Article

Can licensed records be deleted later?

By TrustPast

Updated October 24, 2026

Licensing your records is a decision you make once, at a desk, with a pen. Living with it lasts longer. Five years from now you may sell the company, change your mind, or get a letter from a client asking where its job files went. This page settles one question for that day: can the records you licensed to micro1 be deleted later, and what would deletion actually cover?

Two of our pages touch on this already. Our page on whether it’s safe to license company records gives the controls in a paragraph. Our page on whether you keep ownership of your records covers ownership and the four basic contract questions. This one goes further into deletion itself: which copies exist, what micro1 says about each, what it does not say, and what to write down before you sign.

The short answer

Yes, deletion is part of what micro1 publishes. You can ask for it, and it also happens when the engagement ends. Both run on terms you agree.

But deletion is not one thing. A record you license may exist in several forms at micro1: the file you sent, the prepared version, and the de-identified version shared with a lab. micro1 names one of those forms when it talks about a deletion schedule. The others are left to the agreement.

So the honest answer has two halves. micro1 commits to deletion in principle and leaves the details to the contract. The details are where your protection lives, and you write them with micro1 before anything moves.

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What micro1 publishes, word for word

Here is what micro1’s public pages say on retention and deletion, collected in one place. We fetched each page on 24 October 2026.

On ownership, its data partnerships page answers “Who owns the data?” with one sentence: “Companies retain ownership of their underlying data.”

On what kind of deal it is: “We license data generated through your company’s everyday operations.”

On the licence terms, under its contracting step: “We establish clear licensing terms, including a commitment not to resell or distribute your data until personal and identifying information has been anonymized.”

On who receives it: “Your data is licensed exclusively to labs and enterprises based in the U.S. and allied countries”.

On preparation before it goes further: “Personal and identifying information is removed or transformed before your data is shared with third parties”.

On retention, in its answer on protection: “Data is retained only for agreed periods”. In its answer on what happens after sharing: “Data is retained only for a limited period based on agreed retention policies”.

On deletion, three lines. Under a heading called defined retention periods: “Raw data is deleted according to an agreed schedule”. In its protection answer: “deletion requests are honored according to the terms of the engagement.” And: “Upon request or at the end of an engagement, data is deleted according to the agreed retention and deletion terms.”

Those are the lines that bear on deletion. Every line points to something agreed. None of them gives a number.

A licence is what makes deletion possible

Start with the word licence, because it decides what deletion can mean.

If you sold your records outright, the buyer would own them. You couldn’t ask for them back any more than you could ask for a sold truck back. A licence is different. micro1 says companies retain ownership of their underlying data. You keep the records. micro1 gets permission to use a copy, on terms.

That is why a deletion clause is something you can negotiate in the first place. The copy at micro1 exists under your permission. The agreement says how long that permission lasts and what happens to the copy when it ends.

Your own files are a separate matter. Deleting micro1’s copy doesn’t touch your estimating software, your project folders or your server. Those stay exactly where they were, under your control, before, during and after the engagement.

One record, several copies

Here is our own description of where a single record can end up, not micro1’s. Take one estimate from 2017: a re-roof bid with two revisions and a change order for rotten decking.

The raw copy. This is the file you transferred, as it left your system. micro1 says you don’t need to clean it first: asked whether a company must anonymize before transferring, its answer is “No, micro1 has processes for de-identifying and transforming sensitive information.” So the raw copy still has the homeowner’s name on it. This is the copy micro1 names in its deletion line: “Raw data is deleted according to an agreed schedule”.

The prepared copy. micro1 says that after data is shared, “personally identifiable information may be removed and certain datasets may undergo synthetic rewrites that preserve workflow structure while reducing direct ties to original records.” The prepared estimate should have no name. It may have a moved date and a changed amount. The two revisions and the decking change order are still there, in order.

The shared copy. micro1 says your data is licensed to “labs and enterprises based in the U.S. and allied countries,” and that identifying information is removed or transformed “before your data is shared with third parties”. So a de-identified version may sit with a party you never meet.

The working copies. Every company that stores files keeps backups, logs and working sets. micro1’s pages don’t mention backups at all.

Read micro1’s lines against that list. The raw copy has a published deletion schedule, set by agreement. The general deletion lines say “data is deleted,” without naming which forms. The pages don’t say whether a deletion request reaches the prepared copy, the rewritten copy, the shared copy or the backups.

That is not a sign of bad faith. It is a sign that the answer is in each agreement. Your job is to make sure your agreement names every copy.

What micro1 does not publish

Here, plainly, is what we could not find on any of the four micro1 pages we fetched.

A deletion timeline. No number of days between a request and the deletion.
A retention period. Only “agreed periods” and “an agreed schedule,” with no default length.
Proof of deletion. No certificate of destruction, no written confirmation, no audit right.
Backups. No mention of backup copies or how long they live.
Third-party copies. No statement on whether deletion reaches copies already shared with the labs and enterprises it licenses to.
Material already used to train AI models. Nothing on what happens to work already built from your records before a deletion request.
Partial deletion. Nothing on deleting one year, one system or one folder while the rest stays licensed.
What deletion does to the payment. Nothing on whether an early deletion request affects what you were paid.

