Data Deletion
If you want personal information about you deleted, this page explains exactly how to ask, what we will do, how long it takes, and the limited circumstances in which some information has to be kept.
1. In short
To request deletion, email info@minibytez.com with the subject line “Data deletion request”. Include the email address, phone number or account identifier the information is associated with, and tell us which business or service it relates to if you know.
We acknowledge requests within 5 business days and complete them within30 days, or tell you why more time is needed and how much.
2. Which situation applies to you
You contacted Minibytez directly
If you sent us an enquiry, corresponded with us, or were a contact during an engagement, we are the controller of that information and we handle your request ourselves.
You are a customer or member of a business that uses a system we built
In that case the business is the controller of your information and we act on its instructions. You can still send the request to us. We will pass it to that business promptly and support them in carrying it out. The fastest route is usually to contact that business directly, since they can identify your record immediately.
3. How to make a request
Send your request by any of the following:
- Email: info@minibytez.com
- Contact form: minibytez.com/contact, select “Not sure yet” and write “Data deletion request” in the message
- Phone: +966 56 516 6085
Please include:
- The identifier your data is likely held against: email address, phone number or account reference
- The business or service it relates to, if you know it
- Whether you want everything deleted, or only specific information
There is no charge for a deletion request.
4. How we verify a request
We verify that a request genuinely comes from the person it concerns, so that someone else cannot delete your data or use a request to obtain information about you. Verification is usually a confirmation reply to the email address or phone number already associated with the record. Where the risk is higher, we may ask for additional proof appropriate to the situation. We ask for as little as possible to establish identity.
5. What we delete, and when
Once a request is verified, we identify the systems holding your information and remove it:
- Contact records, enquiry submissions and marketing lists we control
- Correspondence held for the purpose the request covers
- Message threads and communication history, subject to section 7
- Associated records in systems we operate, where we hold the instruction to delete them
Backups. Deleted data may persist in encrypted backups for a limited period until those backups expire on their normal rotation. Backup data is not used for live processing, and is not restored to reinstate deleted records.
We will confirm in writing when the deletion is complete, and tell you clearly if any category of information had to be retained and why.
6. Messaging and WhatsApp data
Where we operate communications infrastructure, including official WhatsApp Business Platform integrations, on behalf of a business:
- You can ask for your conversation history with that business to be deleted
- You can ask to be opted out of further messaging, which we record so the opt-out is honoured going forward
- Our intended retention standard is that message content is kept for up to24 months from your most recent interaction, unless a longer period is required for legal, regulatory, tax or dispute reasons, or a different period is agreed with the business that controls the platform
Deletion within our systems does not delete the copy of a conversation held on your own device or in your own WhatsApp account, which remains under your control.
7. What we may have to keep
Some information cannot be deleted on request. This is limited to:
| Category | Reason |
|---|---|
| Invoices, payment and accounting records | Tax and company law retention requirements |
| Contracts and records of agreement | Establishing, exercising or defending legal claims |
| Records relating to an active dispute or investigation | Legal obligation or legitimate legal interest |
| Opt-out and suppression records | To ensure your opt-out continues to be honoured |
| Security and audit logs | Integrity of the audit trail, kept for a limited period |
Where information is retained for one of these reasons, it is restricted to that purpose and deleted once the reason no longer applies.
8. Data inside a client platform
Where your information sits in a platform we built or operate for another business, that business decides what is deleted, because the data is theirs. Our role is to act on their instruction and to make deletion technically possible.
If you send the request to us, we will:
- Acknowledge it within 5 business days
- Identify and notify the business that controls the data
- Tell you who that business is, so you can follow up directly if you wish
- Carry out the deletion in the platform once they instruct us to
9. If you are not satisfied
If you are unhappy with how we handled your request, reply to our response and it will be reviewed by the founder. You also have the right to complain to a supervisory authority. In South Africa that is the Information Regulator; elsewhere it is the equivalent authority in your own jurisdiction.
Our full approach to personal information is set out in our Privacy Policy.
Need something clarified?
If any part of this is unclear, or you need a data processing agreement for a project, contact us and we will deal with it directly.