When someone asks what you hold on them
A former employee asks you to delete everything you hold on them. We set up M‑Files so a person's documents are tied to that person, ready to find, export or delete. We go through, one by one, the ten requirements a document system has to meet under GDPR.
Everything about a person, together
The ten requirements come down to one habit: every document about a person is tied to that person in M‑Files, and each kind of document carries its own rules. Then a request, an audit or a deletion is a search, not a hunt through folders and inboxes.
- One person's data, deleted on request — We usually set M‑Files up so that every document about a person is tied to that person. All of it can then be identified, marked and completely deleted. Where a vault is set up differently, advanced search on name or personal ID number finds it.
- Sensitive documents get their own rules — You decide how documents are classified, and the classification decides how they are treated. Application, appraisal and employment contract each get their own access, for example "me and HR" or "me, my manager and HR", so an HR document starts out with the right readers.
- Only the right people get in — The requirement is access control by role and rights. In M‑Files access is set per person or group, by what a document is about (customer, project, case) and by its type (contracts, appraisals, applications). Rights can widen or narrow as a workflow reaches new steps.
Ten requirements, and how M‑Files meets each
Ten requirements are put to a case or document management system under GDPR. Nine are settings in the system; the tenth is keeping up.
| Requirement | How M‑Files meets it |
|---|---|
| 1. Access control by role and rights | Access is set per person or group, by what a document is about and by its kind, and can widen or narrow as a workflow moves on. |
| 2. Access to personal data is logged | Changes, downloads, uploads, deletions and workflow steps go into the event log, which can be filtered and exported. |
| 3. A person's data can be deleted on request | Every document about a person is tied to that person, so all of it can be found, marked and deleted. |
| 4. Data handed over in a usable format | Documents export in their original format or as PDF, and other data to Excel. |
| 5. Sensitive documents get their own rules | Each kind of document carries its own access, such as the employee and HR, or the employee, their manager and HR. |
| 6. A deletion rule can be set once | A rule sits on a document, a kind of document or a person, counted from a date such as the leaving date. |
| 7. Deletion runs automatically | When the time is up, M‑Files deletes under the rule, with a notification or a review first if you want one. |
| 8. Encrypted on the way | Communication with M‑Files runs over an encrypted connection, and in M‑Files Cloud data is encrypted in transit and in storage. |
| 9. Encrypted where it is stored | File data and the database itself can be encrypted. |
| 10. Keeping up as the rules develop | As national authorities make the rules more concrete, M‑Files and Solution Management add functionality and configuration where it is needed. |
What happens to a former employee's data
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Employed
The employee has a record in M‑Files with an employment date, and every document about them is tied to it.
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Leaves
The leaving date goes on the employee's record, and the deletion rule counts from that date.
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Notice before deletion
If you want one, a notification after five months or a view of upcoming deletions shows whose data is due.
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Deleted automatically
Sensitive data and documents about the employee are deleted under the rule, typically after six months.
Answering a request within the month
Under GDPR, a subject access request must normally be answered within one month, extendable by two further months in complex cases. M‑Files is set up so that everything about a person can be found, checked and handed over inside that time.
Everything about one person
A person is an object in M‑Files, and every document about them is linked to it: the application, the contract, the appraisals, the emails. Opening the person shows them all. Where a vault is set up differently, advanced search on the name finds them.
Only the right people handle it
Access rights follow the document's metadata, so an employee file keeps its HR rule in every view, and the person handling the request sees what their role allows and no more.
Handed over in a usable format
Documents export in their original format or as PDF, and other data about the person exports to Excel, so the answer goes out as files the person can open.
The handling is on record
The event log records the downloads, the changes and any deletion that follows, with the time and the user, so you can show what was done with the request and when.
People see what their role needs
A good starting point under GDPR is need to know: people see the documents their role needs, and the rest stays out of view. That is hard to run on a traditional F: drive. In M‑Files it is straightforward, because access rights are set on the same fields that describe a document.
- M‑Files as data processor — M‑Files acts as a processor under GDPR and offers a data processing agreement.
- ISO/IEC 27001 certified — M‑Files' ISO/IEC 27001:2022 certification covers M‑Files Cloud, Hubshare and Aino.
