
# How to Delete a Data Asset

Data assets have a lot of user-generated metadata, such as descriptions, tags, ownership, tiering. There’s also rich metadata generated by OpenMetadata through the data profiler, usage data, lineage, test results, and other graph relationships with other data assets. When a data asset is deleted, all of this rich information is lost, and it’s not easy to recreate it. OpenMetadata supports both soft delete and hard delete.

To delete a data asset:

- Navigate to **Explore** and the relevant **Data Asset** section to select a specific asset.
- Click on the vertical ellipsis icon **⋮** located on the top right and click on **Delete**.

{% image
src="/images/v1.11/how-to-guides/user-guide-for-data-stewards/delete.png"
alt="Delete a Data Asset"
caption="Delete a Data Asset"
/%}

- You can choose to soft delete or hard delete a data asset. Soft deleting will provide a read-only access to the data assets. Hard deleting will permanently delete the data asset from OpenMetadata.
- Type DELETE to confirm deletion.

{% image
src="/images/v1.11/how-to-guides/user-guide-for-data-stewards/delete2.png"
alt="Soft or Hard Delete a Data Asset"
caption="Soft or Hard Delete a Data Asset"
/%}

{% note noteType="Tip" %} **Tip:** Notify team members of data changes by creating [announcements](/how-to-guides/guide-for-data-users/add-announcement).{% /note %}

Delete outdated or test assets from your catalog to maintain clean, relevant metadata and simplify search results.