Data Deletion Policy

Product: RehabDesk AI
Effective Date: 1 September 2026
Last Updated: 1 September 2026

1. Purpose and Scope

This Data Deletion Policy ("Policy") describes how RehabDesk AI handles the deletion of personal data held within the platform — including patient health records, clinical notes, invoices, staff account data, communication logs, and integration data. This Policy applies to:

• Clinic owners and staff who wish to delete specific records, patients, or their entire clinic account
• Patients who request deletion of their data through their clinic
• Situations triggered by subscription cancellation or non-payment

This Policy is aligned with and should be read alongside our Privacy Policy, DPDP Act Compliance document, and Data Processing Agreement.

2. Types of Data and Who Controls Deletion

3. Deleting Individual Patient Records (Soft Delete)

3.1 How It Works

Clinic staff with appropriate permissions (Owner or Receptionist role) can delete a patient record from the patient directory within the platform. Deletion follows a 30-day soft-delete model:

1. Immediate soft-delete: The patient record is flagged for deletion in the system and immediately removed from all active lists and views within the platform. The patient's data is no longer accessible to clinic staff.

2. 30-day recovery window: During the 30 days following soft-deletion, the clinic owner may contact us at support@rehabdesk.app to request restoration of the deleted patient record.

3. Permanent deletion: After 30 calendar days from the initial deletion flag, the patient record (including associated clinical assessments, treatment plans, session logs, and appointments) is permanently and irreversibly purged from the database.

3.2 Invoices Associated with Deleted Patients

Invoices are NOT deleted with the patient record. Invoice records are financial documents subject to a 7-year legal retention requirement under Indian accounting law (see Section 5). Invoice records will be anonymized — patient name and contact details will be replaced with a pseudonymous reference — while the financial amounts, dates, and invoice numbers are retained.

3.3 Patient-Initiated Deletion Requests

If a patient contacts their clinic directly and requests deletion of their records, the clinic (as Data Fiduciary) is responsible for processing that request within their RehabDesk account. RehabDesk AI provides the tools to do this (soft-delete function in the patient directory).

If a patient contacts RehabDesk AI directly requesting deletion of their data:

1. We will notify the relevant clinic(s) with a deletion request
2. If the clinic does not action the request within 15 days, we will delete the patient record on the clinic's behalf
3. We will confirm deletion to the patient within 30 days of receipt of the request

Patient deletion requests should be sent to: legal@rehabdesk.app

4. Deleting WhatsApp and Instagram Communication Logs

4.1 Automatic Purge

WhatsApp message logs and Instagram conversation logs are subject to an automatic 90-day rolling purge:

• Records older than 90 days from the message/conversation date are permanently deleted on a scheduled basis.
• This purge runs automatically and does not require any action from the clinic.

4.2 Earlier Deletion on Request

Clinics may request earlier deletion of messaging logs by submitting a request to support@rehabdesk.app. We will process such requests within 7 business days.

4.3 Meta Platform Data

Message content that has passed through Meta WhatsApp or Instagram infrastructure is subject to Meta's own data retention policies. RehabDesk AI cannot delete data held on Meta's servers. We can only delete records from our own database.

5. Data That Cannot Be Immediately Deleted (Legal Retention)

Certain data must be retained for legal compliance regardless of deletion requests:

During the legal retention period:

• Invoice records associated with deleted patients will be pseudonymized (patient name replaced with an anonymized reference)
• Invoice financial data (amounts, dates, invoice numbers) is retained in its original form
• Retained data is not used for any purpose other than legal compliance and audit

After the legal retention period expires, the retained records are permanently deleted.

6. Account Deletion and Full Data Purge (Subscription Cancellation)

6.1 Cancellation-Triggered Deletion

When a clinic cancels their subscription, the following sequence occurs:

Critical warning: After the 90-day grace period, data cannot be recovered. Use the 1-click CSV export feature before your grace period expires.

6.2 What Gets Deleted in a Full Account Purge

6.3 Non-Payment Triggered Deletion

If an account is suspended due to non-payment and remains suspended for more than 30 days without payment, the account will be terminated. Upon termination, the same 90-day grace period and then permanent deletion sequence applies.

7. Staff Member (User) Account Deletion

When a staff member is deactivated by the clinic owner:

• The staff member's access is immediately revoked.
• Their staff profile record is marked as inactive (not deleted) within the clinic's account so that the audit trail of their actions is preserved.
• Upon full clinic account deletion, all staff records are deleted per Section 6.2.

When a staff member requests deletion of their own personal data (their name, email, mobile from their staff profile):

• We will anonymize their personal data in their staff profile while retaining the audit trail entries (which are needed for legal and security compliance).
• Requests should be sent to legal@rehabdesk.app.

8. Data Exported Before Deletion

RehabDesk AI provides a 1-click CSV data export feature that exports all clinic data (patient records, invoices, session logs, appointments) in a portable format. We strongly recommend:

• Exporting data before cancelling your subscription.
• Exporting data before deleting significant patient records.

The exported CSV data, once downloaded to your local system, is your responsibility to secure and manage.

9. Data Deletion Requests for Integration Platforms

Deletion from RehabDesk AI does not automatically delete data from:

• Meta WhatsApp/Instagram: Message content on Meta's servers is managed by Meta's data retention policies. For deletion from Meta's systems, contact Meta directly.
• Google: Data synced to Google Business Profile is managed by Google.
• Stripe: Payment records held by Stripe are governed by Stripe's policies.

10. How to Request Data Deletion

All deletion requests will be acknowledged within 48 hours and completed within the timelines stated in this Policy.

11. Confirmation of Deletion

Upon completion of a data deletion, we will send a written confirmation to the registered clinic owner email address confirming what was deleted, the date of deletion, and any data retained under legal retention obligations.

This Data Deletion Policy was last reviewed on 1 September 2026.