Overview
Artwell does not silently delete content at the moment a trial or paid subscription expires. Expired and lapsed accounts move to read-only access while retained data remains available under the windows below.
Artwell uses different retention windows for different data classes. Transcript text and metadata are retained longer than large source-media files because the user value and storage profile are different.
Quick Transcript purchases follow their own, shorter source-retention rules described in the next section. The trial and subscription windows further below apply to Story Engine account content.
Quick Transcript source and transcript retention
Quick Transcript is Artwell’s pay-as-you-go transcription product. Its retention rules are intentionally short for the uploaded recording and user-controlled for the transcript:
- Unpaid or abandoned uploads: the uploaded source recording is scheduled for deletion 24 hours after upload if no completed purchase follows.
- Completed transcripts: the source recording is scheduled for deletion 72 hours after your transcript completes.
- Failed jobs: if transcription terminally fails, the source recording is scheduled for deletion after 7 days to allow diagnosis and any required refund, then removed.
- Your transcript: the transcript text and its metadata remain in your account until you delete them or your account. Account deletion follows the process below.
These windows are fixed and automatic: Quick Transcript source deletions run on the stated schedule without separate notice emails. Deleting the source recording removes the uploaded media itself. Minimal content-free records — payment, fraud-prevention, security, and audit entries — may be retained where operationally or legally required. Deletion is executed by a scheduled reconciliation process that runs continuously, so removal happens shortly after each window ends rather than at an exact second.
Account Deletion
Confirming account deletion ends your access. We begin removing your recordings, transcripts, private content and unnecessary profile information from our active systems and working copies held by providers on our behalf, completing that work within 30 days except for specific legal obligations. Earlier recording-removal deadlines still apply. Export anything you want to keep before confirming.
We keep only limited records needed for payments, refunds, agreements, privacy requests, security and email opt-outs. These are not copies of your transcript. Our Privacy Policy explains their retention periods, legal exceptions, and how remaining backup or service-provider copies are handled.
Data classes and retention windows
| Data class | Trial-expired / trial-ineligible | Paid-lapsed |
|---|---|---|
| Source media and large uploaded media files | 30 days after deletion scheduling begins | 90 days after paid access ends |
| Transcript text and transcript metadata | 180 days after deletion scheduling begins | 24 months after paid access ends |
| Account identity, billing records, and audit history | Minimal payment, agreement, security and privacy-request records follow the purpose-specific periods in the Privacy Policy. An account-deletion request overrides ordinary trial or subscription content windows, except for a specific legal obligation. | |
If an enterprise or custom agreement explicitly overrides these defaults, the signed contract controls for that account.
Deletion notices (trial and subscription content)
For the trial and subscription data classes above, Artwell aims to send notices approximately 30 days, 15 days, and 24 hours before the applicable deletion time. These notices do not apply to Quick Transcript source recordings, which follow the fixed schedule described in the Quick Transcript section without additional notice emails.
If a retention window is shorter than the first notice threshold for a given data class, Artwell may send the first notice when deletion is scheduled and then send only the remaining future notices that still apply.
These notices are designed to give you a fair opportunity to resubscribe, export retained data, or request deletion.
Legal holds and deletion requests
A legal obligation may require us to preserve particular information. We limit the exception to that information, restrict its use and review the need to retain it. Unrelated content continues through deletion.
If you request deletion, Artwell may require identity verification before deleting retained account data or media. Verified deletion requests are handled together with the Artwell Privacy Policy and any applicable legal obligations.