Your candidate data: where it lives, how to take it with you, how to delete it

Pick where CV files are stored, download the whole workspace in one ZIP whenever you want, and delete candidates by hand or on a schedule. This page lists what TalentsGrid stores, where, and who can see it.

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Who controls candidate data in TalentsGrid?

You do. Each workspace chooses where CV files live: TalentsGrid storage, the default, or your own Google Drive. An owner or admin can download all workspace data, CV files included, as one ZIP. Deleting a candidate deletes their CVs, and an optional setting deletes candidates you did not hire after 6, 12 or 24 months.

What is stored, where, and how to get it out

Candidates, jobs and files belong to a workspace. Everyone in the workspace works from the same candidate list, and their role decides what they can open.

Each kind of candidate data in TalentsGrid: where it lives, who can see it, how to export it and how to delete it
Kind of data	Where it lives	Who can see it	How to take it out	How to delete it
CV files, every uploaded version	TalentsGrid storage (the default) or your own Google Drive, chosen per workspace	Members whose role can view candidates	The ZIP has a cvs/ folder with every file in TalentsGrid storage. Files in Drive are already in your Drive, and the ZIP lists them by Drive file id and name	Deleting the candidate deletes their files in TalentsGrid storage. Files in your Drive stay there until you delete them in Drive
Candidate profiles: contact details, work history, salary	The TalentsGrid database	Members whose role can view candidates. Contact details and salary only for roles allowed to see them	The ZIP (CSV) and Export Excel on the Candidates page	Delete the candidate, or turn on automatic deletion of candidates you did not hire
Applications: stage, fit score, score breakdown with evidence quotes	The TalentsGrid database	Members, by role	The ZIP, Export CSV on the pipeline and the scheduled Google Sheets sync (daily by default)	Deleted with the candidate
Jobs, clients, notes, interview kits	The TalentsGrid database	Members, by role	The ZIP (CSV for tables, JSON for nested data)	Delete them in the app, or delete the whole workspace
AI activity log: task, model, cost, status	The TalentsGrid database	Roles with "View AI audit logs"	Shown in the app	Entries expire after 180 to 365 days and are purged daily. Deleting a candidate removes the text snippets about them
Database backups	TalentsGrid backup storage	Nobody in the app	Not available	Each backup is deleted after 14 days

Choose where CV files are stored

Each workspace picks its storage on the Storage tab of the workspace settings. TalentsGrid storage is the default and needs no setup. If you connect your own Google Drive instead, CV files go to your Drive. TalentsGrid asks Google for the drive.file permission, which lets it see only the files TalentsGrid creates, not the rest of your Drive.

Every uploaded version of a CV stays on the candidate profile. You can disconnect Google Drive or Google Sheets at any time, and disconnecting revokes TalentsGrid's Google access when no other connection uses it. Google connection tokens and AI keys are encrypted with AES-256.

Take everything with you

The workspace owner or an Admin can click "Download all data" in the workspace settings and get one ZIP of the whole workspace: candidates, jobs with every version of their criteria, clients and their contacts, the pipeline with stages and fit scores, score breakdowns with their evidence quotes, interview rounds, interviews, scorecards and kits, comments, the activity timeline, reviews, outreach sequences and messages, shortlists, email templates, job board applications with their consent record, and a cvs/ folder with every CV file held in TalentsGrid storage. Tables are CSV files in UTF-8 that Excel opens with Vietnamese and Thai text intact, nested data is JSON, and a README.txt describes every file. The download costs no AI credits, is recorded in the workspace activity log and can run up to 5 times per hour.

The ZIP leaves out chat conversations, the AI activity log, credits, plan and billing, notifications and personal settings, the workspace activity log and Google Sheets sync history.

For day-to-day work there are smaller exports:

Export Excel on the Candidates page, for the candidate list.
Export CSV on the pipeline, for applications with their stage.
Scheduled Google Sheets sync, which updates your reporting spreadsheet daily by default.

If you leave, nothing needs a support ticket: download the ZIP, then delete the workspace.

Delete a candidate, old candidates, a workspace or your account

Deleting a candidate deletes their profile, their applications and every CV file of theirs in TalentsGrid storage. CV files kept in your own Google Drive stay in your Drive: TalentsGrid deletes only its records of them. In the AI activity log, entries about that candidate keep their cost and model, and their text snippets are removed.

