What happens if your signed PDF document expires in Smallpdf?
What happens if your signed PDF document expires in Smallpdf?
At Smallpdf, privacy is our top priority and we work tirelessly to guarantee your files are secure with us. We aim to be as transparent as possible, which is especially important when it comes to how your data is processed and what happens with your file from the moment you upload it until you have completed the tasks you need to do. This becomes even more important when it involves sharing a document with other parties. But first, let us walk you through Smallpdf’s security policy and document storage.
Smallpdf & eSign Security
We’re serious about data protection and privacy, so we do our utmost to ensure that everyone’s personal information is both safe and secure by adopting a host of security measures.
Our site is protected with HTTPS (or Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure), but what does this mean? Any page you visit that includes the “https” prefix and the padlock symbol of the browser’s search bar uses secure data transfer protocols. The data you send to any “https” website is encrypted, so that no outsider can view it.
We’re both GDPR compliant and ISO/IEC 27001 certified, and all our tools carry a bunch of other security features. Your documents are also protected by secure European servers and TLS encryption, which guarantees the safety and security of your data. Whatever tool you’re using, you’re in absolute control of your files as well as who can access, edit, or see them.
Our policy establishes a period of one hour before files are deleted from our servers. However, this period is extended to 14 days for our Smallpdf eSign service when it comes to sign requests. It goes without saying that only you and the rest of the signees will have access to your files. You can cancel the sign request at any time via our eSign tool page.
How Long Is an eSign Document Saved to Smallpdf?
When you use our eSign tool, the signed PDF will be stored online for 14 days before it’s deleted. We want to ensure that all signees have adequate time to process these documents, so whenever you sign a PDF document with our eSign tool and share it with other parties, every document signee will receive an email including a link to download the final signed version of the document.
In case the file is accessed within those 14 days, the 14-day clock will restart. Otherwise, the document automatically expires on Smallpdf’s platform 14 days after the creation of the sign request. And with “expire,’’ we mean it will be permanently deleted from our platform and therefore not accessible anymore.
Should you open an account with Smallpdf—whether it’s paid or unpaid— and want to use the file storage, your files will remain on our servers for as long as you want. If you do choose to delete a file, it will take an hour for it to be permanently deleted from our servers. So in short, any documents not uploaded to the file storage will be deleted from our servers after 14 days of inaction.
Recovering an Expired Document
Once an eSign document has expired from our servers, it cannot be reinstated. But using the eSign platform, you can quickly and easily upload a new PDF to send for signing. We also encourage you to download your signed documents before the 14-day expiration, so you can store it for safekeeping.
We know how important it is to consider the safety and security of your PDFs and to manage them efficiently. Remember, if you’re ever unsure or have any questions, we’re only an email away!
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