Data Retention & Deletion
Last updated: 25 September 2026
The short version
- We keep your information while your account is open, so your plans are there when they're needed.
- You can download everything or delete your account at any time.
- When you delete your account, we remove your information within 30 days, and from backups within 90 days.
- We only keep a small amount for longer where the law requires it, such as payment records.
1. Our approach
A will is meant to last. Unlike most apps, we don't delete your plans just because you haven't logged in for a while. The whole point is that they're there when your family needs them. But we don't keep anything longer than we need to, and you're always in control.
2. How long we keep information
| Information | How long we keep it |
|---|---|
| Account, will and asset information | While your account is open |
| Vault documents (Live Will) | While your membership is active; then 90 days after it ends, read-only, before deletion (we'll remind you first) |
| Details of people you've invited | While your account is open, or until you remove them, or they ask us to |
| Check-in history | While your membership is active, plus 12 months |
| Released estate information | 12 months after release, so executors and beneficiaries can access it, then deleted |
| Records of release confirmations (who confirmed, when, evidence provided) | 6 years after release, for fraud prevention and to deal with disputes |
| Payment and billing records | 6 years after the end of the financial year they relate to (legal requirement) |
| Support messages | 2 years after the conversation ends |
| Complaints | 3 years after the complaint is closed |
| Security and access logs | 12 months |
| Marketing preferences | Until you unsubscribe, then kept only as a suppression record so we don't contact you again |
| Deleted account data | Removed from live systems within 30 days, and from backups within 90 days |
3. Long-term inactive accounts
If a free account has had no activity for 7 years, we'll try to contact the account holder, and then any executors they've named, before taking any action. We won't delete a will simply because an account is inactive without first making reasonable efforts to reach the account holder and named executors. If nobody responds, we will place the account into restricted archival storage before considering deletion.
4. Downloading your information
Email privacy@openwill.app to request a download of your information. We will provide your will, asset inventory, the people you've added, and your vault documents in an appropriate format.
5. Deleting your account
Email privacy@openwill.app from the address on your account to request deletion. Before you do, please note:
- deleting your account cancels any Live Will membership, and nothing will be released after your death;
- the people you've invited will no longer have access; and
- deleting your OpenWill account doesn't cancel a will you've already signed. To revoke a signed will, you'll need to follow the legal rules in your country, for example by making a new will or destroying the original with the intention of revoking it.
6. If you were invited by someone else
You can ask us to remove your details at any time by emailing privacy@openwill.app. We may let the account holder know, so they can update their plans.