Auto delete WordPress comments

Question

Is there a way to delete pending WordPress comments after X days?

I looked into

do_action( 'wp_set_comment_status', $comment->comment_ID, 'delete' );

but now sure how to take it from here.

Answer 1

You have to create a schedule event.

It is a best practice to assign this schedule event to the activation of the plugin, and it should be cleared when the plugin is deactivated.

/**
 * Plugin activation
 * - create schedule event
 */
function enlsbv7_activation() {
    if ( ! wp_next_scheduled( 'enlsbv7_event' ) ) {
        wp_schedule_event( time(), 'daily', 'enlsbv7_event' );
    }
}

register_activation_hook( __FILE__, 'enlsbv7_activation' );

/**
 * Plugin deactivation
 * - clear schedule event
 */
function enlsbv7_deactivation() {
    wp_clear_scheduled_hook( 'enlsbv7_event' );
}

register_deactivation_hook( __FILE__, 'enlsbv7_deactivation' );

/**
 * Delete old pending comments
 */
function enlsbv7_event_delete_old_pending_comments() {

    $args = array(
        'date_query'     => array(
            'before' => '3 days ago',
        ),
        'posts_per_page' => - 1,
        'status'         => 'hold',
        'fields'         => 'ids',
        'no_found_rows'  => true,
    );

    $comment_ids = get_comments( $args );

    if ( ! empty( $comment_ids ) ) {
        foreach ( $comment_ids as $comment_id ) {
            wp_delete_comment( $comment_id, true );
        }
    }
}

add_action( 'enlsbv7_event', 'enlsbv7_event_delete_old_pending_comments' );

This will delete all pending comments older than 3 days. The schedule event runs daily.