Data Retention
Understand how long submissions are kept and how to configure retention per form.
Overview
Submito automatically deletes submissions older than your plan's retention period. This keeps your submission list manageable and aligns with data minimization principles under GDPR and similar regulations. You can also set a custom retention period per form if you need shorter retention for specific use cases.
Retention by Plan
| Plan | Default retention |
|---|---|
| Free | 7 days |
| Solo | 180 days |
| Team | 365 days |
Retention is calculated from the submission date. A submission received on March 1st on the Solo plan will be deleted on or after August 28th (180 days later).
Free plan: 7-day window
On the Free plan, submissions are deleted after just 7 days. Export your data regularly or upgrade to a paid plan to retain submissions longer.
Custom Retention Per Form
Set a shorter retention period for a specific form in Form Settings > Data Retention. Custom retention can only be equal to or shorter than your plan's default - you cannot extend retention beyond the plan limit.
This is useful for forms that collect sensitive data (e.g. job applications, health enquiries) where you want to minimise how long personal data is stored.
How Deletion Works
Retention cleanup runs automatically once per day. Submissions past their retention date are permanently deleted, including:
- All field data
- Metadata (IP address, referrer, timestamp)
- File attachments
- Pipeline notes, tags, and reminders
Deletion is permanent and cannot be reversed. Export data you need to keep before the retention window closes.
Retention deletion does not happen exactly at midnight. Cleanup jobs run once daily and may delete submissions a few hours after they technically expire.
Upgrading and Existing Submissions
When you upgrade to a higher plan, the new retention period applies to all existing submissions immediately. Submissions that were previously scheduled for deletion now benefit from the extended window.
When you downgrade, the shorter retention period applies going forward. Submissions older than the new limit are deleted at the next cleanup run.
Post-Cancellation Retention
When a subscription is cancelled, the workspace enters read-only mode. All data is retained for an additional 30 days after cancellation, giving you time to export before permanent deletion.
After 30 days in read-only mode, all workspace data is permanently deleted: forms, submissions, files, API keys, webhook configurations, and member associations.
Export before the 30-day window closes
Resubscribing within the 30-day window restores your workspace. After 30 days, recovery is not possible. Use Data Export to download all your data before the window closes.
Right to Deletion (GDPR)
If someone who submitted a form requests deletion of their data under GDPR's right to erasure, you can:
- Find the submission by searching for their email address in the submissions list.
- Open the submission and click Delete. Confirm the deletion.
Individual submission deletion is immediate and permanent. Deleted submissions are not recoverable and are removed from all exports and webhooks.
For account-level deletion requests (your own data as a Submito user), contact support via the in-app support form. Account deletion removes your profile, all owned workspaces, and all associated data.