# **🔍 Understanding the Problem**

When you downgrade your Search Atlas plan, OTTO projects that exceed your new quota become **frozen**. Because frozen projects cannot be unfreeezed without a higher-tier plan, and because the platform previously blocked deletion of frozen projects, many users found themselves stuck — unable to remove old projects or add new ones.

Good news: this has been resolved. Search Atlas engineering has shipped updates that **allow frozen and deep-frozen OTTO projects to be deleted**, freeing up your quota slot so you can add a new project within your current plan limits.

# **⚙️ What You Can Do Now**

If you are on a plan that limits you to a set number of active OTTO projects, you can now delete frozen projects directly to reclaim those slots. Follow the steps below.

1. Open the platform and go to **Left sidebar → OTTO SEO → All Sites (SEO Automation)**.
2. Review the list of your existing OTTO sites. Frozen projects will be visually indicated as inactive or locked.
3. Select the frozen project or projects you want to remove.
4. Delete the selected projects. The slot should be freed immediately, allowing you to create or activate a new OTTO project within your quota.

If the deletion option does not appear for a specific frozen project, or if deleting a project does not free your slot as expected, do not attempt to work around the issue — contact support directly using the instructions at the bottom of this article.

# **📊 A Note on Quota and Slot Timing**

In some cases there was a known delay of up to 24 hours before a deleted OTTO project fully released its quota slot. This issue has been addressed by the engineering team. If you delete a project and your slot does not appear to be freed after a reasonable wait, reach out to support so the team can verify your account on the backend.

# **⚠️ When You Need the Support Team**

There are situations where self-service deletion may not be possible — for example, if a project appears frozen but cannot be selected or deleted through the interface, or if the project no longer exists on your end but is still counting against your quota. In these cases, the support team can manually remove the affected domains from the backend to restore your available slots.

When contacting support, have the following ready:

- The full domain name (or names) you want removed
- Confirmation that these projects are frozen and you no longer need them
- Your current plan and how many OTTO slots it allows

# **💡 Tips to Avoid This Issue in the Future**

- Before downgrading your plan, review how many active OTTO projects you have and delete any you no longer need.
- If you anticipate a plan change, proactively reduce your active OTTO sites to match the quota of your target plan.
- Regularly audit your OTTO projects under **Left sidebar → OTTO SEO → All Sites (SEO Automation)** to keep your list clean and within limits.

# **🆘 Get Further Help**

If you need further assistance, open the chat widget in the bottom-right corner of the platform and type **human teammate** to be connected with a member of our team.