Auto-delete
Set your organization's data retention period
Written By Lina Pridat Hauschild
Last updated 1 day ago
Overview
Auto-delete automatically removes chats and projects once they have been inactive for a retention period you choose. It is off by default: until an admin turns it on, Noxtua keeps chats and projects indefinitely.
Law firms and legal departments are often bound by data-minimization rules (such as GDPR Art. 5(1)(e)), client engagement terms, or internal retention schedules. Auto-delete lets you enforce those limits across your entire organization without relying on each member to clean up their own work.
Applies to: chats and projects created after you turn on auto-delete. Existing content is not affected.
Clock: the countdown restarts whenever a chat or project is used. When the period ends, the entire project, including its chats, files, and matrices, is deleted.
Default: off. Available periods are 8 hours, 30 days, 90 days, and 180 days.
Who can change it
Only organization administrators can enable or disable auto-delete and set the retention period. Members see its effect on their own chats and projects but cannot change it.
Options explained
Auto-delete has two controls: a toggle to turn it on or off and a retention period that sets how long content may remain inactive before it is deleted.
Off (default): new chats and projects are kept indefinitely. Members delete content themselves.
8 hours: for sessions that must not extend beyond the workday, such as highly sensitive matters or shared devices. Requires an extra confirmation when you turn it on.
30 days: a short-term window for routine research and drafting, with the work filed elsewhere once complete.
90 days: a quarter-long window that fits most ongoing matters.
180 days: the longest period for long-running matters that are revisited occasionally.
The period you choose applies to all members of your organization. You can't set different periods for individual users or projects.
How to set it up
Navigation: Settings → Organization Settings → Auto-delete
Turn on auto-delete
Open Organization Settings and find the Auto-delete toggle and the retention period dropdown.
Select a retention period: 8 hours, 30 days, 90 days, or 180 days.
Turn on the Auto-delete toggle. The period takes effect only when the toggle is on.
If you choose 8 hours, a confirmation dialog appears. Confirm to apply the setting; until you do, nothing changes.
When the setting is saved, a confirmation message tells you that new chats and projects will expire after the chosen period of inactivity. If the update fails, an error message appears and the previous setting stays in place. Try again, or contact support if it keeps failing.
Change the retention period
The period can't be changed while auto-delete is on.
Turn off the Auto-delete toggle.
Select the new retention period.
Turn the toggle back on (and confirm if you chose 8 hours).
Turn off auto-delete
Turn off the Auto-delete toggle.
A confirmation indicates that new chats and projects will be retained indefinitely.
Effect on users
Members aren't notified when you turn auto-delete on, change the period, or turn it off. Tell your team before you switch it on, especially with short periods.
Existing content: Chats and projects created before you turned auto-delete on are not affected and are kept indefinitely.
New content: Each new chat and project follows the policy that was in effect when it was created. A later change applies only to content created after the change.
Chats inside projects: A chat inside a project has no deletion date of its own; it is deleted together with its project. Moving a standalone chat into a project clears the chat's deletion date; from then on, it follows the project's countdown.
Remaining time: Members see how much time is left on their chats and projects, for example, “12 days left” and “Expires soon” near the end. There are no email or push reminders.
After deletion: A deleted chat or project is removed from the sidebar and lists. Opening an old link displays a message such as “This chat was deleted because its retention period ran out.”
Recovery: Members can't recover deleted content themselves. An admin can recover a deleted project from Deleted projects for a limited time. Deleted chats can't be recovered.
Not affected: Skills and their resources are kept until someone deletes them.
Warning
Deletion is permanent. When a retention period expires, the chat or project, along with all its messages, files, and matrices, is deleted. Deleted chats can't be recovered by anyone, including Noxtua support. A deleted project can be recovered by an admin only until the deletion date shown on the Deleted projects page; after that, it is gone for good.
The 8-hour period deletes work at the end of the same day. Before you choose it, make sure your team saves or exports anything they need to keep.
FAQ
Will turning on auto-delete remove our existing chats and projects? No. Only chats and projects created after you turn it on are affected.
If I shorten the period, does existing content expire sooner? No. Each chat and project retains the policy that was active when it was created. A new period applies only to content created afterward.
What counts as activity? For example, using a chat or project, such as opening it or working in it, restarts its countdown. Scrolling past it in a list does not.
Why can't I change the period while auto-delete is on? This prevents accidental changes to an active policy. Turn the toggle off, select the new period, then turn it back on.
What happens to content created while auto-delete was off? It is kept indefinitely, even after you turn auto-delete back on.
Can a member keep a chat longer than the retention period? Only by keeping it active or by moving it into a project, which then follows the project's countdown. Members can save or export anything they need to keep beyond the period.
Can I recover something that was deleted? You can recover a deleted project from Deleted projects until its deletion date. Recovering it restarts its retention period. Deleted chats can't be recovered.
Can I set different periods for different teams or matters? No. One period applies to the entire organization.
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