Plot StrideYOUR RECORDS
What saves where.
Understand what stays on your device and what you choose to save online.
On your device
Signing in does not import existing desktop budgets, local receipts, tax documents, or tax-vault keys. Desktop vaults remain local. On the website, you can explicitly copy an existing browser vault or restore an encrypted desktop backup into your online account. A tax-vault password is separate from your sign-in password.
In a web workspace
Household budgets and investing-practice records entered on the website save to the server under your account. Business contacts, invoice details, ledger entries, payment records, and reviewed bank transaction rows save in a separate business workspace. A local receipt reference is text you enter, not a copy of the receipt.
Business owners can invite bookkeepers and viewers. Both can read and export that business’s records. Owners control invitations and can remove access. Removing access cannot recall files someone already downloaded.
Your online tax vault
The website encrypts tax files and their descriptive details in your browser using your vault password before uploading them to private account storage. Plot Stride does not receive that password or its encryption key. Sign in and use the same vault password to open the vault from another device. A forgotten vault password cannot be reset; keep it and a separate encrypted backup safe.
The service stores encrypted contents, opaque file references, sizes, account ownership, and save times. Original files are not sent to an AI service. The online pilot limits are 4 MiB per attachment, 6 MiB per account across all years and 100 attached files. The pilot is limited to two online vaults so independent backup capacity can be reserved. Existing device-only vault limits are separate. A conflicting save is rejected rather than overwriting a newer version.
Deleting a document removes it from the current online vault and queues its encrypted attachment for removal. Failed removals and abandoned uploads are cleaned up during later vault uploads; abandoned uploads become eligible after 24 hours. Operational backup copies keep encrypted files and opaque account references, not vault passwords. Separate encrypted snapshots are limited to seven recent copies within 30 days and a storage budget; a verified deletion journal must be checked before recovery. Downloaded backups and desktop copies you keep are separate. Browser storage clearing does not delete the online vault. Household record deletion does not delete tax-vault records.
Tax-record retention and your choices
Plot Stride uses document-specific IRS recordkeeping guidance. Your original upload date is retained for history but no longer sets a three-year expiry. Add the record’s purpose and relevant filing, payment or disposal dates in Tax Center. These answers are encrypted with the document; they are not sent to the server in plaintext.
Keep-through dates are minimum reminders, not deletion dates. Unknown details, records supporting multiple returns, ongoing property ownership and other unresolved requirements need review. Automatic tax-document deletion remains off. No automatic expiry is applied to existing records. Keep independent copies; IRS-based reminders do not promise unlimited hosted storage.
Recordkeeping notices appear inside the unlocked vault. You can opt into generic review emails to your verified sign-in address, choose a first date and a once-only, 30-day or 90-day schedule, and turn them off in Tax Center or through the email unsubscribe link. The chosen schedule, consent, recipient and delivery status are stored outside the encrypted vault; document names, tax details and attachments are never included in these emails. Document edits do not change the schedule. Daily sending limits may delay reminders, so keep your own calendar for legal deadlines. Storage requests require review and do not charge you or approve a renewal. Backing up or restoring a document preserves its entered recordkeeping details and does not restart a period.
IRS guidance: some records need longer than three years
The IRS does not require deletion after three years. Keep-through reminders use the details you enter; they are not deletion dates.
- Usually keep supporting income-tax records for three years after filing. Early returns are treated as filed on the due date.
- For a later refund claim, keep records for three years after filing or two years after payment, whichever is later.
- Some unreported-income cases need six years; bad-debt or worthless-securities claims need seven.
- Employment-tax records need at least four years after tax is due or paid, whichever is later.
- Property records may be needed through disposal and the applicable limitation period. Unfiled or fraudulent returns require indefinite retention.
State rules, creditors or insurers may require longer. Keep your own copies and ask your preparer about your situation. Read the IRS’s full recordkeeping guidance.
A small pilot, with clear limits.
4 MiB per file · 6 MiB per account across all tax years · 100 attached files. MiB means 1,048,576 bytes. This two-account online pilot is for fictional records. Shared capacity can pause new uploads; it does not remove saved documents or block their export.
These are storage limits, not a promise to keep records for a particular number of years. There is currently no scheduled tax-document expiry. Your recordkeeping duties depend on your circumstances, and can last longer than the service’s future storage offer.
Your choices: download an encrypted vault backup for recovery, or an unencrypted CPA packet for sharing through a secure channel. After cancellation, existing records remain readable and exportable; new uploads require an eligible plan. A storage-review request needs our approval and does not extend a term, enable a renewal or charge you.
Independent encrypted backups keep at most seven recent snapshots within 30 days, subject to a shared storage budget. The current offsite copy needs our backup computer and OneDrive running; it is not an always-on or 15-minute recovery guarantee. Keep your own original files and encrypted backup. We would explain any future storage expiry and export options before applying a new policy. Automatic tax-document deletion and real payments remain off.
Your choices and feedback
We save the version and date of your usage agreement and your promotional email choice under your account. Promotional email is optional, starts unchecked, and can be turned off in account settings. Essential security and billing messages are separate. We retain a history of preference changes.
Feedback and optional cancellation survey answers are saved privately with your account for review. Do not include passwords, card details, bank statements, or tax documents. You can request removal through privacy@plotstride.com. Contact support@plotstride.com when you need a reply; a saved feedback form does not promise an email response.
Sign-in and payments
The sign-in provider handles authentication and verification emails. This business pilot does not collect customer card information or process payments. It only records payments you say happened elsewhere. Existing account billing integration remains in test mode.
Exports and recovery
Downloaded exports and printed invoices can contain unencrypted financial information. Store and share them securely. Signing out does not erase local encrypted vaults. Household deletion controls do not delete business bookkeeping records.
Online tax-vault backup and isolated fictional restore checks have passed. The first production snapshot contained no customer documents. Business-record backups, exact provider retention details and final operating commitments still need review before real customer records are accepted. Recovery targets are not guarantees.
Pilot disclosure: use fictional business records while launch privacy terms and recovery arrangements are being reviewed. Financial documents are not sent to an AI service by these bookkeeping tools.