Introduction
Affiliate platforms process personal data across the entire customer journey: tracking links, conversion data, payout history and billing records. For self‑hosted installations like Affilentra, it is therefore crucial to implement retention periods, deletion workflows and export functions in a way that allows merchants and partners to fulfil their GDPR obligations and demonstrably meet audit requirements. This article provides concrete, practical specifications for implementation.
Basic principles and allocation of roles
Affilentra clearly separates roles: software operator (host), merchants and affiliate partners. Each role has different responsibilities regarding data access, deletion and documentation:
- Software operator: Operation and provision of the self‑hosted software, technical features (scheduler, export, backup).
- Merchants: Decide on data processing purposes, configure retention periods and initiate deletion or anonymization processes for their programs.
- Partners/Publishers: Can submit data subject requests (export, deletion) and view their own tracking links and payout histories.
- Booking and billing data (invoices, payout records): 10 years (statutory retention obligations for tax evidence). Not anonymizable as long as accounting obligations remain.
- Contract data merchants/partners (contact, bank details): Until termination of the business relationship + 6–24 months for follow‑up; bank details only as long as necessary for payouts, afterwards delete immediately or archive encrypted.
- Conversion data including proof (order IDs, tracking evidence): 6–36 months; if involved in billing, longer periods apply analogous to booking data.
- Tracking logs, IPs, debug logs: 1–6 months, only for error investigation and fraud prevention; extend temporarily for legitimate interest, otherwise anonymize.
- Marketing consents and opt‑ins: Until withdrawal + 6–12 months documentation period for proof.
- Account profiles (partners): As long as an active partnership exists; after termination: retention hold 6–24 months, then anonymization or deletion.
- 1. Mapping: Record all relevant tables/objects (users, partners, merchants, conversions, payouts, logs, consents). Documentation as a central part of the audit.
- 2. Configure policies: Merchants configure retention periods per data category for their program via the admin UI. Predefined presets (legal, privacy‑strict, marketing‑long) simplify decisions.
- 3. Soft‑delete: Implement a flag (deleted_at, deletion_requested_at). Immediate soft‑deletes prevent data loss and allow revocation within a defined period (e.g. 14 days).
- 4. Anonymization vs. deletion: For data that must be retained for accounting reasons, anonymize personal fields (name, e‑mail) and keep only pseudonymous references. For all other data: complete deletion.
- 5. Scheduled jobs: Cron jobs check pending_deletion entries and perform anonymization or final deletion after the expiry of review or retention holds. Log every action.
- 6. Tamper‑evident audit logs: Every DSAR request, export and deletion action is logged with timestamp, role and justification. Audit logs should be signed or stored as append‑only.
- Automated export: An endpoint or UI button "Request data export" generates a package (JSON + CSV unified structure) with all personal data records about their tracking links, conversion history and payments.
- Format and integrity: Offer standardized formats (JSON for structured data, CSV for tables). Provide as a one‑time download with expiration; optional signature/hash for integrity verification.
- Notification and unlock logic: Exports are delivered by e‑mail with a link; all steps are audited. Deletion or anonymization begins only after completion of outstanding reviews (e.g. disputed settlements).
- Partner submits request via partner dashboard → system marks account.deletion_requested_at and sends confirmation.
- System checks outstanding claims/payouts and active disputes. If present, pause deletion until resolution (documented in the UI).
- If no retention reason exists, personal fields are anonymized; records needed for accounting purposes remain pseudonymized.
- Completion: audit entry, confirmation message to partner with list of deleted/anonymized objects.
- Encrypt backups and restrict access.
- Define retention for backups and include in deletion policy: deleted data must also be removed from backups within a maximal period (e.g. adjust backup retention and rotation).
- Restorability: processes for emergencies (e.g. accidental deletion) with clear checks and minimal restore capability.
- Log initial retention decisions and every change in policies.
- Generate compliance reports: retention overview per program, list of pending deletion requests, scope of anonymized/deleted records.
- Keep technical metadata (hashes, timestamps, user IDs of actors) for the audit period.
Architectural decisions in Affilentra must technically reflect this separation: role‑based UI, permission checks and separate logging channels.
Data categories and recommended retention periods
Practical layout: index cards with data category, purpose, recommended retention period and exception note. The following list contains practical recommendations; they should be treated as a starting point and adapted to national retention obligations.
Technical implementation: data lifecycle in Affilentra
A robust deletion process includes the following states: active → deactivated → pending_deletion → anonymized/deleted. Recommended flow:
Data subject rights: export and portability
DSAR functionality is mandatory. Implement the following core features in Affilentra:
Deletion workflows in detail
Example workflow for a partner deletion request:
Security, backups and restoration
Backups must be consistent with deletion concepts. Recommendations:
Audit readiness and evidence
For audits it is important that decisions, configurations and actions are traceable:
Practical example: configuration in Affilentra (conceptual)
Merchant A configures the following in Affilentra for its program: conversion retention 12 months, tracking logs 3 months, booking data 10 years. Partners can request a data export via their dashboard; deletion requests go through a seven‑day revocation period. A cron job checks pending_deletion entries daily and performs anonymization or deletion. All steps are recorded in the audit log.
Conclusion and recommended next steps
GDPR‑compliant retention and deletion in a self‑hosted environment like Affilentra requires clearly defined data categories, role‑based workflows and technically implemented deletion processes (soft‑delete, anonymization, cron jobs, exports). Start pragmatically:
- Inventory: Map all personal data in your installation.
- Policy: Define retention periods per category (taking into account tax-related requirements).
- Technical: Implement soft-delete, scheduled purges and export functions with audit logging.
- Test & Documentation: Test DSAR processes and create audit reports.
Affilentra offers the technical basis for these steps: self-hosted installation, role-based separation, tracking, commission calculation and traceability of payouts. As PRO & NETWORK Edition with a perpetual licensing model, Affilentra enables you to keep control over data, retention periods and workflows without ceding revenue share to a provider.
Affilentra also provides further support for the concrete implementation of your deletion and export processes – start now:
Note: The mentioned periods are recommendations for practical implementation. Check national statutory retention periods and, if necessary, consult legal advice to establish binding rules.
Next step
Try Affilentra yourself
A unified platform that transparently brings together product provisioning, tracking, conversion validation, commission calculation and payout along clearly separated roles; option for self-hosted installation with a perpetual license without revenue sharing; merchants retain control over products, terms and marketing materials; partners receive personal tracking links and a traceable payout history.