Do you know how to completely remove confidential information from a GitHub Issue?
Updated by Tiago Araújo [SSW] 1 month ago. See history
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If you accidentally include confidential information in a GitHub Issue - whether it’s a password, API key, or private business details - the obvious thing to do is **edit the issue and delete the sensitive content**.
But that’s **not enough**.
GitHub retains a full revision history for issues and comments. This means others can still view older versions and recover the compromised data.
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To protect your company and users, you must check and delete the specific revisions that exposed the information.
Finally, it's important to leave a transparent comment in the issue confirming that sensitive content was removed, and where it appeared (e.g. in a video, image, or text block).
Steps to properly remove confidential data
- Edit the Issue or comment
Immediately remove any visible confidential data from the issue body, comment, or image attachment. - Review all revisions
Click the “edited” tag next to any edited comment or issue to see its history. Note which revision contains the sensitive info. - Delete the affected revision
- If you have permission, delete the comment or attachment that contained the data.

Figure: Delete revisions so compromised data is fully removed
- If you can’t delete it yourself, contact your repository owners or admins and ask them to remove it.
- If the revision still can’t be deleted (e.g. issue body history), contact GitHub Support and provide:
- The repository name
- A direct link to the issue or comment
- A description of the confidential information
- A request to delete the specific revision(s)
- Add a note for transparency
In the issue description or a comment, add a message like:
"‼️ CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION REMOVED The affected content was in a: screenshot / comment / video / etc."

Figure: Inform about deletions mentioned what it was
Tips to prevent future issues
- Avoid uploading full-screen screenshots or videos that contain internal tools, passwords, or customer data
- Use redaction tools before sharing media
- Always review YakShaver recordings and generated content
- Enable 2FA and rotate keys immediately if any credentials were exposed
Related rules
Need help?
SSW Consulting has over 30 years of experience developing awesome software solutions.