diff --git a/app/controllers/api/api_controller.rb b/app/controllers/api/api_controller.rb
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..fddf6b0eb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/app/controllers/api/api_controller.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+# frozen_string_literal: true
+
+module Api
+  class ApiController < ActionController::API
+    def verify_token!
+      token = request.headers['Authorization']&.remove('Bearer ')
+
+      unless ActiveSupport::SecurityUtils.secure_compare(
+        token.to_s,
+        ENV.fetch('OPENHPI_API_TOKEN', 'test_token')
+      )
+        head :unauthorized
+      end
+    end
+  end
+end
diff --git a/app/controllers/api/internal/users/deletions_controller.rb b/app/controllers/api/internal/users/deletions_controller.rb
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..e2b6057e0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/app/controllers/api/internal/users/deletions_controller.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+# frozen_string_literal: true
+
+module Api
+  module Internal
+    module Users
+      class DeletionsController < Api::ApiController
+        before_action :verify_token!
+
+        def delete
+          user = ExternalUser.where(external_id: params[:user_id], consumer_id: 1).first
+
+          if user.nil?
+            return head :not_found
+          end
+
+          user.soft_delete!
+          head :ok
+        rescue StandardError => e
+          Rails.logger.error("Failed to delete user #{params[:user_id]}: #{e.message}")
+          head :internal_server_error
+        end
+      end
+    end
+  end
+end
diff --git a/app/models/external_user.rb b/app/models/external_user.rb
index 323ae9ab5..f59cd3dfc 100644
--- a/app/models/external_user.rb
+++ b/app/models/external_user.rb
@@ -8,6 +8,10 @@ def displayname
     name.presence || "#{model_name.human} #{id}"
   end
 
+  def soft_delete!
+    update(name: 'Deleted User', email: nil)
+  end
+
   def webauthn_name
     "#{consumer.name}: #{displayname}"
   end
diff --git a/config/routes.rb b/config/routes.rb
index 9a5e8b154..ae179357f 100644
--- a/config/routes.rb
+++ b/config/routes.rb
@@ -193,6 +193,14 @@
   mount ActionCable.server => '/cable'
   mount RailsAdmin::Engine => '/rails_admin', as: 'rails_admin'
 
+  namespace :api do
+    namespace :internal do
+      namespace :users do
+        delete 'deleted', to: 'deletions#delete'
+      end
+    end
+  end
+
   # Reveal health status on /up that returns 200 if the app boots with no exceptions, otherwise 500.
   # Can be used by load balancers and uptime monitors to verify that the app is live.
   get 'up', to: 'rails/health#show', as: :rails_health_check
diff --git a/lib/tasks/gdpr_delete.rake b/lib/tasks/gdpr_delete.rake
index 5be874de7..3f8ef0252 100644
--- a/lib/tasks/gdpr_delete.rake
+++ b/lib/tasks/gdpr_delete.rake
@@ -46,7 +46,7 @@ namespace :gdpr do
         next
       end
 
-      if user.update(name: 'Deleted User', email: nil)
+      if user.soft_delete!
         users_deleted += 1
       else
         errored_user_ids << user_id
diff --git a/spec/request/api/internal/users/deletions_spec.rb b/spec/request/api/internal/users/deletions_spec.rb
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..5f13d1e54
--- /dev/null
+++ b/spec/request/api/internal/users/deletions_spec.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,101 @@
+# frozen_string_literal: true
+
+require 'rails_helper'
+
+RSpec.describe 'DELETE Users API', type: :request do
+  include ActiveJob::TestHelper
+
+  let(:user_id) { '123456' }
+  let(:token) { 'test_token' }
+  let(:consumer) { create(:consumer, id: 1, name: 'openHPI') }
+  let!(:user) { create(:external_user, external_id: user_id, consumer_id: consumer.id, name: 'Test User', email: 'testmail@gmail.com') }
+
+  let(:body) do
+    {user_id: user_id}.to_json
+  end
+
+  let(:headers) do
+    {
+      'Authorization' => "Bearer #{token}",
+      'Content-Type' => 'application/json',
+    }
+  end
+
+  around do |example|
+    original_token = ENV.fetch('OPENHPI_API_TOKEN', nil)
+
+    ENV['OPENHPI_API_TOKEN'] = token
+
+    example.run
+
+    ENV['OPENHPI_API_TOKEN'] = original_token
+  end
+
+  before do
+    # Ensure job queue is clean
+    clear_enqueued_jobs
+    clear_performed_jobs
+    # Stub request.raw_post to return the exact JSON body for signature verification
+    allow_any_instance_of(ActionDispatch::Request).to receive(:raw_post).and_return(body)
+  end
+
+  describe 'DELETE /api/internal/users/deleted' do
+    context 'with valid token and signature' do
+      it 'anonymizes the user name to "Deleted User"' do
+        expect { delete '/api/internal/users/deleted', params: {user_id: user_id}, headers: headers }
+          .to change { user.reload.name }.to('Deleted User').and change { user.reload.email }.to(nil)
+      end
+
+      it 'returns 200 OK' do
+        delete '/api/internal/users/deleted',
+          params: {user_id: user_id},
+          headers: headers
+
+        expect(response).to have_http_status(:ok)
+      end
+    end
+
+    context 'with invalid token' do
+      it 'returns 401 Unauthorized' do
+        invalid_headers = headers.merge('Authorization' => 'Bearer invalid_token')
+
+        delete '/api/internal/users/deleted',
+          params: {user_id: user_id},
+          headers: invalid_headers
+
+        expect(response).to have_http_status(:unauthorized)
+      end
+
+      it 'does not anonymize the user' do
+        invalid_headers = headers.merge('Authorization' => 'Bearer invalid_token')
+
+        expect { delete '/api/internal/users/deleted', params: {user_id: user_id}, headers: invalid_headers }
+          .not_to change { user.reload.name }
+      end
+    end
+
+    context 'with missing Authorization header' do
+      it 'returns 401 Unauthorized' do
+        delete '/api/internal/users/deleted',
+          params: {user_id: user_id},
+          headers: {
+            'Content-Type' => 'application/json',
+          }
+
+        expect(response).to have_http_status(:unauthorized)
+      end
+    end
+
+    context 'when soft_delete! fails' do
+      it 'returns 500 Internal Server Error' do
+        allow_any_instance_of(ExternalUser).to receive(:soft_delete!).and_raise(StandardError, 'Database error')
+
+        delete '/api/internal/users/deleted',
+          params: {user_id: user_id},
+          headers: headers
+
+        expect(response).to have_http_status(:internal_server_error)
+      end
+    end
+  end
+end