Your data: storage, encryption, export and deletion
Where your data physically lives, what is encrypted and how, how to get it all out, and what deletion means.
Where it lives
In the EU. The database, the file storage and the services around them are all EU-hosted, which is a deliberate choice rather than a coincidence, and it is why a German freelancer can use this without a separate conversation about transfers.
What is encrypted
Files are encrypted at rest. Every file in the store carries the note, and somebody with access to the underlying storage sees ciphertext rather than your contracts. See Storage and encryption.
Credentials for connected services (mailboxes, sync passwords) are stored with envelope encryption rather than in a readable form.
Passwords are hashed, not encrypted, which is the correct treatment: they cannot be recovered by anybody, us included.
What that protects, and what it does not
It protects against the infrastructure being read: a stolen disk, a misconfigured store, a provider-side incident.
It does not protect against somebody signed in as you. That is what your password, the sessions list and reviewing who is on your team are for.
Getting your data out
There is no single "export everything" button. There are these routes, and between them they cover it:
| Data | How |
|---|---|
| Contacts | Export all as vCard |
| CVs | JSON Resume export, per CV |
| Time | Timesheet export, any period, choose columns |
| Travel | CSV export, one row per VAT rate |
| Invoices | The PDFs, and the e-invoice XML where one exists |
| Files | Download individually |
| Everything else | The API |
The API is the honest answer for a complete export. It reaches organizations, contacts, projects, employees, CVs and more, and an API key with read scopes is enough.
Deletion
Deleting a record in the product deletes it. Where that would destroy something you are legally required to keep, Steerd does not offer the deletion at all, which is why generated documents cannot be deleted and an issued invoice can only be corrected.
That is not a limitation to work around. An invoice you can make disappear is an invoice that proves nothing.