Request to Vanish

1 Overview

Sometimes a user wants to leave the network completely. A NIP-09 deletion request removes single events. This NIP defines a bigger tool: a request to vanish. It asks a relay to reset a key's whole fingerprint on the web.

The request is one event of kind 62. It names the relays that must act. A named relay deletes every event signed by the requesting pubkey, up to the request's created_at. This includes past NIP-09 deletion events.

The request can be legally binding in some jurisdictions. A relay that supports this NIP must therefore truly delete the events from its database. Hiding them is not enough.

2 The Vanish Request Event

Kind 62 requests a specific relay to delete everything from the event's pubkey until the event's created_at. The event has the normal NIP-01 shape:

{
  "kind": 62,
  "pubkey": <32-byte hex-encoded public key of the event creator>,
  "tags": [
    ["relay", "<relay url>"]
  ],
  "content": "<reason or note>",
  // ...other fields
}

Clients SHOULD send this event to the target relays only. Do not broadcast a targeted request to relays that it does not name.

3 Relay Obligations

A relay acts only when its own service URL is tagged in the event. When it is tagged, these rules apply:

• The relay MUST fully delete any events from the pubkey. This includes the pubkey's NIP-09 deletion events.
• The relay SHOULD delete all NIP-59 gift wraps that p-tagged the pubkey. This deletes all DMs sent to the pubkey.
• The relay MUST ensure the deleted events cannot be re-broadcasted into the relay.
• The relay MAY store the signed request to vanish for bookkeeping.
• Paid relays, and relays that restrict who can post, MUST also follow the request. The user's status does not matter.

4 Global Request to Vanish

A user can ask ALL relays to delete everything. The event MUST then include a relay tag with the value ALL_RELAYS, in uppercase:

{
  "kind": 62,
  "pubkey": <32-byte hex-encoded public key of the event creator>,
  "tags": [
    ["relay", "ALL_RELAYS"]
  ],
  "content": "<reason>",
  // ...other fields
}

Delivery flips for the global form. Clients SHOULD broadcast this event to as many relays as possible. Every supporting relay that receives it applies the rules of §3 to itself.

5 Worked Example

Alice retires her key. She sends a targeted request to her main relay, then a global request everywhere. Orange lines go to the relay. Blue lines come from the relay.

-- targeted vanish, sent to the tagged relay only --
→ ["EVENT", {"id":"7fe2ab91cd…","pubkey":"a1ce55aa…","created_at":1750000000,
     "kind":62,"tags":[["relay","wss://relay.example.com"]],
     "content":"Please erase my history. Formal notice under local privacy law.",
     "sig":"c04d1189…"}]
← ["OK", "7fe2ab91cd…", true, ""]
-- relay purges every event by a1ce55aa…, plus gift wraps p-tagging her --

-- Bob tries to re-broadcast one of Alice's old notes --
→ ["EVENT", {"id":"3b9dd410ef…","pubkey":"a1ce55aa…","kind":1, …}]
← ["OK", "3b9dd410ef…", false, "blocked: this pubkey has vanished"]

-- global vanish, broadcast to as many relays as possible --
→ ["EVENT", {"id":"911c07be22…","pubkey":"a1ce55aa…","created_at":1750000060,
     "kind":62,"tags":[["relay","ALL_RELAYS"]],
     "content":"Goodbye, nostr.","sig":"88af02c1…"}]
← ["OK", "911c07be22…", true, ""]

6 Version History

NIP-62 is a young and stable spec. It arrived in 2025 and has changed little since. Notable changes, newest first:

• 20262026-06Formatting pass by fiatjaf: code fences relabeled from jsonc to yaml.
• 20252025-12The relay tag became the explicit target selector, with ALL_RELAYS for the global form.
• Origin2025-02Vitor Pamplona proposed the spec as "Right to Vanish" and it merged as NIP-62.

7 See Also

• NIP-01 — the base event format and the EVENT/OK flow used here.
• NIP-09 — kind 5 deletion requests for single events; vanish erases these too.
• NIP-59 — gift wraps; relays should drop wraps p-tagging a vanished pubkey.
• NIP-11 — the relay information document, where a relay can advertise supported NIPs.