FrontDesk decides how long each kind of data is kept, and a nightly cleanup removes anything past its period. You can't change the periods yourself: there is no retention screen under Settings.
How long each kind of data is kept
| Data | Kept for |
|---|---|
| Call recordings (audio, including voicemails) | 1 year |
| Call transcripts | 6 years |
| Call log records (who called, when, outcome) | 7 years |
| Text messages and secure messages | 6 years |
| Files attached to secure messages | 6 years |
| Appointments | 7 years after the appointment date |
| Invoices | 7 years |
| Completed intake forms and their uploads | 7 years after completion |
| Intake requests never completed | 90 days |
| Web chat booking transcripts | 6 years if they booked, 90 days if not |
| Declined or expired booking requests | 1 year |
| HIPAA audit log and sign-in events (Settings → Account Activity) | 7 years |
| Client records | Not deleted automatically |
| Signed clinical notes | Not deleted automatically |
Signed clinical notes carry a keep-until date of at least 7 years from signing, and for a minor at least until they turn 21. The same periods apply to every account. If your practice has a specific requirement, contact support to discuss it.
Automatic cleanup
A background job runs every night and removes data past its period. Recordings are deleted from everywhere FrontDesk keeps them. When a transcript expires, its text is cleared, but the call log record stays until its own period ends. This cleanup doesn't write entries into your HIPAA audit log.
Delete a client permanently
Permanent deletion is for test or duplicate entries. For real clients, use Mark inactive on the client's profile menu, or select rows and choose Archive on the selection toolbar. Medical-record retention laws generally require keeping real records, and an inactive client can be made active again from the Inactive filter.
To delete permanently:
- Open Patients (named for your practice, for example Clients).
- On the client's row, open the ⋮ menu and choose Delete permanently…. To delete several, select them and choose Delete n patients permanently… on the selection toolbar.
- The Permanently delete patient? dialog explains it can't be undone. Click Delete permanently.
Only an owner or admin sees this option.
What happens:
| After deletion | |
|---|---|
| The client record | Removed from your list; you can't view or restore it |
| Their appointments, calls, texts, waitlist entries | Kept, no longer linked to the client |
| Call recordings and transcripts | Kept until their normal retention period ends |
| FrontDesk's copy | A sealed copy of the record is kept for 7 years for compliance, then destroyed |
| Account Activity | Records who deleted the client and when (History and HIPAA Audit Log) |
FrontDesk has no tool that erases a client's recordings, transcripts and messages on request. If you receive a privacy request (for example under GDPR or a state privacy law) that you believe you must act on, contact support.
Export all your data
Want an offline copy of your data, for example before you leave the platform? An owner or admin can export it:
- Open Settings → Account Activity and choose the HIPAA Audit Log tab.
- Click the ⋮ menu in the top-right corner → Export all account data.
- Choose which Locations to include (or All locations) and the Data to include: Clients; Appointments; Clinical records (notes, treatment plans, outcome measures, releases, disclosures); Billing (charges, payments, invoices, superbills, payment plans); Intake forms and consents; Messages; Providers and services; Call logs. Two extras: Include a chart PDF per client (needs Clinical records) and Include call recordings (audio) (needs Call logs; recordings make the archive much larger).
- Click Request export.
The page confirms "Your export is being prepared. We'll email a secure download link to your email within a few minutes." FrontDesk builds a ZIP archive in the background, with one JSON file per data set organized by location, plus the optional chart PDFs and recording audio. The download link goes to the email address on your login and expires in 72 hours. The file contains sensitive information, so store it somewhere safe. The export is recorded in your HIPAA Audit Log.
- Only an organization owner or admin can request it. Anyone else gets "Only an organization owner or admin can export account data".
- Clinical records and chart PDFs also need access to chart notes. An admin without it is asked to untick them or have the account owner run the export.
Smaller, single-dataset exports (appointments, waitlist, analytics) are still available as instant CSV downloads on their own pages.
What's next
- Sign your BAA: the legal framework for handling PHI
- Understand call recording consent
- Review what's in your recordings