Retention

This section describes the rules for storing and automatically deleting documents. Here you will find information about retention periods and archiving.

In the Settings > Anonymization the administrator can specify how long documents are stored in the system.

Retention of all documents is counted from the moment they are added to the system. A separate setting determines how long the source version is stored after anonymization is performed.

If the terms resulting from both settings are different, the document or its source version will be deleted after the earlier one expires.

Document retention settings.

Retention of all documents

Option Keep all documents determines the maximum time a document is stored in the system, counted from the moment it is added.

The available range is from 7 to 365 days.

After the selected period expires, the document will be permanently deleted from the system regardless of its current status.

Example: if a document was added on Monday at 3:00 PM and the retention period was set to 7 days, the document will be deleted the following Monday at 3:00 PM.

Important: Automatic deletion resulting from retention cannot be undone. Before setting a short period, make sure the necessary files have been downloaded and saved outside the system.

Retention of original documents

Option Keep document originals determines how long after anonymization is performed the system stores the source version of the document.

The available range is from 0 to 30 days.

After the selected period expires, the source document will be permanently deleted. Its anonymized version will remain in the system unless the overall period set in the option expires earlier Keep all documents.

Value 0 days means that the source document will be deleted within a maximum of 12 hours after anonymization is performed.

Example: The document was anonymized on Wednesday at 10:00 AM, and the retention period for originals was set to 3 days. The source version will be deleted on Saturday at 10:00 AM, unless the overall retention period for all documents expires earlier.

Important: After the source version is deleted, you cannot return to classification or edit the marked fields again. Only the anonymized version will remain available.

Retention of documents after Quick Anonymization

Quick anonymization allows a single document to be processed without manually creating a project. The option Keep documents after Quick Anonymization determines whether files added in this mode remain available in the system after the process is complete.

If the option is enabled, documents are stored until they are manually deleted or until the period specified in the setting Keep all documents.

If the option is disabled, documents are automatically deleted after Quick Anonymization is finished. Deletion may take a few minutes.

Example: If retention of documents after Quick Anonymization is enabled and the overall retention period is 7 days, the document will remain available for up to 7 days from the moment it is added, unless it is deleted manually earlier.

Important: Documents automatically deleted after Quick Anonymization cannot be reopened in the system. Before finishing, download the anonymized file and save it on your device.

How retention settings interact

setting Keep all documents determines the maximum time a document can remain in the system. The setting Keep document originals applies only to the source version after anonymization is performed.

If the general deletion date for the document is earlier than the deletion date of its source version, the earlier date will be applied.

Example: The document was added on Monday, and the overall retention period is 7 days. If the document is anonymized on Sunday and the originals are stored for 30 days, the entire document will still be deleted the following Monday after the 7-day overall period expires.

If the document was deleted earlier than expected, check the values of all retention settings. If in doubt, go to the section Technical Support and provide the project name, document ID, and the approximate date it was added.