diff --git a/app/jobs/scheduled/destroy_old_hidden_posts.rb b/app/jobs/scheduled/destroy_old_hidden_posts.rb
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..8cb291d9ed5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/app/jobs/scheduled/destroy_old_hidden_posts.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+module Jobs
+
+  class DestroyOldHiddenPosts < Jobs::Scheduled
+    every 1.day
+
+    def execute(args)
+      return unless SiteSetting.delete_old_hidden_posts
+      PostDestroyer.destroy_old_hidden_posts
+    end
+
+  end
+
+end
diff --git a/app/models/post_action.rb b/app/models/post_action.rb
index 1a4553d8959..3eb3160a7e7 100644
--- a/app/models/post_action.rb
+++ b/app/models/post_action.rb
@@ -404,7 +404,7 @@ class PostAction < ActiveRecord::Base
       reason = guess_hide_reason(old_flags)
     end
 
-    Post.where(id: post.id).update_all(["hidden = true, hidden_at = CURRENT_TIMESTAMP, hidden_reason_id = COALESCE(hidden_reason_id, ?)", reason])
+    Post.where(id: post.id).update_all(["hidden = true, hidden_at = ?, hidden_reason_id = COALESCE(hidden_reason_id, ?)", Time.now, reason])
     Topic.where("id = :topic_id AND NOT EXISTS(SELECT 1 FROM POSTS WHERE topic_id = :topic_id AND NOT hidden)", topic_id: post.topic_id).update_all(visible: false)
 
     # inform user
diff --git a/config/locales/server.en.yml b/config/locales/server.en.yml
index ccde610c682..4c14b848c5c 100644
--- a/config/locales/server.en.yml
+++ b/config/locales/server.en.yml
@@ -639,6 +639,7 @@ en:
       description: "A message that will be displayed at the top of all notification emails."
 
   site_settings:
+    delete_old_hidden_posts: "Auto-delete any hidden posts that stay hidden for more than 30 days."
     default_locale: "The default language of this Discourse instance (ISO 639-1 Code)"
     allow_user_locale: "Allow users to choose their own language interface preference"
     min_post_length: "Minimum allowed post length in characters"
diff --git a/config/site_settings.yml b/config/site_settings.yml
index c8c40e0de25..8bcf1441904 100644
--- a/config/site_settings.yml
+++ b/config/site_settings.yml
@@ -379,6 +379,7 @@ posting:
   autohighlight_all_code:
     client: true
     default: false
+  delete_old_hidden_posts: true
 
 email:
   email_time_window_mins: 10
diff --git a/lib/post_destroyer.rb b/lib/post_destroyer.rb
index 1719f926752..783242c44fa 100644
--- a/lib/post_destroyer.rb
+++ b/lib/post_destroyer.rb
@@ -4,6 +4,14 @@
 #
 class PostDestroyer
 
+  def self.destroy_old_hidden_posts
+    Post.where(deleted_at: nil)
+        .where("hidden_at < ?", 30.days.ago)
+        .find_each do |post|
+        PostDestroyer.new(Discourse.system_user, post).destroy
+      end
+  end
+
   def self.destroy_stubs
     # exclude deleted topics and posts that are actively flagged
     Post.where(deleted_at: nil, user_deleted: true)
diff --git a/spec/components/post_destroyer_spec.rb b/spec/components/post_destroyer_spec.rb
index 607c915d55a..b25baff2344 100644
--- a/spec/components/post_destroyer_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/components/post_destroyer_spec.rb
@@ -11,6 +11,44 @@ describe PostDestroyer do
   let(:admin) { Fabricate(:admin) }
   let(:post) { create_post }
 
+  describe "destroy_old_hidden_posts" do
+
+    it "destroys posts that have been hidden for 30 days" do
+      Fabricate(:admin)
+
+      now = Time.now
+
+      freeze_time(now - 60.days)
+      topic = post.topic
+      reply1 = create_post(topic: topic)
+
+      freeze_time(now - 40.days)
+      reply2 = create_post(topic: topic)
+      PostAction.hide_post!(reply2, PostActionType.types[:off_topic])
+
+      freeze_time(now - 20.days)
+      reply3 = create_post(topic: topic)
+      PostAction.hide_post!(reply3, PostActionType.types[:off_topic])
+
+      freeze_time(now - 10.days)
+      reply4 = create_post(topic: topic)
+
+      freeze_time(now)
+      PostDestroyer.destroy_old_hidden_posts
+
+      reply1.reload
+      reply2.reload
+      reply3.reload
+      reply4.reload
+
+      reply1.deleted_at.should == nil
+      reply2.deleted_at.should_not == nil
+      reply3.deleted_at.should == nil
+      reply4.deleted_at.should == nil
+    end
+
+  end
+
   describe 'destroy_old_stubs' do
     it 'destroys stubs for deleted by user posts' do
       SiteSetting.stubs(:delete_removed_posts_after).returns(24)
@@ -314,8 +352,8 @@ describe PostDestroyer do
 
       PostDestroyer.new(moderator, second_post).destroy
 
-      expect(UserAction.find_by(id: bookmark.id)).should == nil
-      expect(UserAction.find_by(id: like.id)).should == nil
+      expect(UserAction.find_by(id: bookmark.id)).to be_nil
+      expect(UserAction.find_by(id: like.id)).to be_nil
     end
   end