Data governance controls where files reside, what may enter a folder, how long records remain available, and how they can be recovered or preserved. Files.com applies these controls through site policies and folder settings, alongside the permissions that determine who can access the data.

Automated Data Governance shows how these controls work together, including their boundaries on remote storage.

Data Location and Residency

Regional Storage assigns a geographic storage region to a folder and its contents. A site can use one region or several. The location of stored files is separate from the route taken by transfers to users and Remote Servers.

For regional requirements, review storage, routing, and access together, including the documented handling of logs and online editing. GDPR covers the Data Processing Addendum and the Files.com features relevant to personal data.

Upload and Folder Restrictions

Restrictions enforce filename length, extension, and naming rules on incoming files. These controls help keep uploads compatible with the systems that process them. They also affect whether files can be moved or copied into a more restricted destination.

Folder structure locks prevent selected changes to folders while allowing normal file operations. They preserve a workflow's folder hierarchy; they do not make file contents immutable. Malware Scanning inspects new uploads for threats, and Watermarks identify content during supported previews.

Organizing Files covers automatic placement, renaming, unzipping, and user folders. These rules shape incoming files for processing, while restrictions determine what the folder accepts.

Retention and Recovery

Retention separates several choices: when active files expire, whether removed or replaced files go into an accessible archive, how long deleted files remain recoverable, and whether a site must retain immutable records.

Restore recovers eligible deleted files, folders, and users. Backups provide an independent copy through Sync or compatible backup software, with separate retention and recovery arrangements. A synchronized copy of the latest file does not by itself preserve earlier versions.

File retention and log and record retention are separate. Keeping a file longer does not extend the retention period for its activity records.

Preservation and Evidence

Legal Holds describes preservation through permission and workflow changes, an archive-only location, or a read-only Snapshot. Each approach has a different effect on ongoing work and on whether later changes are captured. eDiscovery connects preservation with identifying relevant files, reviewing access, and collecting content and logs.

Clickwraps require acceptance of terms at web login or before access to a Share Link or Inbox. File Integrity Checksum provides checksum values for workflows that verify uploaded content. Logs & Reports record the activity used for investigations and audits.

Administrative Scope

Site Administrators manage site-wide policy. Workspace Administrators manage supported folder controls and restore resources within their Workspace. Folder Admins configure supported settings on the folders they administer.

Root Folder Settings can reserve root settings for Site Administrators and apply four supported controls across Workspaces. Child Site Management Policies enforce selected settings across Child Sites. The individual feature pages explain which controls can be inherited, overridden, or centrally enforced.