# Zero Retention Document Processing — Designed for Sensitive Workflows

Process sensitive documents with immediate deletion — no storage, no reuse, no residual data retained.

[**See how zero retention works**](/content/en/sign-up/index.html)

## Why Document Retention Exists by Default

By default, Invofox retains processed documents and extracted data for a defined period. This approach is intentional and fully compliant with the regulations in the markets we operate in.

Data retention **enables accuracy and performance improvements** while maintaining strict security and compliance standards.

It allows us to:

Improve extraction accuracy over time  
  
Support auditing and short-term reference needs

For most customers, this balance delivers **better outcomes while meeting data protection** and security requirements.

Zero retention builds on this foundation by applying stricter guarantees when workflows require them.

## When Zero Data Retention Is Required

Some workflows require stronger guarantees than standard retention.

In certain environments, organizations must ensure that documents **are never stored after processing — even temporarily.** This is not a regulatory requirement, but a one driven by internal policy, regulatory interpretation, or risk tolerance.

#### **Healthcare and clinical data**

Medical records often include diagnoses, treatment history, and identifiable patient information.

#### **Personally identifiable information (PII)**

Names, addresses, dates of birth, government identifiers.

#### **Critical intellectual property (IP)**

Proprietary documents such as internal models, algorithms, contracts, or sensitive operational data.

#### **Highly regulated or risk-averse organizations**

Where internal policy or regulation prohibits data storage outright.

In these cases, minimizing data exposure takes precedence long-term optimization.

## How Zero Retention Processing Works

Zero retention processing is a fully supported capability within Invofox for environments with strict data handling requirements.

#### **Documents are securely processed**

Files are **ingested and parsed** in real time.

#### **Required data is extracted.**

**Only the fields defined** by your workflow are captured and returned.

#### **Optional training samples are retained**

(when approved)

Customers may explicitly provide a **limited set of sample documents for training** or evaluation purposes, which are retained only as part of the agreed training dataset.

#### **All documents and data are deleted**

**No** documents, extracted data, logs, or processing artifacts are **retained or reused.**

Once processing is complete, no customer documents remain on our end beyond the explicitly approved training samples.

## How Zero Retention Changes Optimization

Zero retention reduces data exposure, but **it changes how** optimization and analysis work.

These differences are expected in zero-retention environments and **are supported by Invofox** workflows.

To continue improving accuracy in zero-retention deployments, Invofox supports **optimization through synthetic datasets** or explicitly approved customer-provided samples, rather than previously processed production documents.

> Zero retention processing is configured internally and evaluated based on document processing scale.

Because documents are not retained, certain capabilities that rely on historical data are not available:

**No historical document analysis**

Past processing results cannot be reviewed to identify trends, anomalies, or systemic issues.

**No backward debugging on past documents**

If an issue is discovered later, previously processed documents cannot be reviewed to determine root cause.

**Limited model optimization using real production data**

Continuous learning from real-world documents is constrained when data is not retained.

## **Evaluate Zero Retention for Your Use Case**

Invofox works with teams across regulated, security-sensitive, and IP-critical environments to deploy zero retention processing safely and successfully.

If strict data deletion guarantees are required, we’ll help assess the right approach and deployment model.

[**Talk to us about Zero Retention**](/content/en/sign-up/index.html)