Knowledge Base

Setting a retention policy is about complying with privacy regulations. When operating under HIPAA, FERPA, or GDPR, the software needs to be able to automatically delete session recordings. This prevents recordings from being kept indefinitely and protects the privacy rights of the people visible in them. It keeps the system automatically up to date, and ensures no personal data is stored for longer than required.

• Automatic deletion keeps the organization compliant with privacy regulations such as HIPAA, FERPA, and GDPR
• Prevents session recordings from being kept indefinitely
• Protects the privacy rights of the people visible in recordings

This page is primarily for Administrators, who are responsible for setting the retention policy. It also applies to Researchers/Trainers, who can protect their own recordings from automatic deletion.

Important note: Setting the retention policy is an important, responsible task. It directly determines how long personal data is stored, and therefore how the organization complies with privacy regulations.

Prerequisites

• An Administrator role is required to set the retention policy — see User Accounts and Roles.
• The retention policy is determined by the organization and configured by the Administrator.

1. Setting the retention policy

The retention policy is configured in the global settings menu. From the home screen, click your user initial in the bottom-left corner to open it.

The retention policy has four settings:

• Automatic deletion — the on/off switch for the whole policy. It is off when NoldusViso is installed or upgraded: recordings are then kept until someone deletes them, and no deletion reminders are sent.
• Retention days — recordings older than this are eligible for automatic deletion. The default is 365 days.
• Warning days before deletion — how many days before deletion an expiring recording is flagged, so it can be reviewed or extended in time. Between 0 and 90; the default is 7.
• Exempt secured recordings — recordings marked secured are kept indefinitely and skipped by automatic deletion, regardless of age.

Switching automatic deletion on

1. Set Retention days, Warning days before deletion and Exempt secured recordings first, and click Save.
2. Turn on Automatic deletion and read the confirmation. NoldusViso checks for expired recordings once a day. The first check after you switch on permanently deletes every recording that is already older than the retention period (except secured recordings when they are exempt); these recordings get no reminder first.
3. Click Switch on. The switch takes effect immediately; it does not need Save.

Turning the switch off stops automatic deletion and reminders from the next daily check. Reset to defaults also switches automatic deletion off.

2. Recordings nearing deletion

Once a recording reaches the warning window, it is flagged for deletion. This gives the owner time to review the recording and, if needed, protect it before it's automatically and permanently deleted.

Reminders are only sent while automatic deletion is switched on. The owner is informed of the upcoming deletion through an in-app notification and an email.

Important note: Deletion by the retention policy is permanent. Once a recording is deleted, it cannot be recovered — review flagged recordings before their retention period ends.

3. Protecting an individual recording

Researchers/Trainers cannot change the organization's retention policy — that responsibility belongs to the Administrator. What they can do is protect their own recordings from automatic deletion, by marking them secured. This is the same Protect from auto-delete action described in Manage and Export Sessions.

Links

• Manage and Export Sessions
• User Accounts and Roles