diff --git a/config/config.go b/config/config.go
index 86600cb..b55db4b 100644
--- a/config/config.go
+++ b/config/config.go
@@ -79,6 +79,7 @@ type appConfig struct {
 	HeartbeatMaxAge           string                       `yaml:"heartbeat_max_age" default:"4320h" env:"WAKAPI_HEARTBEAT_MAX_AGE"`
 	CountCacheTTLMin          int                          `yaml:"count_cache_ttl_min" default:"30" env:"WAKAPI_COUNT_CACHE_TTL_MIN"`
 	DataRetentionMonths       int                          `yaml:"data_retention_months" default:"-1" env:"WAKAPI_DATA_RETENTION_MONTHS"`
+	DataCleanupDryRun         bool                         `yaml:"data_cleanup_dry_run" default:"false" env:"WAKAPI_DATA_CLEANUP_DRY_RUN"` // for debugging only
 	AvatarURLTemplate         string                       `yaml:"avatar_url_template" default:"api/avatar/{username_hash}.svg" env:"WAKAPI_AVATAR_URL_TEMPLATE"`
 	SupportContact            string                       `yaml:"support_contact" default:"hostmaster@wakapi.dev" env:"WAKAPI_SUPPORT_CONTACT"`
 	CustomLanguages           map[string]string            `yaml:"custom_languages"`
diff --git a/services/housekeeping.go b/services/housekeeping.go
index 7550750..5535bce 100644
--- a/services/housekeeping.go
+++ b/services/housekeeping.go
@@ -66,6 +66,10 @@ func (s *HousekeepingService) Schedule() {
 
 func (s *HousekeepingService) CleanUserDataBefore(user *models.User, before time.Time) error {
 	logbuch.Warn("cleaning up user data for '%s' older than %v", user.ID, before)
+	if s.config.App.DataCleanupDryRun {
+		logbuch.Info("skipping actual data deletion for '%v', because this is just a dry run", user.ID)
+		return nil
+	}
 
 	// clear old heartbeats
 	if err := s.heartbeatSrvc.DeleteByUserBefore(user, before); err != nil {