Data Retention & Deletion Policy

Version 1.3 — published 13 October 2026. It applies to new customers from 13 October 2026 and to existing customers from 12 November 2026. See What changed in 1.3 at the end.

This policy sets out how long SiteMinutes keeps information and how it is deleted. It forms part of the Terms of Service and the Data Processing Addendum.

1. Principles

• Your files stay with you. SiteMinutes is local-first: recordings, photos and working files are kept on your own devices. The apps never delete a recording by themselves, and deleted photos and plans go to a Trash folder on the device, not straight to oblivion.
• Keep only what is needed. Temporary copies (such as the audio uploaded for transcription) are deleted as soon as their job is done.
• Never delete for non-payment in a hurry. A workspace that stops paying becomes read-only; its data is kept for at least 12 months.
• Deletion is deliberate. Items you delete in the app are first marked as deleted ("soft delete") so mistakes can be undone, and are purged later.

2. Retention periods

3. When a trial ends without a subscription

The workspace becomes read-only straight away: you can view and export everything, but not create new minutes or invite users. We keep the data for 6 months. Before deleting it, we will e-mail the owner at least 30 days in advance. Subscribing at any time before that restores full access.

4. When a paid plan lapses (non-payment or cancellation)

1. A failed or missing payment gives a 3-day grace period with full access.
2. After that, the workspace becomes read-only. Nobody is removed, and export keeps working.
3. The data is kept for at least 12 months after the workspace became read-only.
4. After 12 months we may delete the workspace. Before we do, we will e-mail the billing owner and owners at least 30 days in advance, with a link to export.
5. Paying again at any time before deletion restores the workspace exactly as it was.

5. Closing a workspace or an account on request

• The owner can ask us to close a company workspace. We confirm the request with the owner, give 30 days to export, then delete the workspace's content from our live systems within a further 30 days. Backups roll off within 7 days after that.
• A user can ask us to close their personal account. Records they created in a company workspace belong to the company and stay with it; the user's own account information is deleted or anonymised within 90 days.
• Billing records and legal acceptance records are kept for the periods in section 2 even after closure, because the law requires it.

6. Export

While an account exists, including while it is read-only, owners and members can export:

• minutes as A4 PDF;
• meeting packs (.zip with audio, photos, plans with pins, registers and transcript) from the apps; and
• minutes from the web app (print or save as PDF).

Ask support if you need a complete machine-readable export of a workspace; we will provide it within 30 days.

7. Requests from meeting participants

A person recorded or named in a meeting may ask for their information to be corrected or deleted. We refer the request to the customer that owns the meeting (the responsible party), who decides, because minutes may need to be kept as a true record (for example under a building contract). We help the customer carry out its decision.

8. Legal holds

We may keep information for longer than stated above where we are legally required to, or where it is needed to establish, exercise or defend a legal claim. We will delete it once the hold ends.

9. How deletion works

Deletion removes the information from our live database and storage. Copies in backups are overwritten as the backups roll off (within 7 days). Deleted information cannot be recovered after that.

What changed in 1.3

Version 1.3 replaces version 1.2. It applies to new customers from 13 October 2026 and to existing customers from 12 November 2026. In short:

• New operator. SiteMinutes is now a trading name of Deidre and Co (Pty) Ltd (registration number 2023/811635/07), a private company registered in South Africa, with its registered office at Regus Century City, The Colosseum, Foyer 3, 1st Floor, Century Way, Century City, Cape Town 7441, South Africa. Under section 20 of the Terms (Assignment), Deidre and Co (Pty) Ltd takes over every existing customer agreement from 13 October 2026 and honours it in full: your plan, prices, paid periods, data and settings stay as they are.
• South African law. The Terms are governed by South African law, and our POPIA Notice is now that of a South African responsible party. The consumer rights you have under the law of the country where you live are not affected.
• Rand only, through Paystack. All prices are charged in South African rand (ZAR). Card payments will be processed by Paystack (Paystack South Africa (Pty) Ltd, a Stripe company), our new payment provider. Until card payment through Paystack opens, you can pay by EFT on invoice through a support ticket.
• Version 1.2 dates stay. The changes announced in version 1.2 (sub-processors Resend and Microsoft 365, Mac Call audio, calendar invites, once-off payments with reminders, product-update e-mails) take effect on 30 October 2026, as announced.

If you are an existing customer and do not agree to version 1.3, you may cancel before 12 November 2026 and receive a pro-rata refund of any prepaid, unused period (Terms, section 18). Under the Data Processing Addendum you may object to Paystack as a new sub-processor before that date by writing to help@siteminutes.com.