId: hashUserId(userId),
      deletedAt: new Date(),
      success: result.success,
      errors: result.errors
    }
  })
}

Step 3: Data Retention Policies

// lib/data-retention.ts
import { db } from './db'
import { clerkClient } from '@clerk/nextjs/server'

interface RetentionPolicy {
  activityLogs: number // days
  sessions: number // days
  inactiveUsers: number // days
}

const RETENTION_POLICY: RetentionPolicy = {
  activityLogs: 90,
  sessions: 30,
  inactiveUsers: 365
}

export async function enforceRetentionPolicy() {
  const now = new Date()

  // Clean up old activity logs
  const activityCutoff = new Date(
    now.getTime() - RETENTION_POLICY.activityLogs * 24 * 60 * 60 * 1000
  )

  const deletedLogs = await db.activityLog.deleteMany({
    where: {
      timestamp: { lt: activityCutoff }
    }
  })

  console.log(`Deleted ${deletedLogs.count} old activity logs`)

  // Identify inactive users for notification
  const inactiveCutoff = new Date(
    now.getTime() - RETENTION_POLICY.inactiveUsers * 24 * 60 * 60 * 1000
  )

  const inactiveUsers = await db.userProfile.findMany({
    where: {
      lastActiveAt: { lt: inactiveCutoff },
      notifiedAboutInactivity: false
    }
  })

  // Notify inactive users before deletion
  for (const user of inactiveUsers) {
    await notifyInactiveUser(user.clerkId)
    await db.userProfile.update({
      where: { id: user.id },
      data: { notifiedAboutInactivity: true }
    })
  }

  console.log(`Notified ${inactiveUsers.length} inactive users`)
}

Step 4: Consent Management

// lib/consent.ts
import { currentUser } from '@clerk/nextjs/server'

interface ConsentRecord {
  marketing: boolean
  analytics: boolean
  thirdParty: boolean
  updatedAt: Date
}

export async function getConsent(userId: string): Promise<ConsentRecord | null> {
  const user = await currentUser()

  if (!user) return null

  return {
    marketing: user.publicMetadata?.consent?.marketing ?? false,
    analytics: user.publicMetadata?.consent?.analytics ?? false,
    thirdParty: user.publicMetadata?.consent?.thirdParty ?? false,
    updatedAt: new Date(user.publicMetadata?.consent?.updatedAt || user.createdAt)
  }
}

export async function updateConsent(
  userId: string,
  consent: Partial<ConsentRecord>
) {
  const client = await clerkClient()

  const user = await client.users.getUser(userId)
  const currentConsent = user.publicMetadata?.consent || {}

  await client.users.updateUser(userId, {
    publicMetadata: {
      ...user.publicMetadata,
      consent: {
        ...currentConsent,
        ...consent,
        updatedAt: new Date().toISOString()
      }
    }
  })

  // Log consent change for audit
  await logConsentChange(userId, consent)
}

Step 5: GDPR API Endpoints

// app/api/user/data/route.ts
import { auth } from '@clerk/nextjs/server'
import { exportUserData } from '@/lib/data-export'

// Data Export (GDPR Article 20)
export async function GET() {
  const { userId } = await auth()

  if (!userId) {
    return Response.json({ error: 'Unauthorized' }, { status: 401 })
  }

  const userData = await exportUserData(userId)

  return new Response(JSON.stringify(userData, null, 2), {
    headers: {
      'Content-Type': 'application/json',
      'Content-Disposition': `attachment; filename="user-data-${userId}.json"`
    }
  })
}

// app/api/user/delete/route.ts
import { deleteUserCompletely } from '@/lib/user-deletion'

// Data Deletion (GDPR Article 17)
export async function DELETE() {
  const { userId } = await auth()

  if (!userId) {
    return Response.json({ error: 'Unauthorized' }, { status: 401 })
  }

  // Require confirmation
  const confirmed = request.headers.get('X-Confirm-Delete') === 'true'
  if (!confirmed) {
    return Response.json(
      { error: 'Confirmation required', requiresHeader: 'X-Confirm-Delete: true' },
      { status: 400 }
    )
  }

  const result = await deleteUserCompletely(userId)

  if (result.success) {
    return Response.json({ message: 'Account deleted successfully' })
  } else {
    return Response.json(
      { error: 'Partial deletion', details: result },
      { status: 500 }
    )
  }
}

Step 6: Audit Logging

// lib/audit-log.ts
interface AuditEvent {
  type: 'data_access' | 'data_export' | 'data_deletion' | 'consent_change'
  userId: string
  performedBy: string
  details: Record<string, any>
  timestamp: Date
}

export async function logAuditEvent(event: Omit<AuditEvent, 'timestamp'>) {
  await db.auditLog.create({
    data: {
      ...event,
      timestamp: new Date()
    }
  })

  // For compliance, also log to external service
  if (process.env.AUDIT_LOG_ENDPOINT) {
    await fetch(process.env.AUDIT_LOG_ENDPOINT, {
      method: 'POST',
      headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/json' },
      body: JSON.stringify({ ...event, timestamp: new Date() })
    })
  }
}

Privacy Checklist

Output

Data export functionality
User deletion capability
Consent management
Audit logging

Error Handling

Scenario	Action
Partial deletion	Retry failed services, log for manual review
Export timeout	Queue export, email when complete
Consent sync fail	Retry with exponential backoff

Resources

Next Steps

Proceed to clerk-enterprise-rbac for enterprise SSO and RBAC.

clerk-data-handling

Clerk Data Handling

Overview

Prerequisites

Instructions

Step 1: User Data Export

Step 2: User Deletion (Right to be Forgotten)

Step 3: Data Retention Policies

Step 4: Consent Management

Step 5: GDPR API Endpoints

Step 6: Audit Logging

Privacy Checklist

Output

Error Handling

Resources

Next Steps

Similar Skills