Data Retention Policy
Last updated: 13 March 2026
1. Overview
This policy describes how long consuliq retains your personal data, why we retain it, and how it is deleted. We are committed to keeping your data only for as long as necessary to provide our services, comply with legal obligations, and resolve disputes. This policy should be read alongside our Privacy Policy.
Data controller: ConsuliQ Ltd, registered in England and Wales.
2. Retention schedule
The table below sets out each category of personal data we process, how long we keep it, what triggers its deletion, and any relevant notes.
| Data Category | Retention Period | Deletion Trigger | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Account data (email, name) | Duration of account | Account deletion request | Deleted within 30 days of request |
| Career assessment results | Duration of account | Account deletion | Aggregated anonymised data retained for product improvement |
| Chat conversation history | 12 months from last activity | Auto-purge or account deletion | Compacted summaries retained, raw messages purged |
| CV/resume files | 90 days after last use | Auto-purge or manual deletion | User can delete immediately via Settings |
| Job search results | 30 days | Auto-purge | Cached for performance, not permanent |
| Application tracking data | Duration of account | Account deletion | User can delete individual entries |
| Cookie consent records | 24 months | Auto-renewal prompt | Required for GDPR compliance audit trail |
| AI processing logs | 30 days | Auto-purge | Used for quality assurance only |
| Payment/billing data | As required by law (6 years UK) | Cannot be deleted early | Managed by Stripe, subject to Stripe’s retention policy |
| Analytics data | 24 months | Auto-purge | Aggregated, no PII (Plausible) |
3. Right to erasure
Under GDPR Article 17, you have the right to request deletion of your personal data. You can exercise this right in two ways:
- Self-service: Use the “Delete my account” option in Settings to immediately trigger deletion of all your personal data. CV files can also be deleted individually from Settings at any time.
- Email request: Send a deletion request to team@consuliq.com. We will verify your identity and process the request within 30 days.
Upon receiving a deletion request, all personal data is purged within 30 days. Anonymised, aggregated data that cannot be linked back to you may be retained for product improvement purposes, as it no longer constitutes personal data under GDPR.
4. Data minimisation
We follow the GDPR principle of data minimisation (Article 5(1)(c)). This means:
- We only collect personal data that is directly necessary to provide the consuliq service.
- AI processing calls include only the minimum career data required — personal identifiers (name, email) are excluded from AI prompts where possible.
- Job search queries are sent without personal identifiers attached.
- Analytics are collected using Plausible, which processes no personal data and sets no cookies.
5. Automated deletion
Several data categories are automatically purged on a scheduled basis without requiring action from you:
- CV/resume files: Automatically deleted 90 days after last use. You can also delete them manually at any time via Settings.
- Chat conversation history: Raw messages are purged 12 months after last activity. Compacted summaries may be retained for continuity.
- Job search results: Cached results are purged after 30 days.
- AI processing logs: Quality assurance logs are automatically purged after 30 days.
- Cookie consent records: Refreshed every 24 months with a renewal prompt.
- Analytics data: Aggregated analytics data is purged after 24 months.
6. Legal holds
In certain circumstances, we are legally required to retain data beyond the standard retention periods:
- Tax and financial records: UK law (Companies Act 2006, VAT Act 1994) requires us to retain billing and payment records for at least 6 years. This data is managed by Stripe and is subject to Stripe’s retention policy.
- Legal proceedings: If we are involved in legal proceedings or regulatory investigations, relevant data may be retained until the matter is resolved, even if a deletion request is received.
- Regulatory obligations: Where required by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) or other regulatory authority, we will retain data as directed.
We will notify you if a legal hold prevents us from fulfilling your deletion request, and will delete the data as soon as the hold is lifted.
7. Contact
If you have questions about our data retention practices or wish to exercise your rights:
- Email: team@consuliq.com
- Data Protection Officer: team@consuliq.com
If you are unsatisfied with our response, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO):
- Website: ico.org.uk
- Telephone: 0303 123 1113
- Post: Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF