docs(compliance): record the deletion trigger for client-side storage (#1246)
Answers the ISO 27001 A.8.10 finding from the compliance swarm on #1242, which read the storage inventory as saying the two localStorage keys persist forever with no deletion mechanism. Half of that was our omission: the inventory never said what logout does. ph_conv_<token> IS deleted on logout. posthog.reset() resets the conversations manager, which removes that single known key, and resetAnalyticsIdentity() already runs in both logout handlers before signOut(). That is what stops a shared device carrying one user's support-ticket session into the next user's. Recorded in lib/analytics/reset.ts too, because it now makes that call load-bearing for a cross-user concern rather than mere tidiness. Verified by reading the SDK, not by executing a logout, and the docs say so. seenSurvey_<id> genuinely has no deletion trigger and cannot have one: no PostHog bundle enumerates localStorage (zero occurrences of localStorage.key( or Object.keys(localStorage) across module.js, surveys.js and conversations.js), so nothing can discover the keys to remove them. Stated as the accepted retention position rather than left silent: the value is "true" under an opaque survey id with no personal data, and clearing it on logout would re-prompt every survey to the next person on the device and produce false survey responses. Adds the review date the A.5.9 remediation asked for, and reframes the review trigger as a pre-launch step, since Support was caught post-hoc and left the privacy page inaccurate in the interval. Co-authored-by: Claude Opus 5 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
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@@ -100,17 +100,45 @@ or accounting content, and neither is readable across origins. They are the
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basis for treating this storage as strictly necessary rather than requiring
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consent, so a change in their content changes that assessment.
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Controls:
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Retention and deletion (ISO 27001 A.8.10). The two keys have different
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lifecycles, and the difference is a property of the PostHog SDK, not a choice:
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- `ph_conv_<project_token>` — **deleted on logout.** `resetAnalyticsIdentity()`
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(`lib/analytics/reset.ts`) runs in both logout handlers before
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`supabase.auth.signOut()`; `posthog.reset()` calls the conversations
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manager's own reset, which removes this key. This is what stops a shared
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device carrying one person's ticket session into the next person's session.
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Verified by inspecting the SDK, not by executing a logout: confirm manually
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when convenient.
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- `seenSurvey_<survey_id>` — **no deletion trigger; persists until the user
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clears site data.** No PostHog bundle enumerates `localStorage` (verified:
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zero occurrences of `localStorage.key(` or `Object.keys(localStorage)` in
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`module.js`, `surveys.js` and `conversations.js`), so the SDK cannot
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discover these keys to remove them, and neither `posthog.reset()` nor our
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own purge can either without a substring sweep.
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Accepted, and this is the retention position rather than an oversight: the
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value is the string `"true"` under an opaque survey id, holds no personal
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data, and is bounded in count by the number of surveys ever shown. Deleting
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it on logout would re-prompt every survey to the next person on the device,
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which is worse for the user and produces false survey responses.
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Other controls:
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- `lib/analytics/purge-legacy-storage.ts` removes storage from the retired
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Recapt processor (`recapt` / `glimt` substrings) on every boot. It
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deliberately does NOT touch `seenSurvey_*` or `ph_conv_*`: clearing those
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would re-prompt surveys and orphan the user's own ticket.
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deliberately does NOT touch `seenSurvey_*` or `ph_conv_*`.
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- No cookies are set by the application or by PostHog under this configuration.
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Review trigger: **enabling any new PostHog product may silently add device
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storage**, because the products write directly to `localStorage` rather than
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through the SDK's persistence setting. After enabling one, inspect
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`localStorage` on production and update this section, `.compliance/ropa.yaml`
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and `app/(public)/privacy/page.tsx` together. The Support product was caught
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this way; the assumption that `persistence: 'memory'` was sufficient was wrong.
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through the SDK's persistence setting. Treat enabling one as a change to this
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section: before launch, inspect `localStorage` on production and update this
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section, `.compliance/ropa.yaml` and `app/(public)/privacy/page.tsx` together,
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including each new key's deletion trigger. The Support product was caught
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post-hoc rather than pre-launch; the assumption that `persistence: 'memory'`
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was sufficient was wrong, and it left the privacy page inaccurate in the
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interval.
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Last reviewed: 2026-07-27 (PostHog Support enablement). Next review: on the
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next PostHog product enablement, or 2027-01-27, whichever comes first.
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