# Captured data expiry and message sanitisation

Clear captured field values at conversation or session end and optionally sanitise personal information in visitor messages.

*Release 3.3 · admin, operator, visitor*

**Settings › General Settings › Data Fields** · **Settings › Bots › Virtual Assistant › Data Fields** · **Settings › General Settings › Admin**

## 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

1. Open or create a field in **Data Fields**.
2. Choose **Data Storage**. Selecting **None** hides the expiry control.
3. Choose **Data Expiry**. New fields default to **Never**.
4. Mark **This field contains PII** where appropriate.
5. 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, on request | 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

### This feature uses

- **Configured in** Admin settings and feature switches (managed by Powerfront): Website Admin settings hold the message rule used during field cleanup and chat-end sanitisation.
- **Configured in** [Roles and permissions](ADM-008.md): Settings and Bot Trainer roles control access to the relevant field editors.
- **Configured in** [Virtual Assistant task data fields](ENG-012.md): Data Fields sets each captured field's storage, expiry and personal-information classification.
- **Configured in** [Personal data retention and automatic deletion](SEC-021.md): The website retention controls hold the shared message rule and its conditional default.
- **Works better with** [Conversation translation](CHAT-023.md): PII-only processing can also update stored translations of eligible visitor messages.
- **Related** [Starting, ending and expiring chats](CHAT-001.md): Ending a conversation triggers the corresponding field cleanup independently of ending the visitor session.
- **Related** [Visitor activity and availability](VIS-011.md): Visitor session cleanup triggers session-end expiry independently of conversation ending.

### Used by

- **Configures** [Virtual Assistant task data fields](ENG-012.md): Field expiry and personal-information cleanup govern retained answers.
- **Configures** [Existing answers in Virtual Assistant tasks](ENG-013.md): Field expiry and personal-information cleanup control retained values.
- **Configures** [AI updates to customer and conversation data](AI-019.md): Saved values follow the field's expiry and sanitisation rules.
- **Related** [Personal data retention and automatic deletion](SEC-021.md): 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.