> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.antei.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Data Retention & Deletion

> How Antei retains, cleans, and deletes data across your organization in accordance with compliance and audit best practices.

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# Data Retention & Deletion

Antei applies structured retention and deletion policies across all core data entities to balance audit-readiness with privacy requirements.

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## Retention Principles

* **Persistent by default for tax records:** Transactional, invoice, and compliance data is retained indefinitely unless deletion is requested.
* **Time-bound for operational data:** Logs, background jobs, and temp files follow scheduled clean-up policies.
* **User override for enterprise orgs:** Enterprise customers can configure custom retention periods on request.

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## Default Retention Policies

| Data Type             | Retention Period | Notes                                         |
| :-------------------- | :--------------- | :-------------------------------------------- |
| Core Transaction Data | Persistent       | Stored indefinitely for audit and compliance  |
| Validation Logs       | 90 days          | Auto-deleted unless marked as critical        |
| Uploaded Files        | 12 months        | Cleaned periodically unless retained manually |
| Audit Logs            | 180 days         | Visible under Org Settings → Audit Trail      |

> 🔒 Files and logs are encrypted in storage and deleted using secure wipe methods upon expiry.

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## Deletion Options

Antei supports two types of deletion flows:

1. **Soft Deletion (Default):**
   * Records are marked as deleted and hidden from UI
   * Retained in backend for traceability and rollback

2. **Hard Deletion (On Request):**
   * Irreversible purge of all associated metadata, logs, and references
   * Requires owner-level approval or programmatic flag

> ⚠️ Deletion of tax-related records may impact audit traceability. Use with caution.

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## File Expiry

Uploaded files (e.g. CSV imports, document attachments) follow these rules:

* Retained for 12 months by default
* Auto-deleted unless marked for retention
* You can manually delete any file from your **Vault or Uploads** view

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## Data Subject Requests

If you are an end user of a customer using Antei and wish to request deletion of your data under **GDPR or DPDP**, please contact the controller directly.

Antei will assist the controller in fulfilling the request promptly under our Data Processing Agreement (DPA).

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## Next Steps

* [→ User Consent & Control](/trust-center/Privacy%20and%20Compliance/user-consent-control)
* [→ Review Data Classification Policy](/trust-center/Data%20Flow%20and%20Processing/data-classification-storage)
* [→ View Audit Logs](/trust-center/Security/audit-logs)