Data Retention Policies

Introduction

NoteWave retains data only as long as necessary for business purposes and legal obligations. This article explains our retention policies for different types of data and how to request deletion.

Data Retention Periods

Different types of data have different retention periods based on their purpose and legal requirements.

Retention schedule:

Account Data - Retained until account deletion, then purged within 30 days (except as required for legal/financial obligations)
Audio Files - Deleted immediately after transcription unless explicitly saved by user
Transcripts - Retained until user deletion or account termination
Analytics Data - Stored for 24 months; anonymized after 12 months
Backup Data - Retained for 90 days in encrypted backups, then permanently deleted
Legal/Financial Records - Retained for 7 years as required by South African law

Audio File Processing

Audio files are handled with minimal retention to protect your privacy.

Uploaded Files

Deleted immediately after transcription completes. We don't store your original audio unless you explicitly save it.

Live Recordings

Temporary recordings from live sessions are deleted as soon as the transcript is generated.

Privacy by Design

We minimize audio file retention to reduce privacy risks. Once transcription is complete, the audio serves no further purpose and is automatically deleted.

Transcript Retention

Your transcripts are retained until you delete them or close your account.

User control:

Delete individual transcripts at any time from the Meetings page
Bulk delete multiple transcripts in one action
Deleted transcripts are removed from active storage immediately
Backups containing deleted transcripts are purged within 90 days

Account Deletion Process

When you delete your account, most data is permanently deleted within 30 days.

What happens when you delete your account:

Account is immediately marked for deletion and access is revoked
All transcripts, meetings, and user-generated content are deleted within 30 days
Personal information (name, email, preferences) is permanently erased
OAuth connections are disconnected
Subscription is canceled (no refunds for unused time)

Data We Must Retain

For legal and financial compliance, we retain billing records and invoices for 7 years as required by South African tax law. This data is anonymized where possible.

Backup Retention

Encrypted backups are maintained for disaster recovery purposes.

Backup Schedule

Daily automated backups are created and encrypted for disaster recovery.

Backup Deletion

Backups older than 90 days are automatically and permanently deleted from all systems.

When you delete data, it may persist in backups for up to 90 days before being completely purged from all systems.

Analytics & Usage Data

We collect aggregated usage analytics to improve the service. This data is anonymized after 12 months.

Analytics data includes:

Feature usage statistics
Performance metrics
Error logs and debugging information
Device and browser information

After 12 months, analytics data is anonymized (personally identifiable information removed). After 24 months, it's permanently deleted.

Legal & Financial Records

Certain records must be retained to comply with tax, accounting, and legal requirements.

7-Year Retention

South African law requires businesses to retain financial records (invoices, payment history, tax documents) for 7 years. This applies even after account deletion.

Requesting Data Deletion

You can request deletion of your data at any time through account settings or by contacting us.

How to delete your data:

Navigate to Settings → Account Settings
Scroll to the bottom and click "Delete Account"
Confirm deletion by entering your password
Alternatively, email contact@blazesolutions.ai with "Data Deletion Request" in the subject

We process deletion requests within 30 days as required by GDPR and POPIA.