How To Build Transparency Around Your Data Retention Processes

In this digital age, privacy has become so much more complicated than in the old days. It's not enough to close your drapes so that the neighbour next door won't peek into our living room anymore. Today, we need to think about all our data floating around the Internet and all the implications that come with the creation of yet another account on yet another website or social app.

With each day passing by, users are becoming more and more aware of the fact that their personal data is one of their most valuable assets. At the same time, this data has been mishandled, shared, and illegally stored by so many companies that it has become hard to trust any new application.

Users want to know what their personal data will be used for, who will have access to it, and what will happen if one day they decide to click that "Delete" button. There's a growing trend in research on how to remove your personal info from Google Search when people decide they don't want to be a pawn in the digital data exchange game anymore.

That is why it is so important, especially for a new company, a fledgling app, or a startup, to take great care of their data retention processes and be transparent about them from day one. You have to earn the trust of your potential clients and make them feel safe to share their personal data with you. Without a well-structured and clearly communicated retention data policy, you run the risk of unnecessary legal and security exposure.

Focus On These Five Core Principles

It's always good to break a big and complicated task into smaller pieces. Keep in mind these five simple rules while building your data retention strategy, and you can't go wrong.

Purpose Limitation

Only collect data that is truly necessary for the correct functionality of your program or app, or is needed to provide your client with the best service possible. Don't ask users multiple questions just in case you might need this information in the future. It will only result in mistrust and lost clients.

Data Minimization

The same goes for storing the collected data. Only retain what's essential and useful for the development of your software. Don't be a hoarder - it won't bring you anything good in your personal life, and it won't bring anything good to your company.

Come Up With Retention Schedules

To make the whole system more efficient, you should come up with specific schedules. Divide all the received information into explicit categories and give each of them a retention period, following the best business practice, contractual agreements, etc. Prepare a detailed plan and be professional about it. Clients like to know their personal information is in good hands.

Secure Storage

Speaking of which, we can't forget about the way you will be actually storing all the data. Use at least two or three different security measures, especially for the more delicate personal information like bank details. Apart from physical security, think of encrypting and access control.

Deletion Process

Be very transparent and explicit about the account deletion process. Is there any backup, any grace period during which the account can be restored? Be clear about it. Once the data is deleted, it should be irreversible, verifiable, and clearly logged into your system.

How To Communicate Your Data Retention Policy

Once your system is in order, you need to take care of transmitting it to your potential clients. Let's be honest - nobody reads lengthy six-paged agreements before they create their account. Who has the time?

It doesn't, however, change the fact that the users do want to know all that concerns their personal information and how it's being handled. Having that in mind, try to win their trust (and leave the competition behind) by going the extra mile in creating a clear and concise explanation of your data retention policy to your clients.

Here are some tips that will put you in the front run:

- Make your policies clear. Try to use simple language, short and concise sentences, and provide examples when possible. Make sure your clients don't have to read the same sentence four times to understand what they're reading.

- Give them control. Users like to feel they are in control of all the information they submit. Make it easy for them. Give your clients the option to view all the stored data, manage retention preferences,, and make the deletion process easy, preferably placing a detailed explanation of what will happen to their data right next to the deletion button.

- Communicate all the changes. If anything is about to change in your data storage or deletion processes, your clients should be the first ones to know. And again, try to explain all the updates in an accessible way that anyone could understand.

If you decide to invest an appropriate amount of time and energy into the design of your perfect data retention plan, you will truly set yourself apart from the competition. You can never go wrong by earning your users ' trust.