Privacy, Data and Retention
MediaShield overviewFree + ProGet MediaShield →
PRO - requires MediaShield Pro. The free plugin has its own privacy export and erase for watch sessions.
What personal data Pro stores, how long it is kept, and how a “give me my data” or “delete my data” request is handled.
Why use it
Section titled “Why use it”When a member asks for their data or asks to be erased, you use the normal WordPress tools and Pro’s data is included. There is nothing separate to remember.
Before you start
Section titled “Before you start”- Use WordPress’s own tools: Tools > Export Personal Data and Tools > Erase Personal Data. Pro plugs into them. There is nothing separate to run.
- Write what you collect into your privacy policy.
What Pro stores
Section titled “What Pro stores”| Data | Where | Personal? | Kept for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Playback events (position, play or pause, focus) per session | Playback events table | Yes, through the session | 90 days, then deleted daily |
| Heatmap totals | Heatmap cache table | No (counts per video position) | Kept |
| Suspicious activity alerts | Activity alerts table | Yes (user, video, message) | Until dismissed. Dismissed alerts are deleted after 90 days |
| Safe user list | One site option | Yes (user IDs) | Until you change it |
| Upload queue rows | Upload queue table | Yes (who uploaded) | Kept |
| Encrypted-stream licences | DRM licences table | Yes (user, device ID) | Kept |
| Platform connections | Platform connections table | No | Until you disconnect |
| Milestone completion marks | User profile fields ms_completed_... |
Yes | Until erased |
| VPN lookups | Result cached for a day | Sends the IP to a third party, only if you turned it on | 1 day |
| Weekly digest | An email | No personal rows | Not stored |
The longest-lived watch data (sessions and milestones) belongs to the free plugin. See its retention setting.
Handle an export request
Section titled “Handle an export request”- Go to Tools > Export Personal Data and enter the person’s email.
- Send the request and download the file.
The file includes extra groups from Pro: MediaShield DRM Licenses, MediaShield Upload Queue, MediaShield Milestone Tags, MediaShield Milestone Completions and MediaShield Playback Events.
Handle an erase request
Section titled “Handle an erase request”- Go to Tools > Erase Personal Data and enter the person’s email.
- Confirm the request and run the erase.
Pro removes the person’s licences, upload queue rows, playback events, milestone completion fields and milestone tag record. Alerts are not part of the erase. Dismiss them from the Alerts screen if you want them gone sooner.
One side effect: when someone’s playback events are erased, the heatmap totals for every video they watched are cleared, so those heatmaps start again from empty. Heatmaps are not rebuilt from older data.
Remove all Pro data
Section titled “Remove all Pro data”Deleting the plugin (Plugins > Delete) drops Pro’s tables and most of its options. Saved platform credentials go with the table. See Install MediaShield Pro for the few options that stay.
What viewers see
Section titled “What viewers see”Members see nothing on the page. They use the standard WordPress privacy request flow.
Settings and options for this feature
Section titled “Settings and options for this feature”There is nothing to switch on. A developer can change the 90 day playback event window. See Hooks and Filters.
Next steps
Section titled “Next steps”- Check the VPN lookup notes before enabling it.
- Export your data.