Data Retention Policy
Last updated: 15 May 2026
This Data Retention Policy explains how long NorthBot (operated by Local Search North Ltd) keeps your data and what happens when you cancel your account. It supplements our Privacy Policy.
Quick summary: While your account is active, we keep your data. When you cancel, we delete it after 30 days - except invoices, which we must keep for 7 years to comply with HMRC. Invoices can be archived (hidden from view) but cannot be permanently deleted. You can request deletion of all other data at any time.
1. Our retention principles
We retain personal data only as long as necessary to:
- Provide you with the Service
- Comply with legal and regulatory obligations (in particular, UK tax law)
- Resolve disputes and enforce our agreements
- Protect against fraud and abuse
Once data is no longer needed, we delete it permanently or anonymise it so it can no longer be linked to you.
2. Retention periods by data type
| Data type | Retention period | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Account profile Name, email, business details, logo, settings |
Active account + 30 days after cancellation | To provide the Service and allow reactivation |
| Quotes | Active account + 30 days after cancellation | Operational record. Soft-deleted quotes are removed after 30 days. |
| Invoices | 7 years from issue date (including archived invoices) | HMRC requires businesses to keep tax records for 6+ years. Invoices cannot be permanently deleted - they can only be archived (hidden from view) but are always retained for compliance. You can restore an archived invoice at any time. |
| Your customers' personal data (names, emails, phone numbers, job addresses you entered) |
Tied to the related quote/invoice | Required to display historical records. Removed with quotes after 30 days; retained with invoices for 7 years. |
| Soft-deleted quotes (quotes you deleted) |
30 days, then permanent deletion | Recovery window in case of accidental deletion. Quotes are not tax records so permanent deletion applies. |
| Chat history with AI assistant | Active account + 30 days after cancellation | To provide the Service. Note: messages sent to the AI are also processed by Anthropic - see their privacy policy. |
| Bank details (displayed on your invoices) | Active account + 30 days after cancellation | Required to display payment details. Stored encrypted at rest. |
| Stripe Connect account ID | Active account + 30 days, then disconnected | Required to generate payment links. Your Stripe account itself is governed by Stripe's terms. |
| Authentication logs (login attempts, IP addresses) |
30 days | Security monitoring |
| Server access logs | 30 days (held by Netlify) | Uptime monitoring and security |
| Backups | Rolling 30 days | Disaster recovery. Deleted accounts are purged from backups within 30 days. |
| Support correspondence | 2 years | To handle follow-up queries and improve support |
| Subscription/billing records | 7 years | HMRC tax record-keeping requirement |
3. What happens when you cancel
When you cancel your subscription:
- Days 0-30: Your account is suspended but not deleted. You can reactivate at any time during this period by subscribing again.
- Day 30: Your account and all associated data (except records required for legal/tax purposes) are permanently deleted.
- Day 30 onwards: We retain only what we are legally required to keep - invoice records (including customer details on those invoices) for HMRC purposes (7 years), and basic subscription/billing records.
4. Right to erasure (right to be forgotten)
You can request deletion of your data at any time by emailing hello@localsearchnorth.uk. We will action your request within 30 days.
However, we may need to retain certain data even after a deletion request where:
- It is required by law (e.g. invoices for HMRC)
- It is needed to establish, exercise, or defend a legal claim
- It is needed to protect against fraud
Where this applies, we will tell you what we are keeping and why, and delete everything else.
5. Anonymisation
Where data is retained for legal or analytical purposes but no longer needs to be tied to an individual, we anonymise it. Anonymised data is no longer considered personal data and may be retained indefinitely.
6. Third-party retention
Some of our service providers also retain copies of data they process on our behalf. Their retention is governed by their own policies:
- Supabase: hosts our database. Deleted records are removed from their primary storage immediately and from backups within 30 days.
- Stripe: retains all transaction records for at least 7 years per financial regulation.
- Netlify: retains server logs for approximately 30 days.
- Anthropic: may temporarily retain chat content for safety monitoring, governed by their own retention policy.
7. Changes to this policy
We may update this policy from time to time. Material changes will be notified by email or in-app. The "last updated" date at the top of this page indicates when it was last revised.
8. Contact
For any questions about data retention or to make a deletion request:
Email: hello@localsearchnorth.uk