What happens when data is deleted?

Data is deleted when its period has ended. The period starts with a particular event, for example when a case is closed or a membership ends. Which event applies to which data is shown in the overview “How long do we keep what?”.

What starts a deletion

• A case ends: the case data is deleted at most 30 days after the case is closed with a placement, at most 30 days after it is closed without a placement and at most 30 days after the case is withdrawn.
• A draft is never published: it is deleted at most 30 days after the last change to its content.
• A membership ends: access ends immediately, the membership details are deleted at most 30 days afterwards.
• You delete your account: it is removed at most 30 days after the deletion is confirmed.

How the deletion works

1. An automatic deletion run regularly checks which periods have ended.
2. The data concerned is deleted. What belongs to a case – messages, team notes and the history of the placement – is deleted together with the case.
3. A deletion log records that and when data was deleted. It is kept at most 3 years from the end of the calendar year after the deletion is completed.

When data is kept longer

• Statutory retention obligations, for example for invoices and accounting vouchers, take precedence. This data is then kept only for that purpose until the end of its period.
• In a justified individual case, for example when proof is needed for a legal clarification, the deletion can be put on hold. Only what is necessary is kept, and only for as long as the reason exists.
• If you have asked for the processing of your data to be restricted, the data is no longer used and is not deleted until the matter is settled.

Backups

Backups are not edited one by one. Deleted data disappears from them because older backups are removed when their period ends: at most 30 days after they were created. So that deleted data does not return when a backup is restored, we keep a block list; it is removed at most 60 days after the deletion is completed.