Legal
Data retention
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In short: How long we keep each kind of data, and why. Nothing here says 'as long as necessary' — every period is a number with a reason behind it, and when the reason goes away the data goes with it.
1. The principle
We keep something for as long as there is a reason, and the reason has to be one we can state. Once it lapses, the data is deleted on a schedule rather than left to accumulate. Data nobody is keeping for a reason is not an asset; it is a breach waiting for an owner.
2. The schedule
| What | How long | Why that long |
|---|---|---|
| Inquiry and quote requests | 24 months from last contact | People come back to a quote a year later. After two years it is stale and we delete it. |
| SMS consent records | 4 years from opt-out | The TCPA statute of limitations is four years. The record of what you agreed to, and when, is the evidence that we were allowed to message you. |
| Call recordings and voice-agent audio | 90 days | Long enough to resolve a dispute about what was said, short enough that we are not holding a library of recorded conversations. |
| Conversations with Erica | 1 day after the last message | Kept on our server only so Erica can follow the conversation you are having, then deleted. If you ask for a person, what you wrote becomes an inquiry and is kept as one. |
| Staff usage events | 400 days | Which of our own tools our staff use, recorded per staff account. Nothing about visitors or clients. A year-on-year comparison with a month to spare. |
| Invoices and payment records | 7 years | IRS record-keeping requirements for business income and expenses. |
| Client project data on our systems | 30 days after the engagement ends | A handover window. After it, the client has the code and the data and we do not keep a copy. |
| Server and application logs | 30 days | Enough to investigate an incident. Logs older than that are a liability, not an asset. |
| Analytics | 14 months | Google Analytics' shortest retention that still allows a year-on-year comparison. |
| Backups | 35 days, rolling | Deleted data can persist in a backup until it rotates out. We do not restore a backup to recover data somebody asked us to delete. |
3. Why SMS consent is kept after you opt out
This one looks contradictory and is worth explaining. When you reply STOP we stop messaging you immediately and permanently. What we keep is the record — the wording you were shown, the time you agreed, and the time you opted out.
That record is the evidence we were permitted to message you in the first place, and the Telephone Consumer Protection Act allows a claim to be brought for four years. Deleting the record would leave us unable to show consent existed, which is worse for both of us. It is kept for that purpose only, and it is never used to contact you again.
4. Asking us to delete something sooner
You can. Email admin@inericasystems.com and we will action it within 45 days, usually far sooner. See the privacy policy for the full set of rights and how we verify a request.
Two honest limits. We cannot delete something a law requires us to keep — an invoice inside the seven-year window is the usual case. And deleted data can survive in an encrypted backup until that backup rotates out, within 35 days; we do not restore a backup to recover something somebody asked us to delete.
5. When an engagement ends
Client project data on our systems is deleted 30 days after the engagement ends. The window is a handover: time to confirm the client has the code, the database and the credentials, and that everything runs on their own infrastructure. After it we do not keep a copy.
If you want your data destroyed immediately at the end rather than after 30 days, say so and we will, with written confirmation of what was removed.
6. Changes
Shortening a period takes effect immediately. Lengthening one applies only to data collected after the change, and clients under a data processing addendum are notified first.