> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://greatquestion.co/support/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Security & Data Retention
> How Great Question protects your data, and how Admins set retention rules to automatically delete recordings and candidates.
Great Question applies security best practices at every layer, from infrastructure and authentication to internal processes, and gives Admins configurable tools to manage data retention and compliance.
## What is Security & Data Retention?
Security & Data Retention covers two areas of your workspace: the security controls that protect your data, and the retention rules that automatically delete recordings or candidate data after a time period you choose. Together, these features help support compliance requirements like GDPR, CCPA, and HIPAA while keeping your research operations running.
## Why it matters
**Protect participant data at every layer.** Great Question maintains SOC 2 Type II attestations, encrypts data in transit and at rest, and applies field-level encryption for sensitive credentials.
**Support privacy regulations.** Built-in tooling helps you honor participant data rights and enforce retention policies in support of GDPR, CCPA, and HIPAA.
**Control how long data lives in your workspace.** Configurable retention rules let Admins set deletion schedules for recordings and candidates.
**Enforce access at every level.** Role-based access controls, team-scoped permissions, and SAML SSO.
## Infrastructure and encryption
Great Question's infrastructure is hosted on AWS, using SOC 1 and SOC 2 certified data centers in the US-1 East region. All data in transit is encrypted with TLS, and data at rest uses AES-256 block-level encryption. Security posture is continuously monitored through Vanta, with regular penetration tests and policy reviews.
## Authentication
Great Question supports multiple authentication methods, configurable at the account level:
* **Password** — Must be 8 to 70 characters and include at least one uppercase letter, one lowercase letter, one digit, and one special character.
* **Google OAuth** — Sign in with your Google account.
* **OpenID Connect** — Sign in with a Microsoft or Intuit account, configured per account.
* **SAML SSO** — Supported identity providers include Okta, Azure AD, OneLogin, JumpCloud, and Google. Each account configures one SAML provider.
* **SCIM** — Open-standard protocol for automated cloud identity and access management, available on Enterprise plans.
## Roles and access controls
Great Question uses a role-based access control system. The standard roles are:
| Role | Access level |
| --------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Admin** | Full access. Can manage settings, billing, security, and assign any role. |
| **Creator** | Can create and manage studies, candidates, and repository content. |
| **Observer** | Read-only access to studies and the repository. |
| **Deactivated** | No access. Applied when a member is removed. |
See [User Roles and Permissions](/support/support/account-administration/user-roles-and-permissions) for the full breakdown of what each role can do, including how Admins can adjust the minimum role required for specific actions.
## Compliance
**SOC 2 Type II.** Great Question has completed SOC 2 Type I and Type II audits.
**GDPR and CCPA.** Great Question supports your compliance needs as both a data processor and a partner in protecting participant information:
* **Right to access and portability** — Request data exports via support.
* **Right to be forgotten** — Deletion across our systems and sub-processors.
* **Right to object** — Participants can opt out per study or across the account.
* **Right to rectification** — Users can make updates directly or by contacting support.
**Data Processing Agreements (DPAs).** If your legal or security team requires a DPA, contact support to request one. Enterprise plans support review and signing of custom DPAs.
**HIPAA.** HIPAA-supporting configuration (like the shortened session timeout for PII-viewing roles, described below) is available for qualifying accounts. Contact your Customer Success Manager or Support to discuss a Business Associate Agreement (BAA) and enablement.
## Data retention
Admins can create data retention rules that automatically delete recordings or candidate data after a period of time you choose. This supports data minimization and compliance with privacy standards such as GDPR and CCPA.
Only Admins can create and manage data retention rules.
### Configurable retention periods
When creating a rule, choose from preset durations — 1, 2, 3, or 6 months, or 1 or 2 years — or set a custom duration (the settings UI supports up to 100 days, weeks, months, or years). Each rule applies to a specific resource type and is scoped to your account.
### Resource types
Data retention rules can target **Recordings** or **Candidates**.
**Recordings** — When a recording is deleted, its transcript, AI-generated summaries and chapters, video file and thumbnails, and any highlights and clips created from it are removed with it.
**Candidates** — When a candidate is deleted via a retention rule, screener responses are destroyed, clips are removed from highlight reels (reels are automatically restitched), participations and linked recordings are discarded, and PII (name, email, phone number) is anonymized.
### What stays intact
Studies, incentive records, data retention audit logs, and the retention rules themselves are not affected by data retention deletions.
### How deletion works
Data retention runs as a two-stage background process. Each night, the system first identifies records that have exceeded their retention period and marks them for deletion in an audit log; a short time later, marked records are processed and soft-deleted. Records are never deleted before the rule's activation date (plus a short buffer), so no retroactive deletions occur immediately upon rule creation.
### Audit trail
Every data retention action is logged in a dedicated audit trail. Logs track when a record was scheduled for deletion, when it was actually deleted, and its outcome (pending, approved, completed, failed, or cancelled). Audit logs are permanently retained even after the associated data is removed.
## How to set up data retention rules
1. Click your name in the bottom-left corner and select **Settings**.
2. Navigate to **Governance > [Data Retention](https://greatquestion.co/governance/data_retention)**.
3. Click **New Rule**.
4. Select the resource type (**Recording** or **Candidate**), set the retention period, and preview which records will be affected.
5. Activate the rule. You can pause, resume, or archive rules at any time.
### Rule statuses
| Status | Meaning |
| ------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Draft** | Rule is created but not yet active. No data will be deleted. |
| **Active** | Rule is running. Records exceeding the retention period are automatically deleted. |
| **Paused** | Rule is temporarily stopped. No new deletions occur, but existing audit logs are preserved. |
| **Archived** | Rule is permanently deactivated. |
## Troubleshooting
| Issue | What's happening | How to fix |
| --------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| I don't see the Data Retention settings | Only Admins can view and manage data retention settings | If you're a Creator or Observer, ask your account Admin. If you're an Admin and still don't see them, contact support — the feature may need to be enabled for your account |
| I created a rule but nothing is being deleted | Only **Active** rules trigger deletions, and deletions run on a daily overnight schedule | Confirm the rule is Active, not Draft/Paused/Archived. Check the rule's audit log for any **Failed** entries |
| A recording was deleted but I still see the study and candidate | Expected. Recording retention only removes the recording and everything created from it (transcript, AI summary, highlights, clips) | No action needed — studies and candidate profiles are intentionally preserved |
| A candidate was deleted but I still see their participation | When a candidate is removed via a rule, their PII is anonymized rather than fully erased, and the participation is soft-deleted | No action needed — you may see anonymized placeholder data in participation records |
| I can't log in after my organization enabled SAML SSO | Password and Google login may be disabled on SAML-only accounts | Use the SSO option on the sign-in page. If you get a SAML error, confirm with your IT admin that your IdP is configured and your user is assigned to the Great Question app |
| A SCIM-provisioned user's role or seat looks out of sync | SCIM role and seat assignments are managed by your identity provider, not in Great Question directly | Check the role assignment in your IdP; contact support if the two still don't match after a sync |
| I can't see participant email addresses or phone numbers | PII fields are hidden by default for users without PII viewing permissions | Ask your Admin to verify your role and permissions |
***
**Still need help?** Contact us at [support@greatquestion.co](mailto:support@greatquestion.co) — median response time is 19 minutes during [support hours](https://greatquestion.co/features/about-our-support-team).