Data Retention Summary
Last updated: July 2026
This page gives a plain-language summary of how long Linebook generally keeps different categories of data. In most cases the studio controls its clients' data and Linebook processes that data on the studio's behalf; for Linebook's own account, billing, security and compliance records, Linebook acts for its own business purposes. It is not a contract, not legal advice, and not a promise of immediate deletion in every case — actual retention may vary where law, legal holds, disputes, fraud or security reviews, tax or accounting rules, backup lifecycles, or other legitimate needs require different treatment.
01How to read this summary
- Studios can generally manage, export and delete much of their own data through the service or by contacting Linebook.
- Studio clients should usually contact the studio first for access or deletion requests, because the studio decides how client data is collected and used.
- Some data may remain in rolling backups, logs, or compliance records for a limited period even after it is deleted from the live product.
- For certain encrypted sensitive intake records, Linebook may use crypto-shredding — deleting the relevant encryption key so the encrypted data is no longer readable in the ordinary service environment.
02Retention by data category
| Data category | What it includes | General retention approach |
|---|---|---|
| Studio account data | Studio name, contact details, subscription/account details, studio settings | Kept while the account is active, and usually for a reasonable period afterward to support export, reactivation, support, legal, accounting, fraud, or contract-administration needs. |
| Studio staff & login data | User profile details, roles, login email, hashed password, sign-in/account metadata | Kept while the user or studio account remains active. Removed when the user is deleted or the account is fully closed, subject to security or legal retention needs. |
| Booking & client-management data | Booking records, appointment history, service details, booking notes, artist assignment | Generally kept while the studio account is active, plus a reasonable period afterward for export, reactivation, support, and legitimate business or legal needs. |
| Client contact details | Client name, email, phone, related contact fields | Usually kept with the associated booking or studio account data unless deleted earlier on the studio's instruction or through the studio's rights-handling process. |
| Sensitive intake data | Health screening responses, signed waivers, date of birth, intake consent records | By default, kept for about seven years from the client's last service, unless the studio configures a different period or applicable law requires different treatment. |
| Intake placement photos | Placement/body-area photos submitted through the intake flow | Usually follow the sensitive-intake path: about seven years from the client's last service by default, unless the studio configures otherwise or law requires different treatment. |
| Finished-tattoo photos | Photos of completed work attached to bookings or shared through studio workflows | Stored encrypted and delivered through an authorised route. The high-quality client copy is deleted roughly 30 days after a studio shares it; a smaller studio archive copy stays with the related booking until the studio deletes it or the account is removed. |
| Client reference images | Reference images uploaded by or for a client | Retained according to the studio's workflow, the life of the related request or booking, and any manual deletion by the studio. |
| Billing & payment references | Subscription billing references, tax references, transaction IDs, Stripe-related references, deposit references recorded in Linebook | Kept as needed for accounting, tax, reconciliation, audit, fraud, dispute, and other legal or financial recordkeeping. Linebook does not store full payment-card details. |
| Transactional email records | Booking confirmations, reminders, intake links, password/login emails, service notices | Kept only as long as reasonably needed for delivery, troubleshooting, abuse prevention, audit, and proof-of-notice needs. |
| Marketing & lifecycle email records | Campaign records, studio-owner lifecycle emails, unsubscribe records, suppression-list entries | Kept only as long as reasonably needed for campaign operations and compliance. Suppression records may be kept longer so opt-out requests continue to be honoured. |
| Technical & security logs | Application logs, request traces, error logs, authentication events, access-control and abuse signals | Kept for the minimum period reasonably needed for security, operations, reliability, support, and incident review, with rolling expiry under infrastructure or provider settings. |
| Session & security cookies | Session sign-in state, short-lived OAuth/security values, challenge-related values | Usually expire automatically at sign-out, session end, flow completion, or short-lived security expiry. |
| Backups | Provider-managed database and storage backups | Kept on a rolling backup lifecycle under provider settings, then overwritten or expired in the ordinary course. |
| Legal, abuse & compliance records | Legal requests, fraud reviews, takedown records, incident records, compliance logs, subprocessor records | Kept as long as needed for the matter involved, and longer where required for legal, audit, regulator, abuse-prevention, or repeat-issue tracking purposes. |
03Sensitive intake records
Linebook applies a distinct retention approach to certain sensitive intake records collected for a studio — health screening responses, signed waivers and signature records, date of birth, and intake placement photos. Unless a studio configures a different period, these records generally default to about seven years from the client's last service. That default is intended to support common operational, liability and recordkeeping needs, but it may differ where local law, legal claims, insurance matters or studio-specific practices require different treatment.
Where deletion is appropriate and no hold applies, Linebook may delete the encrypted records directly and, where applicable, may also use crypto-shredding — deleting the relevant wrapped key so the encrypted intake data is no longer readable or recoverable within Linebook's encrypted intake system.
04Photos are not all treated the same way
- Intake placement photos generally follow the sensitive-intake retention path above.
- Finished-tattoo photos are retained based on the studio's sharing workflow and the associated booking: the high-quality copy a client can download expires roughly 30 days after sharing, while a smaller studio archive copy remains with the booking. Both are stored encrypted, and access runs through an authorised route rather than a public link, so ending a share also ends access.
- Client reference images may remain available with the related request or booking until the studio deletes them or the related records are removed.
05Logs, backups & deletion caveats
Even when data is deleted from the live service, some related information may continue to exist for a limited time in rolling system backups, operational or security logs, incident files, legal or compliance records, or provider-managed infrastructure. Linebook generally avoids promising exact deletion times for every system, because deletion timing can vary by data category, provider lifecycle, and legal or operational constraints.
06When Linebook may keep data longer
Linebook may need to retain some data longer than the general summary above where reasonably necessary for: legal holds or anticipated litigation; active disputes, claims, chargebacks or enforcement matters; fraud, abuse or security investigations; tax, accounting, audit or bookkeeping obligations; regulatory or law-enforcement requirements; copyright, takedown or platform-compliance matters; backup and disaster-recovery lifecycles; or completion of a valid deletion, export or account-closure workflow.
07Requesting deletion or access
If you are a client of a studio, please contact the studio first — the studio controls that client data, and Linebook helps the studio respond. If you are a studio user, you can manage certain data through the product or contact us for help with account closure, export or deletion. Reach us via our contact page or hello@linebook.ink.
This summary is informational only, is not legal advice, and is subject to applicable law, contractual requirements, valid legal requests, and legitimate security, backup, accounting and compliance needs. See also our Privacy Policy and Security Overview.