The Auto-delete responses feature helps you manage data retention and comply with privacy regulations by automatically deleting responses after a specified period.
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Auto-delete responses is a data retention feature that automatically removes questionnaire responses from your account after a specified number of days. This helps you maintain data hygiene, comply with data protection regulations like GDPR, and manage storage efficiently. Once enabled, responses older than your specified retention period will be permanently deleted from your account at midnight (UTC) every day. Note: This feature only deletes response data; your contacts are not affected.
This guide will teach you:
- How to activate Auto-delete responses
- How to set your retention period
- Understanding the confirmation warning
- Important considerations
1. How to activate Auto-delete responses
- Click on the orange user icon shown at the top right corner of the Pointerpro interface.
- Choose My Account.
- Navigate to the Organization tab at the top of the page (next to "Plan & Billing").
- Locate the Auto-delete responses section. Toggle the switch to ON (it will turn orange when enabled).
2. How to set your retention period
Once Auto-delete responses is enabled, you'll see a field where you can enter the number of days to keep responses, then you can enter the number of days you want to retain responses before they are automatically deleted (for example, 30, 60, or 90 days).
The default placeholder shows 30 days, but you can adjust this to any number that suits your needs.
3. Understanding the confirmation warning
Below the input field, you'll see an important warning message:
⚠️ "Lowering the retention period (e.g. from 90 days to 30 days) may result in existing responses being deleted earlier than expected."
This warning reminds you that if you reduce the retention period, responses that were previously safe may now be scheduled for deletion sooner. For example, if you change from 90 days to 30 days, any responses that are between 30-90 days old will be deleted at the next scheduled deletion (midnight UTC).
Before lowering your retention period, make sure to export any important data you want to keep.
4. Important considerations
Warning!
- Responses only, not contacts.
- Deletion is permanent and irreversible.
- Automatic deletion runs daily: The system automatically deletes responses at midnight (UTC) that are older than your retention period.
- Export important data first: Make sure to export any data you need before enabling this feature or reducing your retention period.
Permissions
- Only administrators of the organization can view and edit this setting.
Data handling and permissions
- Compliance alignment: Ensure your retention period aligns with any legal or compliance requirements your organization must follow.
Plan your retention period carefully based on your compliance requirements and data needs. Export important data regularly, especially before reducing the retention period, and communicate the policy to your team so everyone knows how long response data will be available.
What is next?
- Download your Results: Learn how to export and save your questionnaire data before it's automatically deleted.
- Manage Your Team: Set up team member permissions.
- Results Dashboard: View and analyze your response data while it's still available.
- White labeling: Customize your questionnaire branding and domain settings.