{"id":"https://openalex.org/W4407360741","doi":"https://doi.org/10.1109/tnnls.2025.3530988","title":"Machine Unlearning: Taxonomy, Metrics, Applications, Challenges, and Prospects","display_name":"Machine Unlearning: Taxonomy, Metrics, Applications, Challenges, and Prospects","publication_year":2025,"publication_date":"2025-02-11","ids":{"openalex":"https://openalex.org/W4407360741","doi":"https://doi.org/10.1109/tnnls.2025.3530988","pmid":"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40031591"},"language":"en","primary_location":{"id":"doi:10.1109/tnnls.2025.3530988","is_oa":false,"landing_page_url":"https://doi.org/10.1109/tnnls.2025.3530988","pdf_url":null,"source":{"id":"https://openalex.org/S4210175523","display_name":"IEEE Transactions on Neural Networks and Learning Systems","issn_l":"2162-237X","issn":["2162-237X","2162-2388"],"is_oa":false,"is_in_doaj":false,"is_core":true,"host_organization":"https://openalex.org/P4310319808","host_organization_name":"Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers","host_organization_lineage":["https://openalex.org/P4310319808"],"host_organization_lineage_names":["Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers"],"type":"journal"},"license":null,"license_id":null,"version":"publishedVersion","is_accepted":true,"is_published":true,"raw_source_name":"IEEE Transactions on Neural Networks and Learning Systems","raw_type":"journal-article"},"type":"article","indexed_in":["crossref","pubmed"],"open_access":{"is_oa":false,"oa_status":"closed","oa_url":null,"any_repository_has_fulltext":false},"authorships":[{"author_position":"first","author":{"id":"https://openalex.org/A5102934115","display_name":"Na Li","orcid":null},"institutions":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/I36399199","display_name":"Nanjing University of Science and Technology","ror":"https://ror.org/00xp9wg62","country_code":"CN","type":"education","lineage":["https://openalex.org/I36399199"]}],"countries":["CN"],"is_corresponding":false,"raw_author_name":"Na Li","raw_affiliation_strings":["School of Cyber Science and Engineering, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing, China"],"raw_orcid":null,"affiliations":[{"raw_affiliation_string":"School of Cyber Science and Engineering, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing, China","institution_ids":["https://openalex.org/I36399199"]}]},{"author_position":"middle","author":{"id":"https://openalex.org/A5016021356","display_name":"Chunyi Zhou","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0081-0946"},"institutions":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/I168879160","display_name":"Zhejiang University of Science and Technology","ror":"https://ror.org/05mx0wr29","country_code":"CN","type":"education","lineage":["https://openalex.org/I168879160"]}],"countries":["CN"],"is_corresponding":false,"raw_author_name":"Chunyi Zhou","raw_affiliation_strings":["College of Computer Science and Technology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China"],"raw_orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0081-0946","affiliations":[{"raw_affiliation_string":"College of Computer Science and Technology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China","institution_ids":["https://openalex.org/I168879160"]}]},{"author_position":"middle","author":{"id":"https://openalex.org/A5067969908","display_name":"Yansong Gao","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6029-5064"},"institutions":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/I177877127","display_name":"The University of Western Australia","ror":"https://ror.org/047272k79","country_code":"AU","type":"education","lineage":["https://openalex.org/I177877127"]}],"countries":["AU"],"is_corresponding":false,"raw_author_name":"Yansong Gao","raw_affiliation_strings":["Department of Computer Science and Software Engineering, The University of Western Australia, Perth, WA, Australia"],"raw_orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6029-5064","affiliations":[{"raw_affiliation_string":"Department of Computer Science and Software Engineering, The University of Western Australia, Perth, WA, Australia","institution_ids":["https://openalex.org/I177877127"]}]},{"author_position":"middle","author":{"id":"https://openalex.org/A5102630116","display_name":"Hui Chen","orcid":null},"institutions":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/I36399199","display_name":"Nanjing University of Science and Technology","ror":"https://ror.org/00xp9wg62","country_code":"CN","type":"education","lineage":["https://openalex.org/I36399199"]}],"countries":["CN"],"is_corresponding":false,"raw_author_name":"Hui