Data Retention Settings

Overview

Data Retention Settings allow account administrators to configure automatic deletion schedules for files and form data uploaded by borrowers. This feature helps organizations manage data lifecycle, reduce storage costs, meet compliance requirements, and minimize security risks by ensuring old files don't remain indefinitely in the system.

Key Features:

• Configurable retention periods from 32 days to 10 years
• Automatic reminder emails at multiple intervals before deletion
• Deletion applies only to returned files—Invites remain intact
• Timing based on original upload date from each borrower

Getting Started

Before configuring data retention, review your organization's document retention policies and compliance requirements. Ensure you understand which files need long-term retention and which can be deleted after processing.

2. Set Your Retention Period

Enter your desired retention period using the two controls:

• Period: Enter a number in the text field (for example, 90).
• Unit: Select a time unit from the dropdown — Days, Weeks, Months, or Years.

Example: Set Period to 90 and Unit to Days to automatically delete files 90 days after upload.

Note: The retention period starts from the original upload date of each file. Each borrower's files have independent deletion schedules based on when they uploaded, so files uploaded at different times will be deleted at different times.

3. Save Your Settings

Click Save Settings to activate your data retention policy. The system will begin tracking uploaded files against your configured schedule.

Reminder Emails

The system automatically sends reminder emails at three intervals before deletion begins:

• One month before deletion
• Two weeks before deletion
• One week before deletion

Who receives reminder emails:

• Organization Owners
• Admins
• Point of Contact for the Invite
• Assignees

What the reminders include:

• List of Invites scheduled for deletion
• Exact deletion date
• Number of files affected
• Instructions for extending retention if needed

Review Deletion Scope

What gets deleted:

• Returned files uploaded by borrowers
• Form data submitted through LiveForms
• Original and PDF copies of documents

What remains intact:

• The Invite itself (structure, requests, metadata)
• Invite history and activity logs
• Messages and communications
• Acceptance/rejection status of requests
• File names and upload timestamps (metadata only)

Understanding Reminder Emails

One Month Before Deletion

Subject: FileInvite Data Retention: Files Scheduled for Deletion in 30 Days

Content:

• List of Invites with files approaching deletion
• Total number of files affected
• Exact deletion date
• Link to extend retention if needed

Two Weeks Before Deletion

Subject: FileInvite Data Retention: Files Scheduled for Deletion in 14 Days

Content:

• Updated list of Invites
• Remaining time until deletion
• Instructions for downloading files before deletion

One Week Before Deletion

Subject: FINAL NOTICE: FileInvite Files Will Be Deleted in 7 Days

Content:

• Final warning before deletion
• List of Invites affected
• Urgent call-to-action to extend retention or download files

Best Practices

💡 Align with compliance requirements: Choose retention periods that meet your industry's regulatory requirements (e.g., 7 years for tax documents, 3 years for loan applications).

💡 Download critical files before deletion: For loans requiring long-term archival, download files to your local system or cloud storage before the retention period expires.

💡 Use cloud sync for automatic backup: Connect Google Drive, Box, SharePoint, or OneDrive to automatically save files before retention policies delete them.

💡 Act on reminder emails: Don't ignore retention reminders—you have three opportunities to extend retention or download files before deletion.

💡 Document your policy: Record why you chose specific retention periods for audit and compliance purposes.

💡 Review retention settings annually: As regulations change, periodically review your retention policy to ensure compliance.

Important Considerations

Deletion is permanent: Once files are deleted after the retention period expires, they cannot be recovered. Ensure you have backups of critical documents.

Invite metadata remains: Even after file deletion, the Invite structure, history, and metadata remain accessible for reporting and audit purposes.

User-specific timing: Each borrower's files are deleted based on their individual upload dates, not the Invite creation date.

No impact on cloud storage: Files already synced to cloud storage integrations are not affected by FileInvite's data retention policies.

Troubleshooting

Issue: I didn't receive reminder emails

• Verify your email address is correct in your user profile
• Check spam/junk folders for FileInvite emails
• Ensure you have admin or owner permissions
• Confirm the Invite hasn't already been archived

Issue: I need to recover deleted files

Data retention deletion is permanent and cannot be reversed. If you need files after deletion:

• Check your cloud storage integration if enabled
• Review local downloads made before deletion
• Contact the borrower to request file re-upload

Issue: Retention period is too short for my compliance needs

• Navigate to Data Retention Settings
• Select a longer retention period (up to 10 years)
• Click Save Changes
• New retention period applies to all future uploads

🎉 Success! Your data retention policy is now configured to automatically manage file lifecycle and reduce security risks! 🎉