Research boundary: This worksheet is based on Anthropic's public privacy, deletion, plan, Projects and Claude Code security pages checked on 25 August 2026. No client file was uploaded and no account-level retention control was tested.

The useful question is not whether Claude has a privacy setting. It is whether a specific client file is permitted to leave its current system, enter a named account and remain there for a known period. A freelancer needs that answer before choosing a model or prompt.

Classify the material before selecting a feature

Use four practical classes:

  • Public: already released material with no hidden identifiers.
  • Internal: ordinary working information that the client allows approved suppliers to process.
  • Confidential: contracts, unpublished strategy, customer lists, source code or credentials with restricted handling.
  • Regulated or specially protected: health, payment, legal, child or other data governed by a specific rule or agreement.

A consumer account may be acceptable for a public draft and unacceptable for a confidential dataset. The difference comes from the client's instructions and the applicable account terms, not from the prompt being “just a summary.”

Client-data approval worksheet

  • Client permissionunresolved

    Name the person or contract clause that permits this data category and this service.

  • Account boundaryvariable

    Record whether the work uses a personal, team, enterprise or API account and who administers it.

  • Training choicevariable

    Check the current data-use control for that account instead of assuming one setting covers every product surface.

  • Deletion pathvariable

    Document how chats, files, projects and the account can be removed, plus any stated retention exception.

  • Local source of truthverified

    Keep the authorised original and final approved deliverable outside the AI workspace.

Build a retention and deletion workflow

From client approval to deletion evidence

  1. Record scope
    Action
    Write the allowed data class, purpose, account and authorised users into the job notes.
    Output
    A client-specific processing instruction.
    Stop when
    Stop if the approver or permitted data class is unknown.
  2. Minimise
    Action
    Remove names, secrets, irrelevant rows and hidden document metadata before upload.
    Output
    The smallest useful working copy.
  3. Process and review
    Action
    Use the approved surface, then compare the result with the local source before delivery.
    Output
    A human-checked draft with traceable inputs.
  4. Close the workspace
    Action
    Delete chats, files or the Project according to the job rule and capture completion in the project log.
    Output
    A dated closure record.

Contract checks that settings cannot replace

A data control does not sign a data-processing agreement. Before confidential or regulated work, check controller and processor roles, authorised subprocessors, cross-border transfer terms, incident notice, deletion duties and whether the client requires an enterprise product. If the answer depends on a negotiated contract, a public help page is evidence of published product behaviour only.

Claude Projects can keep instructions and reference material together, which increases the importance of workspace ownership and removal. Claude Code can interact with repositories and commands, which adds filesystem, secret and network questions beyond chat retention. Do not collapse these surfaces into a single “Claude privacy” assumption.

Decision by data class

Public material can support a low-risk trial after checking the current consumer data control. Internal material needs recorded client permission and a named account owner. Confidential material needs contract and deletion review before upload. Regulated material should remain out of scope until a qualified owner confirms the exact product and agreement.

For organizing approved reusable material, see the Claude Projects architecture guide. For repository access, separately verify permission mode, allowed tools, secrets, diffs and rollback against the current Claude Code documentation.

The unresolved gap is account-specific proof. We did not inspect a live dashboard, execute a deletion request or verify a client's contract, so this worksheet cannot certify compliance.