> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.draftable.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Document security with Draftable Online

> How Draftable Online handles the files you upload: hosting, encryption, how long comparisons are kept, how to request deletion, and when to use a different Draftable product instead.

[Draftable Online](https://draftable.com/compare) is our free, browser-based comparison tool. It requires no account and no installation. Because it runs in the browser, it works differently from our desktop and API products in one important respect: **the files you compare are uploaded to Draftable's servers.**

This page explains what happens to those files so you can make an informed decision about what you put through it.

<Warning>
  Draftable Online is a free tool intended for quick, ad-hoc comparisons. If you are working with confidential, privileged, or regulated material, use a product designed for it. [Draftable Legal and Business](/hc/en-us/articles/Document-security-with-Draftable-Legal) compare documents on your own machine without uploading them, the [Self-Hosted API](/hc/en-us/articles/12042585710489-Network-requirements) runs entirely inside your infrastructure, and the [Draftable API](/hc/en-us/articles/42553018962841-Document-Privacy-with-Draftable-API) gives you programmatic control over deletion.
</Warning>

## Where your files go

Files uploaded to Draftable Online are processed and stored on Amazon Web Services infrastructure operated by Draftable, in the same environment that underpins our other cloud services.

## Encryption

**In transit.** Everything sent between your browser and Draftable Online travels over TLS 1.2 or TLS 1.3. Older protocol versions and all versions of SSL are not permitted.

**At rest.** Stored files are encrypted using AES with 256-bit keys, with encryption keys held in a managed key service under restricted access and regular rotation.

## How long files are kept

Draftable Online does not require an account, which means there is no login for you to sign in to and clear out your own history. As a result there is no fixed expiry applied to uploaded files: **a comparison is retained until deletion is requested.**

This is a deliberate difference from the authenticated [Draftable API](/hc/en-us/articles/42553018962841-Document-Privacy-with-Draftable-API), where you can set an expiry on every comparison or delete it programmatically at any time.

## Requesting deletion

You can ask us to delete a comparison at any time, and we will action it.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Find the comparison URL">
    Copy the URL of the comparison you want removed. This is what identifies it to us.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Email support">
    Send the URL to [support@draftable.com](mailto:support@draftable.com) and ask us to delete it. Include enough detail to identify the comparison if you no longer have the URL.
  </Step>

  <Step title="We remove it">
    Once processed, the data is made immediately inaccessible to all requests. A copy may persist in encrypted backups for a short period afterwards, ageing out automatically. The maximum period data may remain in backups following a deletion request is **30 days**.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## There is no agreement between us

Because Draftable Online is free and requires no account, there is no contract, no data processing agreement, no service level commitment, and no negotiated retention arrangement covering your use of it. Your use is governed by our website terms and [Privacy Policy](https://www.draftable.com/privacy) rather than an agreement specific to your organisation.

This matters if you are being asked to evidence how a tool handles your documents. A security reviewer will usually want a contractual basis, not just a technical one.

## What a paid product adds

The certifications and encryption standards described above cover all of Draftable, including the free tool. Moving to a paid product does not give you different encryption; it changes the architecture, the contract, and the degree of control you have.

|                               | Draftable Online (free) | Paid Draftable products                                                                                              |
| ----------------------------- | ----------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Where documents are processed | Uploaded to Draftable   | On your own machine (Legal, Business, Clean), or inside your own infrastructure (API Self-Hosted)                    |
| Retention control             | Deletion on request     | Automatic expiry and on-demand deletion (API), or nothing for us to retain at all (desktop)                          |
| Contractual protection        | None specific to you    | Product terms, plus an NDA or confidentiality agreement where required                                               |
| Administrative control        | None                    | Group Policy and Intune control over telemetry, error reporting, and whether files can be shared with support at all |
| Security review support       | Self-service            | Questionnaire completion, access to restricted Trust Center artefacts, and direct contact with our team              |

## Choosing the right product

| If you need to                                           | Use                                                                                      |
| -------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Compare a document without it leaving your machine       | [Draftable Legal or Business](/hc/en-us/articles/Document-security-with-Draftable-Legal) |
| Compare documents inside your own infrastructure         | Draftable API Self-Hosted                                                                |
| Control retention and deletion programmatically          | [Draftable API](/hc/en-us/articles/42553018962841-Document-Privacy-with-Draftable-API)   |
| Run a quick one-off comparison of non-sensitive material | Draftable Online                                                                         |

If you are not sure which fits your requirements, contact [support@draftable.com](mailto:support@draftable.com) and we will help you work it out.

## Certifications and further detail

Draftable Online is operated under the same information security programme as the rest of the Draftable product family. For certifications, encryption standards, and independent testing, see [Security and compliance at Draftable](/hc/en-us/articles/Security-and-compliance-at-Draftable), or go to the [Trust Center](https://trust.affinda.com/).

Our handling of personal data is governed by our [Privacy Policy](https://www.draftable.com/privacy).