⏳ Data Retention Policy (Auto-Delete Responses)
What is a data retention policy?
A data retention policy decides how long a form keeps its responses. You choose a period, such as 90 days or 1 year. Once a response is older than that, FormNX permanently deletes it automatically, along with its uploaded files and PDFs.
It's useful when you shouldn't keep personal data longer than you need it:
- GDPR "storage limitation": keep personal data only as long as you need it.
- HR, recruiting and healthcare forms that hold sensitive answers.
- Security questionnaires that ask: "Can you delete data automatically after X days?"
The setting is off by default, so responses are kept until you delete them. Each form has its own setting.
Data retention policy is available on the Business plan (everything in Pro, plus data retention). On other plans, the setting is shown with a Business badge, and clicking it shows the plans side by side.
How to set a data retention policy
- Open your form and click the Settings tab.
- Under General, scroll to the Responses section.
- Turn on Data retention policy.
- Under Keep responses for, pick a period:
- 30 days, 60 days or 90 days
- 1 year, 2 years or 3 years
- Custom: enter any number of days from 1 to 3650 (10 years)
- Read the confirmation message and click Delete after [period] (see below).
- Save your form. The policy starts working once the form is saved.
Below the dropdown, FormNX shows a reminder of what happens, for example: Each response is permanently deleted 90 days after it is received.
The confirmation message
When you turn the policy on, or change it to a shorter period, FormNX asks you to confirm before anything changes. The message tells you how many existing responses are older than the period you picked. Those responses are deleted within 24 hours of saving the form.
Delete responses older than 30 days? Once you save the form, 128 responses older than 30 days will be permanently deleted within 24 hours, with their files and PDFs. Export a copy first if you need one.
[Export CSV][Cancel] [Delete after 30 days]
- Export CSV downloads your responses first and keeps the message open, so you can still decide.
- Cancel puts the setting back the way it was.
- Delete after 30 days applies the new period. Nothing is deleted until you save the form.
When you change to a longer period, no confirmation is needed, because nothing extra gets deleted.
Deleted responses can't be recovered. If you might need old responses later, use Export CSV in the confirmation message, or export them from the submissions list before saving.
When responses are deleted
- The period counts from the date the response was received. For a response saved with Save Your Progress, it counts from the date the respondent first saved it.
- Deletion runs once a night. A response is deleted within 24 hours after its period ends.
- It covers responses of every kind: completed submissions, partial submissions and saved progress.
What gets deleted
When a response is deleted, FormNX also deletes:
- Uploaded files from File upload, Image upload, Signature, Camera and Voice fields. This also frees up your storage.
- PDFs generated from that response.
- Comments and tags on that response.
FormNX keeps:
- Discount code usage counts, so a code's usage limit doesn't reset.
- Your workspace's Audit Log, which records each automatic deletion (for example, Data retention automatically deleted 12 submissions of Job Application).
What is not affected
The policy deletes responses stored in FormNX only. Copies that already left FormNX stay where they are:
- Email notifications and auto-response emails already sent
- CSV / Excel exports and PDFs you already downloaded
- Webhooks, Zapier and other integrations
- Google Sheets: deleted responses stay in the sheet until it is rebuilt. FormNX only rebuilds the sheet when you reorder the form's fields.
Seeing the policy on your responses
While a policy is on, the form's submissions page shows a banner, for example:
Responses on this form are kept for 90 days, then permanently deleted. To change this, go to Settings > General > Responses.
Each response also shows when it will be deleted, in the submissions list and on the response itself:
| When | What you see |
|---|---|
| More than 30 days away | Deletes on 28 Nov 2026 |
| 2 to 30 days away | Deletes in 10 days (turns amber in the last 7 days) |
| 1 day away | Deletes tomorrow |
| Due now | Deletes within 24 hours |
Turning the policy off
Turn off Data retention policy and save the form. New and existing responses are then kept until you delete them yourself.
Turning the policy off does not bring back responses that were already deleted.
Response limits and data retention
If your form closes after a set number of responses, keep in mind that deleted responses stop counting toward that limit. A form that closed because it reached its limit can reopen and accept new responses once old ones are deleted. FormNX warns you about this in the confirmation message.
Frequently asked questions
Can I recover a deleted response?
No. Automatic deletion is permanent and there is no trash or recycle bin. Export your responses first if you might need them.
Can I set one policy for my whole workspace?
Not yet. The policy is set per form, so each form can keep its responses for a different period.
Does it delete responses right away when I save?
Not instantly. Deletion runs once a night, so responses older than the period are deleted within 24 hours of saving. If you saved a period by mistake, change it back and save the form again the same day.
What happens if I move to a plan without data retention?
Automatic deletion stops. Your responses are kept until you delete them yourself.
Can I still delete responses by hand?
Yes. You can delete submissions one by one or in bulk at any time, with or without a policy.
Does this make my form GDPR compliant?
It helps with one GDPR principle, storage limitation: not keeping personal data longer than needed. GDPR compliance also depends on how you collect, use and protect the data. See How to create a GDPR compliant form.