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Acervo
Help articles
  1. 1. Getting Started
  2. 2. Workspaces & Teams
  3. 3. Uploading Documents
  4. 4. Processing & Outputs
  5. 5. Reviewing in the Workbench
  6. 6. Curating the Batch Roll-up
  7. 7. Delivering & the ArchivesSpace Integration
  8. 8. Exporting Your Results
  9. 9. Credits & Billing
  10. 10. Privacy & Data Handling
  11. 11. Trying Acervo without an account

Trust & policy

Privacy & Data Handling

Learn what Acervo stores, what it deletes, and what remains in your workspace.

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Privacy & Data Handling

Acervo handles your archival material with a deliberately minimal data footprint. We keep what you need to use the product and delete the rest.

Your data is always encrypted

Everything you send to Acervo is encrypted while it moves over the network and while it sits in our systems. That covers your source documents during processing, the metadata records that stay in your workspace, and your account details. Encryption is on by default and can't be turned off. There's nothing to configure on your end.

Source documents are deleted after processing

Acervo deletes your source documents as soon as processing completes. We do not retain the original image files. The OCR text, entities, authority matches, subject headings, titles, and scope and content notes Acervo produces from your documents are kept in your workspace for 90 days; the source images themselves are gone once the job finishes.

Guest trial data

Guest source images follow the same terminal cleanup. An unclaimed guest result remains available through its browser capability for 24 hours after that individual job completes, then Acervo deletes the job and processing result without waiting for newer guest-session work. Acervo retains the minimal anonymous allowance ledger for 8 days so the rolling 7-day network limit remains enforceable.

Outputs are retained for 90 days

Acervo keeps your job outputs, metadata records, OCR text, entities, authority matches, subject headings, titles, and scope and content notes, for 90 days so you can review, re-export, and revisit your history. After 90 days, those outputs are deleted. If you'll need a record long-term, export it before the 90-day window closes.

One thing survives the purge, the identities you curated. After day 90 the batch page shows a read-only view of your curated agents, subjects, and relationships, the identity export (CSV) stays available, and with ArchivesSpace connected, access-point re-sends still work from the retained summary. Descriptions of documents expire with the documents; descriptions of identities persist. This does not apply to the sample folder.

Deletion on request

If you want your outputs deleted before the 90-day window closes, email support@acervo.org from the address tied to your account and tell us which workspace and which jobs (or all of them). We'll remove the metadata records, OCR text, entities, authority matches, subject headings, titles, and scope and content notes from your workspace. Source documents are already deleted at processing time, so there's nothing to remove on that side.

Account records and transaction history are kept separately for billing and compliance and aren't included in an output-deletion request. To close an account or remove account-level data, contact support and we'll walk you through it.

What stays in your workspace

The following are retained so you can keep using the product

  • Job records. Metadata, status, and configuration (90 days)
  • Aggregated metadata outputs from finished jobs (90 days)
  • Institution profiles you've created
  • Credit balances and transaction history
  • Team membership and role assignments (for team workspaces)
  • The sample folder, until you remove it. It is Acervo's own content. Remove sample folder deletes the two documents and any curation you saved on them at once, no email needed.

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