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

# Candidate data requests

> Erasure requests and data-access requests candidates file themselves: where they land, what's automatic, and what you need to review.

Candidates can ask Staffer to erase their data, or ask for a copy of it. The two work differently: erasure runs on its own once the grace window passes, and there's nothing for you to approve. A data-access request needs you to review it and choose what goes in the export.

## Where they appear

Both queues are reached from **Settings** → **Organization** → **Compliance** → **Retention**, and both are org-wide: they list requests against every workspace in the organization, not only the one you're in.

* **Erasure requests**: right-to-erasure (GDPR Article 17) requests.
* **Application data requests**: right-of-access (GDPR Article 15) requests for a copy of the candidate's own data.

## How a candidate files one

A candidate can ask one specific workspace to stop processing them, ask to erase everything Staffer holds about them, or request a copy of their data, from their own Staffer account. See [Your data and privacy](/candidates/data-and-privacy) for what that looks like on their side.

## Erasure requests

This queue is read-only for you. Only the candidate, or in narrow cases Staffer support, can withdraw a request. The deletion runs automatically once the [grace window](/admin/retention) passes, with nothing for you to approve or refuse. Two kinds of request land here: a candidate asking one workspace to stop processing them, and a candidate asking to be erased from Staffer entirely (shown here if they have an application in one of your workspaces). Rows show a status: requested, scheduled, processing, done, cancelled, or rejected.

### What gets deleted

The candidate's profile, uploaded files such as résumés and interview recordings, and their sign-in.

### What's anonymized instead

Each application survives as a stripped-down record of the hiring decision: states, which steps ran and when, and scores, with everything that names or quotes the candidate removed, such as messages, notes, transcripts, and free-text answers. This keeps your own record that a hiring process happened and roughly how it went, without keeping anything that identifies the person.

## Application data requests

This is the queue that needs your action. Open a pending request and you'll see the candidate's own reason, if they gave one, and a **Prepare export** dialog with six sections to include, all checked by default except résumé, which follows whatever's on file:

* **Application details**: the record, its state history, and consent events
* **Resume**: the file on record, if there is one
* **Step results**: transcripts, answers and files from process steps
* **Messages**: emails to and from the candidate
* **AI evaluations**: match score history and the per-criterion breakdown
* **Notes**: your team's notes on this candidate

For notes specifically, you can include each one as-is, redact individual words in it, or exclude it entirely. Excluding a note requires a reason, which is recorded either way.

Approve it and the export builds in the background. The candidate gets an email with a download link once it's ready, which expires after 7 days. You can also **Reject** the request instead, with a required reason: under GDPR Article 12(4) the reason travels with the refusal, so the candidate reads exactly what you write. The candidate is notified either way.

## Notifications

Turn on **Candidate filed a data request** on your personal Notifications page to get a bell and email alert when one of these comes in.

## Common questions

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Can I refuse an erasure request?">
    No. Only the candidate, or Staffer support in narrow cases, can withdraw one. It runs automatically once the grace window passes.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can I refuse a data-access request?">
    Yes. Use **Reject** and give a reason. Under GDPR Article 12(4), the candidate sees that reason exactly as you wrote it.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="A note mentions something I don't want to disclose. What are my options?">
    Redact individual words in that note before you approve the export, or exclude the note entirely with a reason.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Do these requests only cover one workspace?">
    The queues themselves list requests across every workspace in the organization, but each request is still scoped to what it asked for: one workspace's data, or everything Staffer holds, depending on what the candidate requested.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Retention rules" icon="trash-2" href="/admin/retention">
    Where the Article 17 grace window is set, and what else can flag a candidacy for deletion.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Your data and privacy" icon="shield" href="/candidates/data-and-privacy">
    What a candidate sees when they file either kind of request.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>