Chen","raw_affiliation_strings":["School of Computer Science and Engineering, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing, China"],"raw_orcid":null,"affiliations":[{"raw_affiliation_string":"School of Computer Science and Engineering, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing, China","institution_ids":["https://openalex.org/I36399199"]}]},{"author_position":"middle","author":{"id":"https://openalex.org/A5100410710","display_name":"Zhi Zhang","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3604-5369"},"institutions":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/I177877127","display_name":"The University of Western Australia","ror":"https://ror.org/047272k79","country_code":"AU","type":"education","lineage":["https://openalex.org/I177877127"]}],"countries":["AU"],"is_corresponding":false,"raw_author_name":"Zhi Zhang","raw_affiliation_strings":["Department of Computer Science and Software Engineering, The University of Western Australia, Perth, WA, Australia"],"raw_orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3604-5369","affiliations":[{"raw_affiliation_string":"Department of Computer Science and Software Engineering, The University of Western Australia, Perth, WA, Australia","institution_ids":["https://openalex.org/I177877127"]}]},{"author_position":"middle","author":{"id":"https://openalex.org/A5021875327","display_name":"Boyu Kuang","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5903-557X"},"institutions":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/I36399199","display_name":"Nanjing University of Science and Technology","ror":"https://ror.org/00xp9wg62","country_code":"CN","type":"education","lineage":["https://openalex.org/I36399199"]}],"countries":["CN"],"is_corresponding":false,"raw_author_name":"Boyu Kuang","raw_affiliation_strings":["School of Computer Science and Engineering, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing, China","School of Cyber Science and Engineering, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing, China"],"raw_orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5903-557X","affiliations":[{"raw_affiliation_string":"School of Computer Science and Engineering, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing, China","institution_ids":["https://openalex.org/I36399199"]},{"raw_affiliation_string":"School of Cyber Science and Engineering, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing, China","institution_ids":["https://openalex.org/I36399199"]}]},{"author_position":"last","author":{"id":"https://openalex.org/A5048592388","display_name":"Anmin Fu","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1632-5737"},"institutions":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/I36399199","display_name":"Nanjing University of Science and Technology","ror":"https://ror.org/00xp9wg62","country_code":"CN","type":"education","lineage":["https://openalex.org/I36399199"]}],"countries":["CN"],"is_corresponding":false,"raw_author_name":"Anmin Fu","raw_affiliation_strings":["School of Cyber Science and Engineering, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing, China"],"raw_orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1632-5737","affiliations":[{"raw_affiliation_string":"School of Cyber Science and Engineering, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing, China","institution_ids":["https://openalex.org/I36399199"]}]}],"institutions":[],"countries_distinct_count":2,"institutions_distinct_count":3,"corresponding_author_ids":[],"corresponding_institution_ids":[],"apc_list":null,"apc_paid":null,"fwci":21.6066,"has_fulltext":false,"cited_by_count":24,"citation_normalized_percentile":{"value":0.99181342,"is_in_top_1_percent":true,"is_in_top_10_percent":true},"cited_by_percentile_year":{"min":90,"max":100},"biblio":{"volume":"36","issue":"8","first_page":"13709","last_page":"13729"},"is_retracted":false,"is_paratext":false,"is_xpac":false,"primary_topic":{"id":"https://openalex.org/T11122","display_name":"Online Learning and Analytics","score":0.8549000024795532,"subfield":{"id":"https://openalex.org/subfields/1706","display_name":"Computer Science Applications"},"field":{"id":"https://openalex.org/fields/17","display_name":"Computer Science"},"domain":{"id":"https://openalex.org/domains/3","display_name":"Physical Sciences"}},"topics":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/T11122","display_name":"Online Learning and Analytics","score":0.8549000024795532,"subfield":{"id":"https://openalex.org/subfields/1706","display_name":"Computer Science