Last updated 4 September 2026

Uninstall and data

Deactivate vs uninstall

Deactivate turns the plugin off. Your data remains in the database.
Uninstall removes the plugin files through WordPress. What happens to stored data depends on the cleanup setting below.

Default on uninstall

By default:

Settings are kept so a reinstall can restore your configuration. Keyword auto-link rules are treated as settings and kept with them.
The index is dropped and must be rebuilt after you install again. Link Health findings and auto-link match review rows are derived from content and are dropped with the index.
Change-history records follow the same cleanup policy as other plugin data — they are not restored as settings.

You can change that behaviour in the plugin settings if you want everything removed on uninstall — settings and index tables.

What is stored while installed

Only in your own WordPress database:

Index tables built from published content in scope
Plugin settings (exclusions, taxonomy controls, schedules, and related options)
Keyword auto-link rules you authored
Link Health findings from the last internal scan
Change-history records for Auto-linking inserts and undos

Nothing is transmitted to Core+ Links servers. There is no telemetry, no account, and no phone-home for Free.

Privacy positioning

Core Plus Links indexes, ranks, auto-links, and runs Link Health on your install. Uninstall cleanup exists so you can leave the database the way you found it when you choose full removal.