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Access and removal

SEO → General → Access and removal holds two site-wide choices.

The Access and removal box: role checkboxes for who can edit SEO fields, and the switch to delete all SEO data when the extension is deleted

Who can edit SEO fields​

By default everyone who can edit a post can also edit its SEO title, description and the rest. On a site with many writers you may want only editors to touch them.

Tick the roles that may edit SEO fields. Everyone else no longer sees:

  • the SEO box on posts, pages and other content,
  • the SEO fields on categories, tags and other terms,
  • the SEO column in the content lists, or the SEO fields in Quick Edit.

Their saves cannot change the fields either, so a hidden field cannot be changed by a crafted request.

  • Nothing ticked means everyone who can edit the content. That is the default.
  • Administrators can always edit SEO fields, whatever is ticked, so nobody can lock themselves out.
  • This is about the per-page fields only. The SEO settings screen itself has always been for administrators.

Deleting all SEO data with the extension​

Deactivating the extension never deletes anything, and by default neither does deleting it from Extensions: everything is kept in case you reinstall it, which is what most people deleting an extension are about to do.

Switch on Delete all SEO data when the extension is deleted if you are leaving for good and want a clean database. Then deleting the extension also removes:

RemovedWhere it was
Every SEO setting, including the Search Console connectionsite options
Every title, description and other value written for a post or termpost and term data
The redirects kept for old addressesa site option
The site search logits own database table
Index status, speed results and other report datasite options and post data
Generated sharing card imagesuploads/unysonplus/social-cards/
Scheduled tasksthe WordPress scheduler

It cannot be undone. Export your settings first with Moving settings if there is any chance you will want them back. On a multisite network the setting is read site by site, so only sites that switched it on lose their data.

:::note For extension developers This uses a framework feature any extension can use: an uninstall.php in the extension's folder runs just before the Extensions screen deletes it, even when the extension is inactive. See Extension uninstall.php. :::