Applications"},"field":{"id":"https://openalex.org/fields/17","display_name":"Computer Science"},"domain":{"id":"https://openalex.org/domains/3","display_name":"Physical Sciences"}},{"id":"https://openalex.org/T14470","display_name":"Advanced Data Processing Techniques","score":0.8256000280380249,"subfield":{"id":"https://openalex.org/subfields/2207","display_name":"Control and Systems Engineering"},"field":{"id":"https://openalex.org/fields/22","display_name":"Engineering"},"domain":{"id":"https://openalex.org/domains/3","display_name":"Physical Sciences"}},{"id":"https://openalex.org/T14025","display_name":"Educational Technology and Assessment","score":0.7652999758720398,"subfield":{"id":"https://openalex.org/subfields/1710","display_name":"Information Systems"},"field":{"id":"https://openalex.org/fields/17","display_name":"Computer Science"},"domain":{"id":"https://openalex.org/domains/3","display_name":"Physical Sciences"}}],"keywords":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/taxonomy","display_name":"Taxonomy (biology)","score":0.6663379669189453},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/computer-science","display_name":"Computer science","score":0.4867081940174103},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/data-science","display_name":"Data science","score":0.3594706654548645},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/biology","display_name":"Biology","score":0.14642030000686646},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/ecology","display_name":"Ecology","score":0.09012553095817566}],"concepts":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/C58642233","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q8269924","display_name":"Taxonomy (biology)","level":2,"score":0.6663379669189453},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C41008148","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q21198","display_name":"Computer science","level":0,"score":0.4867081940174103},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C2522767166","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2374463","display_name":"Data science","level":1,"score":0.3594706654548645},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C86803240","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q420","display_name":"Biology","level":0,"score":0.14642030000686646},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C18903297","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7150","display_name":"Ecology","level":1,"score":0.09012553095817566}],"mesh":[],"locations_count":3,"locations":[{"id":"doi:10.1109/tnnls.2025.3530988","is_oa":false,"landing_page_url":"https://doi.org/10.1109/tnnls.2025.3530988","pdf_url":null,"source":{"id":"https://openalex.org/S4210175523","display_name":"IEEE Transactions on Neural Networks and Learning Systems","issn_l":"2162-237X","issn":["2162-237X","2162-2388"],"is_oa":false,"is_in_doaj":false,"is_core":true,"host_organization":"https://openalex.org/P4310319808","host_organization_name":"Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers","host_organization_lineage":["https://openalex.org/P4310319808"],"host_organization_lineage_names":["Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers"],"type":"journal"},"license":null,"license_id":null,"version":"publishedVersion","is_accepted":true,"is_published":true,"raw_source_name":"IEEE Transactions on Neural Networks and Learning Systems","raw_type":"journal-article"},{"id":"pmid:40031591","is_oa":false,"landing_page_url":"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40031591","pdf_url":null,"source":{"id":"https://openalex.org/S4306525036","display_name":"PubMed","issn_l":null,"issn":null,"is_oa":false,"is_in_doaj":false,"is_core":false,"host_organization":"https://openalex.org/I1299303238","host_organization_name":"National Institutes of Health","host_organization_lineage":["https://openalex.org/I1299303238"],"host_organization_lineage_names":[],"type":"repository"},"license":null,"license_id":null,"version":"publishedVersion","is_accepted":true,"is_published":true,"raw_source_name":"IEEE transactions on neural networks and learning systems","raw_type":null},{"id":"pmh:oai:pure.atira.dk:publications/9aaa3474-e610-42a9-8fa8-946a74548e42","is_oa":false,"landing_page_url":"https://admin.research-repository.uwa.edu.au/en/publications/9aaa3474-e610-42a9-8fa8-946a74548e42","pdf_url":null,"source":{"id":"https://openalex.org/S4306402492","display_name":"UWA Profiles and Research Repository (UWA)","issn_l":null,"issn":null,"is_oa":false,"is_in_doaj":false,"is_core":false,"host_organization":"https://openalex.org/I177877127","host_organization_name":"The