Set a file to self destruct
Give a stored file an expiry date after which it is permanently erased. Available on Pro and Lifetime.
A self destructing file is one you have given an expiry date. When that moment arrives, the file is erased from storage and its record is removed. It is not moved to a bin and there is no recovery.
Setting one
- Go to Files and open the file.
- Choose Self destruct and pick when.
- The expiry appears on the file in your list.
Timers run from five minutes to one year. You can change the timer or remove it entirely at any point before it fires.
Which plans have it
Pro and Lifetime. On Free and Basic the option is shown but declines with a note about upgrading.
What happens at expiry
A scheduled job sweeps for expired files a few minutes after the time you set. The encrypted object is deleted from storage, the database record goes with it, and the destruction is written to your audit log. If the file was attached to a vault, that vault simply delivers without it.
Sensible uses
- A document you need available for a known window and not afterwards: a contract during a negotiation, a scan during an application.
- Material you are holding for someone else and promised not to keep.
- Anything where "I will remember to delete this" has already failed you once.
Two things to watch
First, a file attached to an armed vault will be gone from that delivery if it expires before the vault fires. Check the two dates against each other.
Second, the storage it was using comes back at expiry, not before. A file with a timer on it still counts against your quota for the whole time it exists.
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