None of these gaps is unusual for a public page. A web page sets out the principle. The agreement sets out the mechanics. But it means the mechanics are yours to ask for, because nobody will hand them to you unasked.

micro1’s referral page says qualified companies “are invited to connect with a Data Partnership Manager to discuss their data, licensing terms, and next steps.” That conversation is where every item on this list belongs.

Material already used to train AI models

This is the question owners ask last and should ask first.

Deleting a file removes the file. It doesn’t, by itself, undo what someone built while the file existed. Say a de-identified version of your project history was used to train AI models before you asked for deletion. Deleting the file afterwards is a different act from reversing that use. micro1 publishes nothing on this point.

Our own advice is to treat it as a business question, not a technical one. You are not trying to understand how anyone builds anything. You are trying to know what the agreement promises. Ask three things.

Once a deletion request is made, does any further use of our records stop, from that date?
Is anything already built from our records before that date affected, or is it kept?
Does the agreement say so in writing?

A clear answer of “kept” is still a clear answer. You can decide whether that suits you. What you don’t want is to find out in year three that the clause you thought covered everything covered only the raw files.

This is also where de-identification does its quiet work. micro1 says it “uses de-identified company data”. Whatever was used was meant to be used without your customers’ names in it. That doesn’t replace the question. It does change what is at stake in the answer.

When you can ask, and what changes at each stage

Deletion means something different depending on when you ask. Here is our own map of the stages, using the steps micro1 publishes.

Before transfer. Nothing has moved. Nothing needs deleting. This is the cheapest moment to leave a system or a run of years out of scope entirely.

During review. micro1 says: “Once your company transfers its data, micro1 has 30 days to review and approve it.” micro1 also says “We review the data for completeness.” If you realise in that window that a folder went over by mistake, say so in writing at once. Our advice: ask before signing what happens to a file withdrawn during review.

After acceptance, during the engagement. micro1 says deletion requests are honoured according to the terms of the engagement. The prepared copy may now exist, and samples may have been reviewed. micro1 says “companies are given the opportunity to review representative samples before prepared data is used.” A sample is also a good moment to spot something that should never have been sent.

At the end of the engagement. micro1 says data is deleted then, according to the agreed terms. Our advice: write down what “the end” means. A date, a notice, or the last payment.

Each stage has its own question. Ask them in order, and the later ones become easier to answer.

What to write into the agreement

What follows is our own advice, not micro1’s guidance, and not legal advice. It is the list we would want an owner to bring to the licensing conversation. Have counsel turn it into contract language, and have counsel read the final clause.

Name every copy. Raw files, prepared copies, rewritten copies, copies shared with third parties, backups, and any working sets. Ask the clause to say which of these deletion covers.
Put a number on the retention period. A length of time, and the date the clock starts: transfer, acceptance or signing.
Put a number on deletion. How many days from a request to the deletion, and how many days for backups to roll off.
Ask for proof. A signed written confirmation that deletion is complete, naming what was deleted.
Settle the third-party question. Whether micro1 passes a deletion request on to the parties it licensed to, and what those parties are bound to do.
Settle prior use. What happens to anything already built from your records before a request, in plain words.
Allow partial deletion. The right to withdraw one system, one year or one folder without ending the whole engagement.
Say what deletion does to the money. Whether any part of the payment depends on how long the licence runs.
Name who asks. Which role at your company may request deletion, to whom it goes, and in what form. This matters after a sale or a change of owner.

You won’t get every item exactly as written. That’s fine. The point is to have each one answered, so nothing is left to a loose reading of the agreed terms years later.

micro1’s payout page says the final payout is “determined based on data sources, volume, quality, access terms, and due diligence.” Access terms are on that list. As our own reading, a shorter retention period or a broad deletion right may count among those terms. Ask whether it changes the offer, and get the answer before you sign.

Keep your own record of what you sent

A deletion request is only as good as your list of what to delete. Most owners don’t keep one.

micro1’s referral page says the company “completes data manifest” when it sets up its profile. Our advice: keep a dated copy of that manifest, and of any later scope changes. Note which systems, which years and which folders went. Note the date of transfer and the date of acceptance.

Then, if you ask for deletion in four years, you are not guessing. You can name the systems, the years and the dates, and ask for a confirmation that covers them.

One more point on your own side. Your own records may have to be kept for a set time for tax, licensing or contract reasons. That is a separate question from micro1’s copy, and only your accountant or counsel can answer it. Deleting micro1’s copy doesn’t change your own obligations, and licensing doesn’t either.

