
Delete Files
Delete Files is a REST API tool that gives developers full control over their file lifecycle by enabling the immediate, permanent deletion of uploaded or generated files. While all files are automatically removed after a brief retention period, this tool serves as an optional helper for users who need to explicitly and securely delete sensitive data at any time, ensuring compliance and enhancing privacy.
Key Benefits of Delete Files API
- Permanently delete files before the default file retention period, ensuring sensitive data is removed instantly and with no copies archived.
- Streamline security and compliance workflows for tasks involving confidential data, such as PII redaction, encryption, or watermarking.
- Exercise granular control over file management by deleting individual files using a specific resource ID.
- Automate file cleanup at scale with the option to perform batch deletions, removing multiple files with a single API call.
- Enhance data privacy with a secure deletion process that verifies file ownership via your API key, safeguarding your files from unauthorized access.
- Simplify your integration with a straightforward, easy-to-use tool that fits seamlessly into your existing PDF processing workflows.
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On-Demand File Deletion for Enhanced Data Control
While all files uploaded to pdfRest are automatically and permanently deleted after a brief retention period, the Delete Files API provides developers with an essential tool for enhanced data control. This API allows for the immediate, on-demand deletion of files at any point in your workflow. For applications handling sensitive information, such as financial or legal documents, the ability to explicitly remove files as soon as processing is complete is a critical feature.
This capability is particularly valuable for workflows involving security-related tasks, where the need to manage data privacy and minimize exposure is crucial. Common use cases include:
- Financial Services: Securely disposing of confidential financial records after a loan application or transaction is completed.
- Legal: Deleting sensitive legal documents after a case has been resolved or a contract has been signed and archived.
- Healthcare: Ensuring HIPAA compliance by immediately removing medical records after they have been processed and stored in a secure location.
- Government & Defense: Managing classified or sensitive data by ensuring it is permanently erased from the server immediately after use.
Individual and Batch Deletion for Simplified Workflows
The Delete Files API provides flexible options to manage your files, whether you're handling a single document or a large volume of data. You can perform granular deletion by targeting a single file with its unique resource ID, which is perfect for cleaning up after individual, one-off tasks. This simple, direct approach makes it easy to remove a specific file as soon as you're done with it.
For high-volume workflows, the API also supports batch deletion, allowing you to remove multiple files in a single, efficient API call. Instead of making a separate request for each file, you can pass a list of resource IDs in a single payload. This eliminates the need for repetitive calls, significantly streamlining your cleanup process and reducing the complexity of managing a large number of files. This dual functionality ensures the tool is versatile enough to meet the demands of any workflow, from simple, single-document tasks to large-scale data processing pipelines.
Enterprise-Grade Security and Compliance
At pdfRest, security and privacy are our top priorities. The Delete Files API is built on a foundation of enterprise-grade security, ensuring your data is protected throughout its lifecycle. Each deletion request is carefully validated against your API key to ensure that only you can delete the files you originally uploaded or generated, preventing unauthorized data disposal.
Our commitment to privacy extends to our data handling process. When you use the Delete Files API, all files are permanently deleted from our servers, with no copies archived. This irreversible deletion provides a verifiable method for data disposal that helps you maintain GDPR and HIPAA compliance. By giving you direct control over your data's lifecycle, the tool offers peace of mind, knowing that sensitive information is handled with the highest level of care and is permanently removed when you decide.
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The IDs
parameter is a comma-separated string of resource IDs, in UUID format, for the files you want to delete.
The system will match each provided ID to a corresponding file on the server. For security, the batch deletion will only succeed if the original files were uploaded or generated by the same API key that is sending the delete request.
Safe & Secure
Confidently process your sensitive data with pdfRest. Our platform is fortified for robust, Enterprise-grade security and compliance, including GDPR, HIPAA, and SOC 2 Type 2 certification in progress. Your data's protection is our priority.