Dekimu · anchored receipts docs

ARR — Anchored Retention Receipts

Cryptographic proof of a data-lifecycle event — erasure, expiry, hold, anonymisation, or archive.

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Purpose

An ARR records that a data-lifecycle event occurred: data was erased, a retention period expired, a legal hold was placed or lifted, or data was anonymised, pseudonymised, or archived. Each receipt is cryptographically bound to the policy in effect at the time of the event.

Batch receipts (ar.batch.v1) allow a single receipt to cover multiple records processed in the same operation, reducing issuance overhead while preserving verifiability.

Event types

KindLabelDescription
ar.erasure.v1Erasure performedData permanently deleted.
ar.expiry.v1Retention expiredRetention period elapsed.
ar.anonymization.v1Anonymisation performedData rendered anonymous.
ar.archive.v1Archive performedData moved to archive storage.
ar.hold.v1Hold placedDeletion suspended (legal hold).
arr.hold_extension.v1Hold extendedHold period prolonged.
arr.hold_release.v1Hold releasedHold lifted, normal retention resumes.
arr.pseudonymization.v1Pseudonymisation performedDirect identifiers replaced.
ar.batch.v1Batch eventMultiple retention events in one receipt.

Key fields

retention_policy — reference to the retention schedule that governed the data. Includes policy ID, version, and the configured retention period.

legal_basis — the GDPR lawful basis (or equivalent) under which the data was held, and the basis for the lifecycle action (e.g. statutory obligation triggering the hold).

data_categories — array of data categories affected by this lifecycle event, aligned with Art. 9 special categories where applicable.

Regulatory context

ARR receipts address the storage-limitation principle in GDPR Art. 5(1)(e), which requires that personal data be kept no longer than necessary. Art. 17 (right to erasure) is evidenced by the ar.erasure.v1 event. Legal holds are common in litigation, regulatory investigation, and eDiscovery scenarios; the hold lifecycle events document the basis and duration of any departure from the standard retention schedule.

Anchored Receipts are cryptographic provenance and privacy-lifecycle protocols; verify.dekimu.com is a reference implementation, not a qualified trust service under Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 (eIDAS) or successor.