Purpose and scope
This policy explains how Pocket Genes retains, deletes, de-identifies, or preserves information in account, integration, platform decision, informed-consent, report-access, community, support, log, and backup workflows.
Retention values reflect implemented behavior. Where Pocket Genes has not published a fixed automated expiration period, this policy states the current deletion trigger instead of inventing a fixed number of days.
Who this policy applies to
- Pocket Genes users, invited users, caregivers, and representatives.
- People whose contact information is provided by an integrator.
- RareFriends community participants.
- Trusted Organizations, providers, and integrators connected to a workflow.
Definitions
Active systems
Databases, authentication services, storage, and application records used to operate live Pocket Genes features.
Backup
A provider or operational copy used for disaster recovery or service restoration, not ordinary user access.
Deletion trigger
The user request, account closure, workflow closure, moderation action, expiration, revocation, or operational action that starts deletion.
Legal or safety hold
A narrow preservation reason such as security investigation, legal claim, abuse evidence, fraud prevention, or statutory obligation.
De-identified information
Information no longer reasonably linked to an identifiable person. Truly anonymous data is not treated as account data in this policy.
Retention schedule
| Information | Retention begins | Retention ends | Deletion trigger | Possible exception |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Uncompleted integration invitation | Receipt from integrator or provider. | Workflow completion, rejection, manual cleanup, account deletion, or a published integration-specific expiry. | User declines, requests deletion, invitation is revoked, or operator closes the workflow. | Security investigation, legal hold, abuse review, or provider dispute. |
| Account data | Account creation or invitation acceptance. | Account deletion plus active-system deletion process and backup rotation. | Verified user request, authorized admin deletion, or account closure workflow. | Legal, fraud-prevention, security, payment, or dispute requirement. |
| Platform decision record | Platform preference, report-access activation, optional communication choice, or informed-consent upload status. | When the evidentiary, provider, or legal need ends. | Expiry of evidentiary requirement, deletion request where applicable, or workflow retirement. | Legal claim, compliance requirement, or dispute. |
| Report access reference or link | Link, code, token, reference, or access state creation. | Expiry, revocation, provider relationship end, account deletion, or provider workflow cleanup. | User request, provider revocation, account deletion, or integration cleanup. | Support investigation, security incident, legal hold, provider dispute. |
| Community profile | Profile creation or RareFriends enrollment. | Profile deletion, RareFriends exit, account deletion, or moderation removal. | User request, account closure, or moderator action. | Moderation record, safety evidence, legal hold. |
| Posts and comments | Publication. | User deletion, account deletion cascade, moderation removal, or community feature retirement. | User action, account closure, or moderation action. | Safety investigation, legal preservation, abuse evidence. |
| Messages | Message sent or received. | Deletion, account closure, feature-specific retention, or moderation cleanup where messaging is enabled. | User or account deletion, report, or moderation action. | Abuse investigation, safety review, legal hold. |
| Support and booking requests | Ticket, email, form, or booking submission. | Closure, manual archive, deletion request, or operational cleanup. | User request, support closure, or operator archive. | Legal dispute, billing, abuse, or security investigation. |
| Security logs | Security, authentication, system, or access event. | Provider log cycle, configured log expiry, incident closure, or operational cleanup. | Automated expiry where configured or manual cleanup. | Active incident, abuse investigation, legal hold. |
| Backups | Backup creation by provider or operational process. | Maximum provider backup cycle or rotation. | Automatic rotation, restoration cleanup, or provider process. | Disaster recovery, legal hold, active incident. |
| De-identified analytics | Creation from operational or usage information. | When no longer useful or according to analytics configuration; may be indefinite if genuinely anonymous. | Policy schedule or dataset retirement. | Not applicable if no longer personal information. |
Active systems versus backups
Deletion from active systems means Pocket Genes removes or de-identifies the record from the systems used for ordinary product functionality. The exact timing can depend on the account, provider workflow, queue, database, storage, and support process.
Deleted data may remain briefly in backups until provider or operational backup rotation completes. Backups are intended for restoration and continuity, not normal lookup. Restoration handling includes known deletion, restriction, or moderation states where feasible.
Platform decision records
Platform decision records may outlive temporary contact information because Pocket Genes may need evidence of the decision, screen or policy version, workflow, time, and provider or organization relationship. This is separate from retaining a complete report or unnecessary invitation information.
The record keeps the minimum information needed to understand what was accepted, declined, changed, withdrawn, or superseded.
Account deletion
Account deletion covers the Pocket Genes account, private profile, public profile, community user record and events, authored posts and comments up to operational batch limits, report codes, user progress, report owner records, and uploaded report records linked to the user.
Account deletion does not delete provider-controlled reports, provider medical records, provider portals, app-store records, external organization records, or information other users lawfully retain outside Pocket Genes. It also may not remove moderation, legal, security, backup, or de-identified operational records.
Legal and safety exceptions
- Fraud, security, or account-compromise investigation.
- Legal claim, subpoena, court order, regulator request, or statutory obligation.
- Abuse, harassment, scam, exploitation, or moderation evidence.
- Enforcement of Terms of Service, Community Terms, or Trusted Organization Standards.
- Protection of another user privacy, safety, or rights.
Retention model
- Retention is stated from implemented behavior, not aspirational periods.
- Active-system information is deleted or de-identified when a valid deletion trigger applies.
- Preserved records are limited to legal, safety, or security reasons.
- Provider-controlled or third-party records remain outside Pocket Genes deletion control.
User, integrator, and organization responsibilities
- Users should request deletion from Pocket Genes and separately from providers or organizations when those parties control their own records.
- Integrators should avoid sending unnecessary data and should honor revocation or correction requests in their own systems.
- Organizations should delete or correct independently collected user information under their own notices and obligations.
Exceptions and limitations
- Operational batch limits may require staged deletion for unusually large content histories.
- Backups and provider-managed logs can delay final removal from every copy.
- Some records may be retained in de-identified, aggregated, or legal-hold form.
How to make a request or report a problem
Privacy, account, deletion, accessibility, safety, trusted-organization, and security requests can be sent to support@goldencrowvs.com. Use a subject line that identifies the issue, the affected Pocket Genes account or workflow, and whether the request is urgent.
Pocket Genes may need to verify the requester before changing or disclosing account information. Verification is handled proportionally to the request, the sensitivity of the information, and the risk of giving account access or private information to the wrong person.
Effective date, version, and review history
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Effective date | August 14, 2026 |
| Version | 1.1 |
| Last reviewed | August 2026 |
| Material changes | Expanded Trust Center format, operator identity, data-map boundaries, request paths, and responsibility sections. |
| Previous version | July 2026 Trust Center overview copy. |