What is Backup?
A saved copy of your data from a moment in time, so you can get it back after a mistake.
Where Backup goes wrong in real apps
Each of these is a short scenario built from a real failure in an app made with AI. Read the answer here, or walk through it yourself in about four minutes.
Data you can lose · 4 minutes · Pro
The backup that wasn't there
At 4pm a bad script deletes your orders table. You open the backups page expecting to undo it.
Read the fixHow much data can daily backups lose?
Up to a full day. A daily backup restores the database as it was when the backup ran, so everything written since is lost. Point-in-time recovery can restore to any minute by replaying the database log. Whatever you use, test a restore before you need it.
Data you can lose · 5 minutes · Free
The agent that reset production
You asked your coding agent to fix a failing migration. It says it 'reset the database to resolve drift'. Your live customers are gone.
Walk it, freeHow do I stop an AI agent deleting my database?
Do not keep production database credentials where the agent runs. Use a separate development database locally, give production a role that cannot drop tables, and keep backups the agent cannot reach. Instructions like 'never touch production' are not enough; only permissions reliably stop a destructive command.
Data you can lose · 3 minutes · Pro
Project paused
A quiet week, then a client demo. Your app shows errors. Your database dashboard says 'Project paused'.
Read the fixWhy was my Supabase project paused?
Free projects are paused after a period of inactivity to save resources. A paused project rejects requests until restored. For an app real people use, move to a paid plan, which is not paused, and keep your own regular export of the data regardless of the plan.
Accounts and privacy · 4 minutes · Pro
Deleted, but still there
A user tapped 'Delete my account' and saw a goodbye screen. A month later they ask why you emailed them a newsletter, and why their photos still open from a saved link.
Read the fixDoes deleting a user delete their data?
Not by itself. Deleting the auth user removes the login, and only rows whose foreign keys cascade go with it. Uploaded files, other tables and copies in email, analytics or support tools remain. Privacy laws like GDPR give people the right to erasure, so delete everywhere their data lives and say what you keep and why.
Related terms
- Database
- Where your app keeps its data, organised in tables, like a set of spreadsheets.
- Table, row, column
- A table is like one spreadsheet (orders). Each row is one item (one order); each column is one detail (price, date).
- Secret key
- A password your app uses to talk to a paid service. Anyone who sees it can use it, and spend your money.
- Production
- The real, live version of your app that customers use, as opposed to the copy on your laptop.
- Point-in-time recovery
- A kind of backup that can rewind your database to any minute, not just last night.
- Request
- A message your browser (or any program) sends to a server asking for something: 'give me invoice 105' or 'save this profile'.