What deletion protects, and what was never at risk

It helps to be clear about what sits inside these records and what doesn’t.

micro1 says it is looking for “data that reflects how work is actually performed within an organization.” It says “The most valuable datasets capture real operational expertise, decision-making processes, and repeatable workflows”. As our own reading, customer names and payments aren’t what is wanted. What is wanted is how the work was done. And micro1 says it uses de-identified company data, so the records are de-identified before use.

Take a general contractor’s ten years of estimates and change orders. What is valuable is the chain. The first bid, the revision after the site walk, the change order when the footing had to go deeper, the note on how the price was settled. The homeowner’s name and the deposit check teach nothing. micro1 says personally identifiable information is removed when relevant; as our own reading, those are the details that come out.

Or take a repair shop’s diagnosis notes. A car came in with an intermittent stall. The tech checked the codes, ruled out the fuel pump, found a corroded ground strap and wrote down why. The owner’s name, the plate and the card on file add nothing to that. The order of the checks is the record.

So the copy that gets used is meant to be a record of judgment, with the people taken out. Deletion still matters, and you should still write it down properly. But the thing you are deleting is, by design, your company’s way of working. Our page on how de-identification works shows what that looks like on real record types.

What this means for a contractor with 30 or more staff

Here is one company, as our own hypothetical and not a description from micro1. Say a commercial and residential contractor with 40 people and fourteen years in its estimating and project software. micro1 sets the line at “30+ employees,” so it is in range. Our page on companies with 30 or more staff covers the lane.

What it keeps. Estimates and quotes, with every revision. Change orders and the notes on how each was priced. Project history: schedules, daily logs, punch lists, closeout files. RFIs and submittals. The superintendent’s site notes. Our page on estimates and quotes explains why the versions matter more than the totals.

What its deletion terms would say. Retention of a fixed length from acceptance. Deletion within a set number of days of a request, with backups to follow on a stated date. A signed confirmation naming the systems and years. A plain answer on copies shared with third parties. A plain answer on anything already built from its records. The right to pull the closeout files for two clients if their contracts turn out to forbid it.

What it keeps a record of. The data manifest, the scope, the transfer date, the acceptance date and the name of the person allowed to ask for deletion.

What it asks before signing. Which copies deletion covers. How long each takes. Whether the answer changes the offer.

Our cornerstone page on what data buyers want from a trade business goes through which of those files carry the value. Worth two minutes to see your range? Our estimate asks five questions.

What is never included

micro1 doesn’t publish a fixed exclusion list. It says it protects “sensitive information through data anonymization and secure handling,” and that personal and identifying information “is removed or transformed before your data is shared with third parties”. Scope is settled with each company.

What follows is our own advice, not micro1’s. Keep these out unless micro1 agrees otherwise in writing: attorney-client privileged records, health information, payment-card and financial-account details, Social Security numbers, minors’ data, biometric data, and classified or export-controlled material. Add anything a client owns under its contract with you, and the customer list itself.

On a deletion page, there is one more reason to be strict. The easiest record to delete is the one that was never sent. A folder left out of scope needs no clause, no timeline and no certificate. Our page on what is never included in a records licence shows where those records hide. Our How it’s safe page gives the short version. Our page on whether licensing company records is legal lists whose rights to check first, and counsel should read your contracts before you decide.

Where we fit

We, TrustPast, explain how this works and give you a range with our estimate. The range is ours, not an offer. You apply to micro1 yourself, through the button below. micro1 pays us a referral fee. You pay us nothing.

We never hold your records, so we have nothing to delete. Your files go from your systems to micro1, on the terms you agree with micro1. This page is here so you sign those terms knowing which copies exist and how each one ends.

TrustPast

Questions and answers

Can we ask micro1 to delete our records later?

Yes, on the terms you agree. micro1 says “deletion requests are honored according to the terms of the engagement,” and that “Upon request or at the end of an engagement, data is deleted according to the agreed retention and deletion terms.” The details sit in the agreement, not on its pages.

Which copy does micro1 say it deletes?

micro1 says “Raw data is deleted according to an agreed schedule”. It doesn’t publish, on the pages we read, how the prepared or rewritten copies are handled, or copies shared with the “labs and enterprises based in the U.S. and allied countries” it licenses to. As our own advice, ask about each copy by name.

What happens to material already used to train AI models?

micro1 publishes nothing on this. As our own advice, ask the question directly before signing, and have the answer written into the agreement. Counsel should read that clause.

How long does deletion take, and do we get proof?

micro1 publishes no deletion timeline and says nothing about a certificate or written confirmation. As our own advice, ask for a number of days and a signed confirmation, and put both in the agreement.

Do we still own the records after they are licensed?

Yes. micro1’s answer to “Who owns the data?” is one sentence: “Companies retain ownership of their underlying data.” It describes the arrangement as licensing: “We license data generated through your company’s everyday operations.”

Does deleting micro1’s copy touch our own files?

No. Your own systems stay as they are. micro1 says companies retain ownership of their underlying data, and deletion is about the copy that was transferred. Whether you must keep your own records for a set time is a question for counsel.