> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.saphion.co.uk/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Data and privacy > Decide whether Beacon may save and use memories for your Organisation, and how long Beacon conversations are kept. **Settings > Organisation > Data & privacy** holds two Organisation-wide controls over what Beacon keeps: a switch for **Memory**, and how long Beacon conversations are kept. Both apply to everyone in the Organisation, and both are recorded in [Audit](https://docs.saphion.co.uk/admin/audit.md). > [!NOTE] > > Organisation Admins only. ![Organisation memory and conversation retention settings.](https://mintcdn.com/saphion/F5a0XE-YKidXHEWP/images/admin/data-and-privacy-1.webp?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=F5a0XE-YKidXHEWP\&q=85\&s=3e743788e47ddf397172e1017a8224ad) Data and privacy settings ## Open Data and privacy Choose **Settings** in the sidebar, then **Data & privacy** under **Organisation**. It has two groups: **Memory** and **Retention**. ## Switch Memory on or off Memory is what Beacon saves when a person asks it to remember something, and uses in their chats. The switch is over Memory itself. It is never an Organisation-wide store of anyone's notes: each person's memories stay their own. The group says "Applies to everyone in" your Organisation, "in personal chats and in Projects". **1. Open Data & privacy** The **Memory** group has one switch, also called **Memory**. It is on by default. **2. Press the switch** Saphion saves the change and shows the result. If the switch cannot be saved, the reason appears under it with **Try again**. | Switch | What Beacon does | | - | - | | **On** | Beacon can save the facts people ask it to remember and use them in their chats. | | **Off** | Beacon neither saves nor uses memories for anyone here. Saved memories are kept, paused, and can still be viewed or forgotten. | Switching it off does not delete anything. Switch it on again and the paused memories are used again, or a person forgets them in their own **Settings > Memory**. A person can also switch their own memory off. Beacon saves and uses a person's memory only when both the Organisation's switch and their own are on. See [Memory and privacy](https://docs.saphion.co.uk/beacon/memory-and-privacy.md). ## Choose how long conversations are kept **Conversation retention** is how long Beacon conversations are kept after their last message, for everyone in your Organisation. **1. Open the Keep conversations for select** It is in the **Retention** group. **2. Choose a period** The choices are **Keep forever**, **30 days**, **90 days**, **180 days**, **1 year**, **2 years** and **3 years**. If your Organisation already has another period, such as one set before, that period is listed too. **3. Confirm it saved** The select applies the change as soon as you choose it. The change is recorded in the audit history. ![The conversation retention choices from Keep forever to 3 years.](https://mintcdn.com/saphion/F5a0XE-YKidXHEWP/images/admin/data-and-privacy-2.webp?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=F5a0XE-YKidXHEWP\&q=85\&s=dc9913dae05999220d4ab8c9660b4e00) Conversation retention > [!WARNING] > > A conversation older than the period is deleted permanently, and it does not go to the Archive or the Bin. The period is counted from a conversation's last message, so a chat that is still in use is not deleted. Choose **Keep forever** to stop deleting. ### How the period is applied A nightly job applies the window. It does nothing for an Organisation that keeps conversations forever. Otherwise it deletes each conversation that is past the window, just as if its owner had deleted the chat. ## How it works * **Everyone can see the window.** Every person sees the conversation window, read-only, in their own **Settings > Privacy & data**. * **Default.** A new Organisation keeps conversations forever and has Memory on. * **Limits.** A period is a whole number of days from 30 to 3,650. The select offers the common choices. * **Everyone sees the window.** The period you set is the one enforced, and each person can read it under **Settings > Privacy & data**, along with their own tools for managing their conversations. * **Only Admins change it.** Anyone else is refused in words. A change made while another Admin was changing it is refused, not written over. * **Not the same as the Bin.** Deleting a conversation by hand, or by the window, is permanent. The Bin is for records, files and other work. See [Bin and restore](https://docs.saphion.co.uk/admin/bin-and-restore.md). ## FAQ > **Does switching Memory off delete what Beacon remembered?** > > No. Saved memories are kept and paused. People can still open **Settings > Memory** to view or forget them. > **Can an Admin read people's memories?** > > No. Each person's saved facts are private to them. The Organisation's switch only decides whether Beacon may save and use them. > **Can I recover conversations deleted by the retention period?** > > No. They are deleted permanently. Choose a longer period or **Keep forever** before the window passes if you may need them. > **Does the period apply to chats in Projects?** > > It applies to every Beacon conversation in the Organisation, counted from its last message. ## Related * [Memory and privacy](https://docs.saphion.co.uk/beacon/memory-and-privacy.md): What Beacon remembers and who sees it. * [Audit](https://docs.saphion.co.uk/admin/audit.md): Where changes to these settings are recorded. * [Bin and restore](https://docs.saphion.co.uk/admin/bin-and-restore.md): What can be restored, and what cannot. This documentation is built and hosted on [Mintlify](https://mintlify.com), a developer documentation platform.