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> Use this file to discover available pages before exploring further.
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# Lead data anonymization

MetaLocator allows for the capture and delivery of contact information, called Leads.

Customers can configure the Lead Form to capture custom information, some of which may represent personally identifiable information or PII. This article discusses the options available to limit the storage of PII in MetaLocator.

## Lead Data Retention Period

Enterprise customers can configure a custom, global data retention period after which Leads will be anonymized.

To configure the Data Retention period:

1. login to the Owner user account,
2. Click the user icon in the toolbar in the upper right
3. Click My User Profile
4. Click Toggle Advanced Settings
5. Scroll to find the `lead_data_retention_days` setting
6. Enter in a number of days to store lead data.

The system anonymizes leads on a daily basis system-wide, and so it may take up to 24 hours to process changes to these values.

Lead data retention is calculated from the time the lead is received. Be sure to allow for sufficient time for leads to be viewed, acknowledged or otherwise processed before they are anonymized.

## Zero Day Lead Data Retention

If `lead_data_retention_days` is set to zero, MetaLocator anonymizes the lead data before permanent storage. Lead integrations such as:

* [Webhooks](https://support.metalocator.com/en/articles/3059413-webhooks-in-metalocator)
* [Thank You](https://support.metalocator.com/en/articles/5132526-sending-lead-thank-you-emails) messages
* Microsoft Dynamics integrations
* [Hubspot](https://support.metalocator.com/en/articles/2747840-publishing-metalocator-leads-to-hubspot) integrations
* [SalesForce](https://support.metalocator.com/en/articles/1655577-capturing-leads-in-salesforce) integrations

Receive the complete lead data before anonymization.

Zapier runs asynchronously should not be used with a zero-day lead data retention period. The Zap trigger will receive the anonymized data in this case.

## Lead Anonymization after Acknowledgement

Sometimes it is preferable to anonymize a lead the moment it is acknowledged. This allows the lead to be opened once, and then immediately anonymized. This behavior is enabled as follows:

1. Login to the MetaLocator Control panel
2. Click Interfaces
3. Click the name of the interface
4. Click Lead Generation Settings
5. Scroll down to **Anonymize After Acknowledgement?**
6. Set Anonymize After Acknowledgement to "Yes"

This option can be used in tandem with the **Send Acknowledged Lead via Email** setting. This delivers the full contents of the lead to the recipient via email to ensure they have received a back-up copy of the lead.

## Lead Anonymization

When a lead is anonymized, the lead record itself is retained to preserve reporting functionality, but it is stripped of data that may contain PII, including the "From" contact information and values of any custom fields. The values are replaced with `--Removed after data retention period--`. The lead date, source, categories, acknowledgement and follow-up statuses are all retained to preserve reported.

Once a lead is anonymized, it cannot be retrieved. Take care in the selection of data retention periods and related settings.