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

# HelpAlive Privacy Management: data retention and deletion

> Choose how long HelpAlive keeps chat and assist text, stop or resume tracking a tenant or person, and delete their data, with every action kept in History.

**Privacy Management** is the page in the HelpAlive dashboard where you act on privacy requests from your users and choose how long their chat and assist text is kept. It is the fourth tab of **Settings**, at **Settings → Privacy Management**.

## Privacy Management at a glance

* **Keep for** sets how long we keep the words of your users' chats and assists: 30 days to 2 years, with 1 year as the default.
* After that time the words are cleared. The counts, dates and outcomes stay.
* **Stop tracking** stops recording new activity for a tenant or person, and **Resume tracking** starts it again.
* **Delete their data** deletes their data for good; counts stay, without their name. It cannot be undone.
* **History** lists every privacy action across tenants and people, newest first.

## How long chat and assist text is kept

**Chat and assist text** sets how long we keep the words of your users' chats and assists after they go quiet. After that the words are cleared; the counts, dates and outcomes stay.

The card also says: "We may use them, de-identified, to improve HelpAlive for all customers; write to us to opt out." To opt out, write to [support@helpalive.com](mailto:support@helpalive.com).

<Steps>
  <Step title="Pick a time">
    Under **Keep for**, choose **30 days**, **90 days**, **180 days**, **1 year** (the default) or **2 years**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Save">
    Press **Save**. A shorter time asks first: text older than it is cleared at the next daily clean-up and cannot be brought back. Press **Shorten it** to go ahead.
  </Step>
</Steps>

Assist step names and the labels clicked during an assist are not cleared by this setting. They stay until you delete that person's data.

## Tenants and People

**Tenants** lists each of your tenants, and **People** each signed-in user, with their **Tracking** state, **Why** it changed, **Changed by** and when. Search by tenant, user or email, and filter by **Status** (**Active** or **Suppressed**) and **Scope**.

Acting on a tenant reaches all of its people.

### Stop tracking

**Stop tracking** means that HelpAlive stops recording new activity for them. What was recorded stays, and stays visible. For a tenant it asks first: **Stop tracking**, or **Keep tracking** to go back.

### Resume tracking

**Resume tracking** means that recording starts again for someone you stopped.

### Delete their data

<Steps>
  <Step title="Press Delete their data">
    On the tenant's or person's row, press **Delete their data**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Give a reason">
    Fill in **Why (required, kept in the history)**, for example "their admin asked us to".
  </Step>

  <Step title="Confirm">
    Press **Delete for good**, or **Keep it** to go back.
  </Step>
</Steps>

Everything recorded about them is deleted for good, including their chats and assists; for a tenant, its people and their visits too. Counts stay, without anyone attached. Tracking stays stopped until you resume it. The row shows **Deleting their data**, then **Data deleted, tracking stopped**.

<Warning>
  Deleting cannot be undone. It does not reach copies in our server logs. They can hold chat text and the page text an assist read, never values typed into fields, and age out after 30 days.
</Warning>

### Act on several at once

Tick rows, or the box that selects every row on the page, and choose **Stop Tracking**, **Resume** or **Delete** in the toolbar. Add a reason: optional for stop and resume, required for delete. **Validate only (no writes)** means that the action is checked without being run. Press **Confirm**, or **Confirm delete**.

You can also act on one tenant or person from their drawer in **Audience**, under **Privacy**.

## History

**History** lists every privacy action across tenants and people, newest first, with who did it and why. Filter it by **Actor email**, **Action** and date.

## How to get a copy of someone's data

To get a copy of a person's data, write to [support@helpalive.com](mailto:support@helpalive.com).

## Check it works

After you stop tracking someone, their row shows **Tracking stopped**, and **History** has a **Tracking stopped** line with your email.

## Troubleshooting

* **The row says "Deletion did not finish".** Run **Delete their data** again. If it keeps failing, write to [support@helpalive.com](mailto:support@helpalive.com).
* **A batch action is grayed out.** This is because Stop works only when every selected row is active, and Resume only when every selected row is stopped.
* **You are asked for your password when saving the retention time.** That is expected, because changing how long chat and assist text is kept is one of the actions that asks for your password again. See [Your account](/dashboard/account#confirm-your-password).

## Next

<CardGroup cols={3}>
  <Card title="Data we collect" icon="database" href="/trust/data">
    What HelpAlive records, and for how long.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Audience and Reports" icon="chart-bar" href="/dashboard/audience-and-reports">
    Find a tenant or person.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Security" icon="lock" href="/trust/security">
    Keys, sessions and confirmations.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>


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