University of Western Australia","host_organization_lineage":["https://openalex.org/I177877127"],"host_organization_lineage_names":[],"type":"repository"},"license":null,"license_id":null,"version":"publishedVersion","is_accepted":true,"is_published":true,"raw_source_name":"Li, N, Zhou, C, Gao, Y, Chen, H, Zhang, Z, Kuang, B & Fu, A 2025, 'Machine Unlearning : Taxonomy, Metrics, Applications, Challenges, and Prospects', IEEE Transactions on Neural Networks and Learning Systems, vol. 36, no. 8, pp. 13709-13729. https://doi.org/10.1109/TNNLS.2025.3530988","raw_type":"info:eu-repo/semantics/article"}],"best_oa_location":null,"sustainable_development_goals":[],"awards":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/G5663473917","display_name":null,"funder_award_id":"62072239","funder_id":"https://openalex.org/F4320321001","funder_display_name":"National Natural Science Foundation of China"},{"id":"https://openalex.org/G913869186","display_name":null,"funder_award_id":"62372236","funder_id":"https://openalex.org/F4320321001","funder_display_name":"National Natural Science Foundation of China"}],"funders":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/F4320321001","display_name":"National Natural Science Foundation of China","ror":"https://ror.org/01h0zpd94"},{"id":"https://openalex.org/F4320327794","display_name":"Qinglan Project of Jiangsu Province of China","ror":null}],"has_content":{"pdf":false,"grobid_xml":false},"content_urls":null,"referenced_works_count":132,"referenced_works":["https://openalex.org/W1488996941","https://openalex.org/W2009593660","https://openalex.org/W2051267297","https://openalex.org/W2535690855","https://openalex.org/W2805779034","https://openalex.org/W2953303875","https://openalex.org/W3008570669","https://openalex.org/W3009247246","https://openalex.org/W3016560828","https://openalex.org/W3023153742","https://openalex.org/W3035644192","https://openalex.org/W3095155273","https://openalex.org/W3095859802","https://openalex.org/W3096423661","https://openalex.org/W3100213383","https://openalex.org/W3154155772","https://openalex.org/W3164111940","https://openalex.org/W3174532363","https://openalex.org/W3175430527","https://openalex.org/W3176739818","https://openalex.org/W3177828909","https://openalex.org/W3188298126","https://openalex.org/W3193974325","https://openalex.org/W3197363474","https://openalex.org/W3199974954","https://openalex.org/W3202838631","https://openalex.org/W3209576002","https://openalex.org/W3212531423","https://openalex.org/W3213758632","https://openalex.org/W3213890349","https://openalex.org/W4221158899","https://openalex.org/W4224325687","https://openalex.org/W4281885833","https://openalex.org/W4283208007","https://openalex.org/W4286256876","https://openalex.org/W4296562799","https://openalex.org/W4312319920","https://openalex.org/W4312670823","https://openalex.org/W4315784554","https://openalex.org/W4319332853","https://openalex.org/W4321521256","https://openalex.org/W4324007185","https://openalex.org/W4362706499","https://openalex.org/W4362714589","https://openalex.org/W4366371549","https://openalex.org/W4367046768","https://openalex.org/W4379652910","https://openalex.org/W4382239683","https://openalex.org/W4382998905","https://openalex.org/W4383221497","https://openalex.org/W4385154262","https://openalex.org/W4385568427","https://openalex.org/W4385570172","https://openalex.org/W4385571042","https://openalex.org/W4386075674","https://openalex.org/W4386861232","https://openalex.org/W4387195417","https://openalex.org/W4387986864","https://openalex.org/W4389519496","https://openalex.org/W4389524330","https://openalex.org/W4389736946","https://openalex.org/W4391725286","https://openalex.org/W4392506975","https://openalex.org/W4394595144","https://openalex.org/W4402265414","https://openalex.org/W4403758929","https://openalex.org/W4404293797","https://openalex.org/W4406299883","https://openalex.org/W4407661798","https://openalex.org/W4409346666","https://openalex.org/W4409362656","https://openalex.org/W4409985448","https://openalex.org/W4412158322","https://openalex.org/W4412565294","https://openalex.org/W6721263324","https://openalex.org/W6735632633","https://openalex.org/W6740005241","https://openalex.org/W6755603394","https://openalex.org/W6760759230","https://openalex.org/W6763393573","https://openalex.org/W6769833289","https://openalex.org/W6775408278","https://openalex.org/W6779605666","https://openalex.org/W6780547051","https://openalex.org/W6787395377","https://openalex.org/W6790532531","https://openalex.org/W6791392103","https://openalex.org/W6791907524","https://openalex.org/W6795302430","