In the course of conducting routine business, Helpshift must receive and process certain types of customer information. After we process it, this information becomes usable to our customers in novel ways, via Helpshift product features and services.
This article describes Helpshift data retention policies and archival practices for customer information.
Access to information collected by Helpshift
All information that Helpshift collects in order to service its customers is owned by the customers themselves. In this regard, a customer is the 'Data Controller,' while Helpshift is the 'Data Processor.'
As long as an active contract with Helpshift remains in effect, customers have full access to all information that Helpshift processes on their behalf. In the event that the contract with Helpshift expires, any business reason quickly dissipates for Helpshift to hold customer data, and a process runs on day 45 to delete or anonymize whatever customer data was held. Customers can request a copy of customer data that resided with Helpshift, but only when they do so before these 45 days elapse.
During the active course of their contract with Helpshift, customers can use any of the following methods to access their data. Alternatively, customers can contact Helpshift support directly when they need additional help with a described method.
- Microsoft Power BI: Power BI is a third-party software tool, which the customer must purchase and manage independently of Helpshift. PowerBI can replicate Helpshift analytics data, storing as much as — but possibly less than — 6 months' worth of replicated data at a time. By maintaining an account with Microsoft and configuring Power BI retention policies for their Microsoft account, the customer determines how long their data remains in Power BI. Any stored data that ages past 6 months is archived automatically, becoming no longer available for viewing in Power BI. A customer who wants to access data that has aged past 6 months must raise a request from the administrative UI on their Helpshift instance, so that Helpshift staff can begin pulling out the archived data. Best Practice: We recommend that customers simply download their Power BI data every 3-to-6 months. This habit facilitates immediate, local access to all aged-out data. For more insight or to get started with Power BI for Helpshift, see Power BI 101.
- Helpshift APIs: Helpshift customers can use API calls to obtain information about any end-user issues that Helpshift processed on their behalf during the preceding 12 months. After 12 months, we archive this information. A customer who wants to access archived data must raise a request from the Helpshift administrative UI. Helpshift staff will then start pulling the archived data. Best Practice: We recommend that customers simply use Helpshift API calls to download their data every 12 months. This habit facilitates immediate, local access to all aged-out data. To learn more, see What are archived Issues, and how do I access them?
- Data portability API: Customers can use a Helpshift data-portability API to process their end-users' information requests, including requests for any personal information about them, which Helpshift may have received. No retention period applies to information that the data-portability API can process. The sole limitation is that the customer maintain an active contract with Helpshift. To learn more, see How do I provide end users with a copy of their personal data per their request?
NOTE
Helpshift processes only one no-cost request per customer to access archived data. Each subsequent request is chargeable to the customer.