I noticed recently that much valid data keeps disappearing from OSM. Is this some kind of cleanup or just vandalism? How can I check who has deleted a particular object? Is the deleted data stored somewhere i.e. is there "undelete"? Is there any protection policy in OSM?

asked 24 Aug '12, 22:25

haael's gravatar image

accept rate: 0%

edited 27 Aug '12, 13:32

cartinus's gravatar image


Hi, You've covered a few bits with your questions, but I'll do my best;

  1. If you can view the particular object - such as from when you created or edited it, you should be able to see it's history.
  2. If there is an area you regularly 'look after' it's worth getting a login with ITO - http://www.itoworld.com/ & using one of their tools for OSM mappers. You can select a particular area, and the software will send you a message in a feed when there are any edits or updates for that area.
  3. If someone has deleted data, by accident or otherwise, it is possible to get the changeset reversed - I know of it, but have never used it.
  4. Vandalism can be dealt with in various ways, you just need to highlight the need.
  5. It can be worth signing up for one of the e-mail circulation lists - I've learnt a lot from reading the messages in TalkGB, for instance.

Hope my somewhat wordy answer is some help to you. Regards Tallguy

permanent link

answered 25 Aug '12, 00:01

Tallguy's gravatar image

accept rate: 50%


We really need to implement a proper "download deleted objects in this area" api call, and support in editors. This is a FAQ, but we still have no convenient answer.

(26 Aug '12, 22:39) Vincent de P... ♦

Most likely you are referring to the effects of the license change, see e.g. this previous question:


If you are not, ignore this answer.

permanent link

answered 25 Aug '12, 00:40

Tordanik's gravatar image

accept rate: 34%

When you ask about data disappearing it is always helpful to give a link to the specific object(s) or the place where the object(s) used to be. A generic question as above can only be answered generic if anyhow.

permanent link

answered 25 Aug '12, 07:09

malenki's gravatar image

accept rate: 6%

edited 25 Aug '12, 13:28

You should really improve your question by specifying if you are speaking about the "license change effect" or "data deleted by someone else".

Because the answer will be different :

For the first, the license transition withdrawn many objects because they did not comply with the new ODbl license. Those data cannot be retrieved and need a new survey (check the "remapping" task on the wiki).

For the second, it is possible to restore the deleted objects; see the hints provided by other answers on this page.

permanent link

answered 27 Aug '12, 09:31

Pieren's gravatar image

accept rate: 15%

Your answer
toggle preview

Follow this question

By Email:




Answers and Comments

Markdown Basics

  • *italic* or _italic_
  • **bold** or __bold__
  • numbered list: 1. Foo 2. Bar
  • basic HTML tags are also supported

Question tags:


question asked: 24 Aug '12, 22:25

question was seen: 2,913 times

last updated: 27 Aug '12, 13:32

powered by OSQA