In SQL, when you DELETE, the row is gone permanently.

But in real-world applications:

Case Why deletion must be reversible
User deletes account You may need recovery, legal retention, fraud audits
Admin deletes product Orders still reference it
Messaging apps Soft-delete chat but restore later
Fintech / Banking Permanent deletion is often illegal

So instead of actually deleting the row, we mark it as deleted, but keep the data.

✅ Enable Soft Delete in Sequelize Model

Example User Model

const User = sequelize.define("User", {
  id: {
    type: DataTypes.UUID,
    primaryKey: true,
    defaultValue: UUIDV4,
  },
  name: DataTypes.STRING,
  email: DataTypes.STRING,
  password: DataTypes.STRING,
}, {
  tableName: "users",
  paranoid: true,       // ✅ enable soft delete
  timestamps: true      // must be true to track deletedAt
});

What happens now?

Sequelize automatically adds a hidden column:

deletedAt TIMESTAMP NULL
Action Result
destroy() Sets deletedAt = current timestamp
find() queries Will NOT return soft-deleted rows
restore() Sets deletedAt = null (undo delete)

✅ Soft Delete Example (User Deletes Account)

await User.destroy({
  where: { id: userId }
});

This does NOT remove row from DB, instead:

Field Before After
deletedAt NULL 2025-10-30 14:12:33.123

✅ Query Normally (Soft Deleted Rows are Hidden)

const activeUsers = await User.findAll(); // soft-deleted rows excluded