diff --git a/changelog.d/8189.doc b/changelog.d/8189.doc
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..800ff89dc58f1ea40a4ebb6975fc0e984260f9da
--- /dev/null
+++ b/changelog.d/8189.doc
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+Explain better what GDPR-erased means when deactivating a user.
diff --git a/docs/admin_api/user_admin_api.rst b/docs/admin_api/user_admin_api.rst
index d6e3194cda5cf35d3cabd2a97144fb2049729c64..e21c78a9c62b75175711883026d1b8a0eca3625a 100644
--- a/docs/admin_api/user_admin_api.rst
+++ b/docs/admin_api/user_admin_api.rst
@@ -214,9 +214,11 @@ Deactivate Account
 
 This API deactivates an account. It removes active access tokens, resets the
 password, and deletes third-party IDs (to prevent the user requesting a
-password reset). It can also mark the user as GDPR-erased (stopping their data
-from distributed further, and deleting it entirely if there are no other
-references to it).
+password reset).
+
+It can also mark the user as GDPR-erased. This means messages sent by the
+user will still be visible by anyone that was in the room when these messages
+were sent, but hidden from users joining the room afterwards.
 
 The api is::