On the Storage tab of the workspace settings, under "Delete candidates you did not hire", tick "Delete them automatically" and set "Delete after" to 6, 12 or 24 months (12 is preselected). It is off by default, and only the owner or an Admin can change it. A candidate is deleted when every application of theirs was rejected or withdrawn (or they have none), they are not marked hired, and nothing about them has changed for that long: profile, CVs, applications, comments, timeline, job board applications, meetings, scorecards, reviews and outreach. The screen shows how many candidates the next run would delete. The check runs once a day, each run that deletes candidates is recorded in the workspace activity log, and deleted candidates cannot be recovered.

The person who created a workspace can delete it, with its jobs, candidates, CVs in TalentsGrid storage, outreach, interviews and settings. Anyone can delete their own account from their account settings. Nightly database backups are kept for 14 days, so deleted data is gone from backups within 14 days.

Control who sees what

Five built-in roles (Admin, Talent Acquisition, Hiring Manager, Interviewer, Read-only User), plus custom roles for each workspace.
Contact details (email, phone, profile links) and salary can be hidden per role.
The workspace activity log records invitations, role changes, removals and ownership transfers.
A shortlist link lets a client answer for each candidate without signing in. Revoke it and it stops working at once.
The AI activity log shows each AI call, the model that ran and its credit cost.

GDPR and the data laws where you recruit

Under the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR text on EUR-Lex), personal data should be kept no longer than its purpose needs, and people can ask for their data to be erased. For a recruiter, that usually means a plan for the CVs of candidates you did not place.

In Vietnam, Law 91/2025/QH15 on Personal Data Protection has applied since 1 January 2026, and its rule on recruitment asks employers to delete the information of candidates they do not hire unless agreed otherwise (Vietnamese summary on our Vietnamese page). Indonesia, Thailand and Brazil have their own laws: see the notes for recruiters in Indonesia, in Thailand and in Brazil.

This is general information, not legal advice. TalentsGrid gives you the storage choice, the export and the deletion tools. Whether your process meets the law that applies to you is for you and your adviser to decide.

Frequently asked questions

Can I export all my candidate data, including the CV files?

Yes. The owner or an Admin clicks "Download all data" in the workspace settings and gets one ZIP with candidates, jobs, clients, the pipeline, score breakdowns with quotes, interviews, scorecards and kits, comments, outreach history and a cvs/ folder of every CV in TalentsGrid storage. CVs kept in your Google Drive are listed by file id and name, since they are already in your Drive. It costs no credits.

Can I store resumes in my own Google Drive?

Yes, if you choose it. Each workspace picks TalentsGrid storage, the default, or your own Google Drive on the Storage tab of the workspace settings. With Drive, TalentsGrid uses Google's drive.file permission and sees only the files it creates there.

What happens to the CVs when I delete a candidate?

Their CV files in TalentsGrid storage are deleted with the profile and the applications. CV files in your own Google Drive stay in your Drive, and TalentsGrid deletes its records of them. Delete those files in Drive if you want them gone.

How long does TalentsGrid keep data after I delete it?

A deleted candidate leaves the live database at once, and their files in TalentsGrid storage are removed right after. Nightly backups are kept for 14 days, so it is gone from backups within 14 days. AI activity log entries expire after 180 to 365 days and are purged daily.

Can TalentsGrid delete old candidates automatically?

Yes, if you turn it on. Under "Delete candidates you did not hire", "Delete them automatically" deletes candidates who were not hired and whose applications were all rejected or withdrawn, once nothing about them has changed for 6, 12 or 24 months. It is off by default, the owner or an Admin sets it, the check runs once a day, and the screen shows how many candidates the next run would delete.

Does TalentsGrid use my CVs to train AI models?

No. TalentsGrid does not use your CVs to train AI models. DeepSeek and Google Gemini receive the text needed for each request, and Gemini receives the whole file when it reads a CV. The trust center lists every provider and what it receives.

Keep your candidate data where you want it

Create a free workspace, pick TalentsGrid storage or your Google Drive, and download everything whenever you like.