Evidence is only as good as the system that holds it

Where your data lives

All customer data — reports, photos, and account records — is stored in a dedicated cloud database and object store hosted in the United States. Each customer's records are logically isolated by organization.

Encryption

Data is encrypted in transit with TLS and encrypted at rest by the underlying storage platform. Device credentials are never stored in usable form — the server keeps only a one-way hash, so a database read cannot recover a device's token.

Tenant isolation

Every row of tenant data carries its organization identifier, and row-level security policies are enforced at the database layer — not just in application code. A signed-in user's queries can only ever return rows belonging to organizations they are a member of.

Photo storage and access

Photos live in a private bucket with no public access. Every read goes through a server-side check — membership for dashboard users, a valid token for share links — and is served via a signed URL that expires within an hour. Raw storage paths are never exposed to unauthenticated visitors.

Immutability and hashing

Photos are write-once. The system has no code path to modify or replace a stored photo, and the database refuses updates to photo records for every role. Each photo's SHA-256 fingerprint is computed server-side at upload; recomputing it from the file at any later date verifies the image is unchanged.

Access control

Dashboard access is role-based: owners administer the organization, managers work reports, viewers have read-only access. Field devices are not user accounts — they hold a revocable credential that can only submit reports, and revocation takes effect on the device's next request.

Audit logging

Every meaningful change — report creation, status changes, assignments, shares, exports, device enrollment and revocation, membership changes — is written to an append-only activity log with its actor and timestamp. The log appears on each report's timeline and in its PDF chain of custody.

Retention and deletion

By default records are kept indefinitely. Organization owners can set a retention period (1, 3, or 7 years); records older than the period are permanently deleted on a rolling basis. Deleting a report in the dashboard is a soft delete that preserves the audit trail; retention-based deletion is permanent and irreversible.

To request a full export or deletion of your organization's data, contact us — exports are delivered in standard formats (CSV plus original photo files), and deletion requests are completed and confirmed in writing.

Certifications

DDS does not currently hold SOC 2, ISO 27001, or similar certifications, and we won't imply otherwise with badge walls. The practices above are accurate as of this writing; security-questionnaire responses and our subprocessor list are available on request as part of procurement.