Data Retention Policy
Effective date: 2026-07-09 · Last updated: 2026-07-13
Purpose
This policy defines how long TrailThrottle (operated by SolidDog Technologies LLC) keeps user and event data, and what happens to that data after an account is deleted or an event is cancelled. It exists so that:
- We keep personal data only as long as we have a reason to.
- Account deletion is meaningful — personal data is actually removed, not just hidden.
- The behavior is predictable and can be stated plainly in the Privacy Policy.
Principles
- Data minimization. We collect and keep only what the product needs to function.
- Deletion by default. When data is no longer needed, it is deleted or irreversibly anonymized rather than kept indefinitely.
- Anonymize what we must keep. Where content needs to remain for other users (for example a comment thread on an event others attended), we remove the personal link rather than the whole record.
- Safety carve-out. A limited set of moderation and abuse-prevention records may be kept longer, in minimized form, even after account deletion (see Exceptions).
Retention schedule
| Data category | Retention | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Account profile (display name, email, home region/location, rider skill level, 18+ attestation) | Life of the account; removed or anonymized within 30 days of account deletion | Window allows encrypted backups to age out |
| Authentication data (Argon2id password hash, active sessions, email-verification and password-reset tokens, and the most recent successful sign-in time) | Deleted immediately on account deletion; reset/verification tokens also expire on their own short TTL | Tokens are single-use / time-limited regardless of deletion |
| Events a user organized | Life of the event; on account deletion, upcoming events are cancelled and past events are anonymized to a placeholder organizer (“Deleted rider”) | See Account deletion below |
| Event attendance (RSVPs / going) | Life of the event; removed or anonymized on account deletion | |
| Comments / discussion | Retained with the event; on account deletion the author is anonymized to “Deleted rider” rather than deleting the thread | Consistent with events being retained and the organizer anonymized |
| Reports (content/account reports) and moderation actions (removals, suspensions) | Up to approximately 12 months, then permanently deleted. For reports the clock starts when the report is resolved (an open report is kept until it is resolved); for moderation actions it starts at the time of the action | Keeps a short audit window for recent safety decisions. Current enforcement — suspensions and content removals — is stored separately, so deleting these records never reverses a suspension or restores removed content |
| Support requests (reply email, optional name, topic, message, optional account link, and submission time) | Up to approximately 12 months after submission, then deleted | The optional account link is severed on account deletion; legal and safety exceptions below may apply |
| Cancelled events | Hidden from discovery immediately; retained indefinitely (never purged) | Personal links are anonymized on account deletion per the rows above |
| Application / server logs (may include IP address, user agent) | 90 days rolling | Kept for security, abuse prevention, and debugging |
| Encrypted database backups | 30 days rolling | Deleted data persists in backups only until the backup ages out (≤30 days) |
| Email delivery logs | Per the email provider’s retention; we do not retain a separate copy | Held by our email provider on their own schedule |
Account deletion
When a user deletes their account:
- Authentication data (password hash, sessions, tokens) is deleted immediately, ending all access.
- Profile data (email, display name, location, skill level) is deleted or irreversibly anonymized within 30 days.
- Upcoming events the user organized are cancelled (attendees are notified per normal cancellation behavior).
- Past eventsthe user organized are kept for the historical record but the organizer is anonymized to “Deleted rider.”
- Comments and attendance are anonymized to “Deleted rider” so threads others participated in stay intact.
- Deleted personal data may remain in encrypted backups until those backups age out (≤30 days).
- A minimal subset of safety records (see Exceptions) may be retained longer in minimized form.
Event cancellation
When an event is cancelled:
- It is removed from discovery (Find Rides) immediately.
- It is retained indefinitely — cancelled events are not purged. It remains viewable to prior attendees for reference.
Events are kept as part of the historical record. Personal data attached to an event (for example the organizer or commenters) is anonymized when the associated account is deleted, per the Account deletion rules above, but the event record itself is not removed.
Exceptions
We may retain certain data beyond the windows above when we have a specific need:
- Safety and abuse prevention. Records tied to reports, removals, and suspensions, in minimized form, to enforce our Terms and prevent repeat abuse.
- Legal obligations. Where we are required by law to keep records, or to establish, exercise, or defend legal claims.
- Backups. Data already removed from the live system persists in encrypted backups only until those backups age out on the rolling schedule above.