Data Retention Policy

Overview

This policy explains how long MyLittleWorld Inc. ("MyLittleWorld," "we," "us") retains different categories of data collected through our childcare management platform, and why. It applies to data belonging to organizations (daycare centers, childcare providers) and the individuals connected to those organizations — staff, guardians, and children in their care.

Our general principle: we keep data for as long as it's needed to provide the service, and we delete it (including from backups) within a defined period after it's no longer needed, subject to legal retention obligations.

1. Data for active organizations

While an organization's MyLittleWorld account is active, we retain the child, family, and staff records associated with that organization for as long as needed to provide the service. This includes enrollment records, attendance history, medical/allergy notes, guardian contact information, staff records, billing history, and messages exchanged through the platform.

There is no automatic expiry on this data while your account remains active — a child's historical attendance and medical notes, for instance, may need to remain accessible for years for continuity of care, regulatory recordkeeping, or your own internal purposes.

2. Organization-initiated deletion of a specific record

Sometimes an organization needs to remove a specific record before closing the whole account — for example, when a child withdraws from the program, or a staff member leaves.

When an administrator deletes a specific record (a child's profile, a staff account, etc.), we retain that record in a recoverable ("trash" / undo) state for 30 days before permanently deleting it. This window exists to protect against accidental deletion — for example, a director who deletes the wrong child's profile can ask us to restore it within that window.

If an organization specifically requests immediate, permanent deletion of a record (rather than the standard recoverable window), we will honor that request and skip the trash period.

3. Account closure or cancellation

If an organization cancels its MyLittleWorld subscription or closes its account, we retain the organization's full data set for 90 days after closure. This window exists so the organization can reactivate the account or request an export of its data without loss.

After that 90-day window, we permanently delete the organization's data, except for records that MyLittleWorld or the organization is legally required to retain for longer. The most common example is financial and tax-related records (e.g., invoices, payment records): under typical Canadian tax record-keeping expectations, financial records are commonly kept for around seven years. This is a general note about common practice, not tax advice — organizations should consult their own advisors about their specific recordkeeping obligations.

4. Backups

Even after a record or an organization's data is deleted from our live, primary systems, a copy may persist in encrypted automated backups for a limited additional period — up to 30 days — before being purged from backups as well. This lag exists because backups are taken as periodic snapshots and are not edited on demand; it is a standard characteristic of managed backup systems, not an indefinite retention path.

Backup copies are encrypted and are not accessible through the normal product interface — they exist solely for disaster recovery purposes.

5. Legal holds

Notwithstanding any of the retention periods described above, if data becomes subject to a legal hold — for example, in connection with litigation, a regulatory investigation, or a valid legal request — we will preserve that data until the hold is lifted, even if it would otherwise have been scheduled for deletion. We will notify affected organizations of a legal hold where legally permitted to do so.

Questions

If you have questions about this policy, or want to request deletion, export, or restoration of specific data, contact us at privacy@mylittleworld.ca.