Captured data expiry and message sanitisation
Clear captured field values at conversation or session end and optionally sanitise personal information in visitor messages.
What it is
Data Expiry controls when INSIDE clears a captured field value. You can retain it until the conversation ends, until the visitor session ends, or choose Never. A separate website message rule controls what happens to associated conversation text.
Who uses it and why
Administrators and bot trainers choose how long captured answers remain available. Operators may find that an answer disappears after a conversation or session ends. Visitors may need to provide the answer again in a later interaction.
Where to find it
Use Settings › General Settings › Data Fields with the Settings role, or Settings › Bots › Virtual Assistant › Data Fields with Bot Trainer.
Powerfront manages Data Retention Message Rule under Settings › General Settings › Admin.
How it works
Data Storage determines whether the value belongs to a Conversation, to Visitor/Contact, or is not retained through field storage with None.
At conversation end or visitor session cleanup, INSIDE clears values whose Data Expiry matches that event. Fields marked This field contains PII are also included, even if their expiry is Never. For file fields, cleanup removes the associated file value as well.
Message handling depends on the website rule:
- Do not mask leaves message text unchanged during this cleanup.
- Mask all Messages masks answer messages specifically linked to fields expiring at that event. It does not mask the whole transcript at field expiry.
- Mask only PII data (chat end) starts background sanitisation of visitor plain-text messages. Detected personal information is replaced with tags; stored translations can also be processed.
Clearing a field value and sanitising text are separate operations. Selecting one does not guarantee the other.
Configure it
- Open or create a field in Data Fields.
- Choose Data Storage. Selecting None hides the expiry control.
- Choose Data Expiry. New fields default to Never.
- Mark This field contains PII where appropriate.
- Select Add Field or Update Field.
Ask Powerfront to review the message rule alongside the website retention policy. Its editor is shown when the personal-data retention period is positive.
Settings
| Setting | Where | Applies to | Default | Who can change it | What it does |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Data Retention Message Rule | Settings › General Settings › Admin | website | Mask all Messages when retention is enabled and no rule is saved; otherwise Do not mask | Powerfront | Controls whether expiry leaves message text unchanged, masks answers linked to expiring fields, or requests PII sanitisation of visitor text. |
Fields
| Field | Where | Required | What it is for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Data Storage | Settings › General Settings › Data Fields | Yes | Chooses None, Conversation or Visitor/Contact storage; available choices depend on the field and integrations. |
| Data Expiry | Settings › General Settings › Data Fields | Yes | Chooses Conversation End, Session End or Never for a stored field. New fields start with Never. |
| This field contains PII | Settings › General Settings › Data Fields | No | Marks personal information and includes the stored field value in conversation-end and session-end cleanup regardless of its selected expiry. |
Permissions
| Permission | Lets you |
|---|---|
| Settings | Opens Data Fields under General Settings. |
| Bot Trainer | Opens Data Fields under Virtual Assistant. |
Limits and good to know
- The expiry choices available in 3.3 are Conversation End, Session End and Never.
- Never does not override cleanup of a field marked as PII.
- Visitor/Contact cleanup relies on the linked contact being available.
- PII-only message processing relies on the website's data-field setup and runs in the background. It is not an immediate masking promise for every message.
- Operator replies, attachments and other non-text content are outside the visitor plain-text selection described here.
- Removing a file field value does not establish permanent erasure of the uploaded file.
Depends on and works with
View all connections as a list
This feature uses
- Admin settings and feature switches · managed by PowerfrontConfigured by
Website Admin settings hold the message rule used during field cleanup and chat-end sanitisation.
- Roles and permissionsConfigured by
Settings and Bot Trainer roles control access to the relevant field editors.
- Starting, ending and expiring chatsRelated
Ending a conversation triggers the corresponding field cleanup independently of ending the visitor session.
- Conversation translationEnhances
PII-only processing can also update stored translations of eligible visitor messages.
- Virtual Assistant task data fieldsConfigured by
Data Fields sets each captured field's storage, expiry and personal-information classification.
- Personal data retention and automatic deletionConfigured by
The website retention controls hold the shared message rule and its conditional default.
- Visitor activity and availabilityRelated
Visitor session cleanup triggers session-end expiry independently of conversation ending.
Used by
- Virtual Assistant task data fieldsConfigured by
Field expiry and personal-information cleanup govern retained answers.
- Existing answers in Virtual Assistant tasksConfigured by
Field expiry and personal-information cleanup control retained values.
- AI updates to customer and conversation dataConfigured by
Saved values follow the field's expiry and sanitisation rules.
- Personal data retention and automatic deletionRelated
Field expiry and chat-end sanitisation use lifecycle events rather than the retention age.
FAQ and troubleshooting
Why did an answer disappear even though expiry is Never?
Check This field contains PII. PII classification includes the value in lifecycle cleanup independently of Data Expiry.
Why is the answer still readable in the transcript?
Field expiry clears the stored answer. Text handling depends on the separate message rule, and field-answer masking only applies to messages linked to the expiring field.
Why can I not choose a number of days?
The 3.3 field editor does not offer Days. Ask Powerfront about website-level personal-data retention for aged information.
Why are some personal details still present after chat end?
PII-only processing is asynchronous and limited to eligible visitor text. Ask Powerfront to check the rule, data-field setup and processing for that conversation.
Does Session End mean closing the chat window?
It follows INSIDE's visitor session cleanup. Ending a conversation and ending a visitor session are separate lifecycle events.