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If you install an app on your mobile phone and decide at some point that you no longer want to use that app, you'll delete or “uninstall” it. You wouldn't want the app to leave behind all of its settings or any other data that is no longer useful. WordPress plugins are no different. Users should feel confident that their site doesn't have cruft left over from every plugin they've used or even just tested and decide it wasn't for them.

If there's an ultimate “no‐no” in plugin development, it's to not tidy up after yourself. When your plugin is uninstalled, make sure to delete any options or other data that your plugin has added.

However, there are times when you want to ignore this rule. In general, user‐created content, such as that created by custom post types or custom database tables, may need to be retained. In these situations, it's best to provide a setting that a user can opt into that allows you to delete that data on uninstall. The rule of thumb here is to always be respectful of their content. When in doubt, get the user's permission before deleting anything they might want to keep.

WordPress provides two different methods for uninstalling a plugin: the uninstall.php file and the uninstall hook.