Administration · Autessa Ethics Hotline
Retention and purge
Autessa Ethics Hotline keeps closed and dismissed cases for a retention period you choose, from 1 to 25 years. After that date a committee member can purge the case content: the report text, reporter details, messages and notes are replaced with “[purged]”, while the case code, category, dates and outcome stay for your records.
Why it matters
Keeping sensitive reports forever is its own risk
Hotline records must be kept long enough for audits, legal holds and follow-up, and no longer than needed. Deleting whole cases loses the numbers auditors ask for; keeping everything forever keeps sensitive details around. Retention plus content purge keeps the record and drops the details.
What you get
- A retention period in whole years, from 1 to 25.
- Seven years is suggested as common for audit records.
- The clock starts when a case is closed or dismissed; each case shows “Keep until”.
- Purge is offered only after the retention date has passed.
- Purging replaces report text, reporter details, messages and notes with “[purged]”.
- The case code, category, dates and outcome are kept, so metrics and exports still work.
- A purged case shows a notice and takes no new messages or notes. Purging is logged and can’t be undone.
How it works
How does retention and purge work?
Set the retention period
In Settings, Retention. It applies to cases closed from then on.
Close or dismiss a case
The case’s Retention card shows the keep-until date.
After the date, purge
Purge content appears on the case. A confirmation explains exactly what is removed and kept.
Every option
Retention settings
| Option | What it does |
|---|---|
| Years to keep | A whole number from 1 to 25. Applies to cases closed from now on. |
| Keep until | Shown on each closed or dismissed case. |
| Purge content | Available on a closed or dismissed case after its keep-until date. |
| Removed | Report text, reporter details, messages and notes. |
| Kept | Case code, category, dates and outcome. |
Permissions
Who can do what?
The hotline’s access rules are enforced on the server for every request, not just hidden in the interface.
| Who | What they can do |
|---|---|
| Ethics committee member | Set the retention period, and purge any case they can see once its date has passed. |
| Anyone | No one can purge a case early from the workspace. |
FAQ
Questions about retention and purge
How long should ethics hotline records be kept?
It depends on your legal and audit obligations; seven years is common for audit records. Autessa Ethics Hotline lets you choose any period from 1 to 25 years after a case closes.
What does purging a case remove?
The report text, reporter details, messages and notes, which are replaced with “[purged]”. The case code, category, dates and outcome stay for your records.
Can a case be deleted before its retention date?
No. Purge is offered only once the retention date has passed, and the action is logged.
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