https://openalex.org/W6796843635","https://openalex.org/W6797062389","https://openalex.org/W6798182279","https://openalex.org/W6802936884","https://openalex.org/W6803053407","https://openalex.org/W6809885388","https://openalex.org/W6810447834","https://openalex.org/W6810621514","https://openalex.org/W6810708214","https://openalex.org/W6811351543","https://openalex.org/W6838779202","https://openalex.org/W6839328737","https://openalex.org/W6845579281","https://openalex.org/W6845980800","https://openalex.org/W6846320025","https://openalex.org/W6846762878","https://openalex.org/W6847420068","https://openalex.org/W6849563842","https://openalex.org/W6850390306","https://openalex.org/W6851934252","https://openalex.org/W6854866820","https://openalex.org/W6855075079","https://openalex.org/W6855460758","https://openalex.org/W6856886205","https://openalex.org/W6857276209","https://openalex.org/W6857316800","https://openalex.org/W6857745965","https://openalex.org/W6857841889","https://openalex.org/W6860276258","https://openalex.org/W6861108446","https://openalex.org/W6861547118","https://openalex.org/W6861632594","https://openalex.org/W6861968158","https://openalex.org/W6862379931","https://openalex.org/W6866526368","https://openalex.org/W6866944879","https://openalex.org/W6866999201","https://openalex.org/W6868880902","https://openalex.org/W6869434201","https://openalex.org/W6869458922","https://openalex.org/W6870549239","https://openalex.org/W6870584973","https://openalex.org/W6871200714"],"related_works":["https://openalex.org/W4391375266","https://openalex.org/W2899084033","https://openalex.org/W2748952813","https://openalex.org/W2390279801","https://openalex.org/W4391913857","https://openalex.org/W2358668433","https://openalex.org/W4396701345","https://openalex.org/W2376932109","https://openalex.org/W2001405890","https://openalex.org/W4396696052"],"abstract_inverted_index":{"Personal":[0],"digital":[1],"data":[2,17,51,90],"is":[3,115],"a":[4,45,116,208],"critical":[5],"asset,":[6],"and":[7,13,52,77,149,157,160,162,174],"governments":[8],"worldwide":[9],"have":[10,21],"enforced":[11],"laws":[12],"regulations":[14],"to":[15,27,48,66,84,121,134,205],"protect":[16],"privacy.":[18],"Data":[19],"users":[20],"been":[22],"endowed":[23],"with":[24],"the":[25,35,41,86,93,98,109,123,136,141,171,188],"\"right":[26],"be":[28],"forgotten\"":[29],"(RTBF)":[30],"of":[31,37,88,118,138,144],"their":[32],"data.":[33,107],"In":[34],"course":[36],"machine":[38],"learning":[39],"(ML),":[40],"forgotten":[42],"right":[43],"requires":[44],"model":[46,82,94,99],"provider":[47],"delete":[49],"user":[50,60],"its":[53],"subsequent":[54],"impact":[55],"on":[56,153,170],"ML":[57],"models":[58,183],"upon":[59],"requests.":[61],"Machine":[62],"unlearning":[63,145,179,192],"(MU)":[64],"emerges":[65],"address":[67],"this,":[68],"which":[69],"has":[70,111],"garnered":[71],"ever-increasing":[72],"attention":[73],"from":[74,95],"both":[75],"industry":[76],"academia.":[78],"Specifically,":[79],"MU":[80,139],"allows":[81],"providers":[83],"eliminate":[85],"influence":[87],"unlearned":[89],"without":[91],"retraining":[92],"scratch,":[96],"ensuring":[97],"behaves":[100],"as":[101,185,187,207],"if":[102],"it":[103],"never":[104],"encountered":[105],"this":[106,127],"While":[108],"area":[110],"developed":[112],"rapidly,":[113],"there":[114],"lack":[117],"comprehensive":[119],"surveys":[120],"capture":[122],"latest":[124],"advancements.":[125],"Recognizing":[126],"shortage,":[128],"we":[129],"conduct":[130],"an":[131],"extensive":[132],"exploration":[133],"map":[135],"landscape":[137],"including":[140],"(fine-grained)":[142],"taxonomy":[143],"algorithms":[146],"under":[147],"centralized":[148],"distributed":[150],"settings,":[151],"debate":[152],"approximate":[154],"unlearning,":[155],"verification":[156],"evaluation":[158],"metrics,":[159],"challenges":[161],"solutions":[163],"across":[164],"various":[165],"applications.":[166],"We":[167],"also":[168],"focus":[169],"motivations,":[172],"challenges,":[173],"specific":[175],"methods":[176],"for":[177,201,210],"deploying":[178],"in":[180],"large":[181],"language":[182],"(LLMs),":[184],"well":[186],"potential":[189,199],"attacks":[190],"targeting":[191],"processes.":[193],"The":[194],"survey":[195],"concludes":[196],"by":[197],"outlining":[198],"directions":[200],"future":[202],"research,":[203],"hoping":[204],"serve":[206],"beacon":[209],"interested":[211],"scholars.":[212]},"counts_by_year":[{"year":2026,"cited_by_count":6},{"year":2025,"cited_by_count":17},{"year":2024,"cited_by_count":1}],"updated_date":"2026-07-15T18:14:33.161393","created_date":"2025-10-10T00:00:00"}