Confidentiality Protocol
How personal stories, interviews, drafts and source material are kept within the smallest practical circle.
Private unless permission says otherwise
A commission is not portfolio material merely because it was beautifully written.
1. Standard confidentiality
RDC Unsaid treats non-public commission enquiries, interviews, drafts, source materials and project communications as confidential. They are used only to assess, perform, administer and protect the project, unless the client gives permission for another use.
RDC Unsaid does not publish a client's name, private work, photographs, recordings or identifiable story as a sample, testimonial or case study without permission.
Standard, strict or NDA-backed
The project can add controls before sensitive material is supplied.
2. Confidentiality options
| Option | Typical controls |
|---|---|
| Standard confidentiality | Limited project access, ordinary secure tools, no public portfolio use without permission. |
| Strict confidentiality | Named access group, reduced source material, shorter retention, restricted sharing and explicit deletion steps. |
| NDA-backed project | A separate agreement defining confidential information, exclusions, permitted recipients, term, remedies and required disclosures. |
| Notes-only interview | No audio recording; handwritten or typed notes are used and managed under the agreed retention plan. |
Special controls must be agreed before the material is sent. A later request will be accommodated where reasonably possible but cannot reverse disclosures already lawfully made.
Ask before pressing record
Silence is not consent to capture a voice.
3. Interviews and recordings
RDC Unsaid will not knowingly record an interview without telling the participant. The project should state whether recording is permitted, why it is needed, who may access it, whether transcription is used and when it will be deleted.
The client is responsible for ensuring that participants have authority to disclose organisational, family or third-party information. A participant may request a notes-only conversation before the interview begins.
The smallest practical circle
People assisting with a project receive only what they need.
4. Who may receive confidential material
Confidential information may be shared only where reasonably necessary with:
- RDC Unsaid personnel or contractors working on the project and bound by confidentiality;
- Hosting, storage, email, transcription, printing, courier, payment or professional-service providers used for the project;
- Lawyers, accountants or advisers under professional duties;
- Authorities or other persons where disclosure is required by law or necessary to protect rights, safety or prevent fraud.
RDC Unsaid will not sell private project information or provide it to advertisers.
Name the approving circle
Family and corporate projects can unravel when no one knows who is allowed to approve.
5. Draft circulation and approvals
The client should identify who may receive drafts and who has authority to approve factual and creative decisions. RDC Unsaid is not responsible for a client's onward sharing outside that group.
Where several family members, executives or participants are involved, the project may designate one primary contact to consolidate instructions and approvals.
Keep only what still has a job
The default is practical retention, with shorter options for sensitive work.
6. Retention and deletion
Unless a project specifies otherwise, active source material is kept while the work is in progress and for a limited post-delivery period to support revisions, delivery and dispute resolution. RDC Unsaid's default aim is to delete raw recordings within 90 days after final delivery and non-essential project drafts within 180 days, subject to backup cycles, legal obligations and active disputes.
Final delivered work, invoices, acceptance records and a minimal project record may be retained longer for client service, accounting, rights and legal purposes.
A strict project may agree shorter periods, immediate recording deletion after an approved transcript, or return and deletion of specified source files.
Reasonable, not magical
Every digital system carries residual risk.
7. Security and incident handling
RDC Unsaid uses reasonable access, password, session, storage and service-provider controls appropriate to a small literary studio. Clients should use secure channels and avoid sending unnecessary identity, financial, health or intimate data.
If a material confidentiality or personal-data incident is discovered, RDC Unsaid will investigate, contain it where possible, preserve necessary evidence and provide notices required by law.
A separate yes
Approval of the work is not approval to show the work.
8. Testimonials, samples and case studies
Portfolio use requires a separate affirmative choice. The available choices may include no use, anonymised description, short redacted excerpt, named testimonial, or full named case study. Permission may be limited to specific channels and may be withdrawn for future use, although completed lawful publications cannot always be recalled.
Confidentiality has lawful exceptions
A promise cannot require concealment of crime, fraud or a binding legal order.
9. Exclusions and required disclosure
Confidentiality does not cover information that is public through no breach, already lawfully known, independently developed, received lawfully from another source, approved for release, or required to be disclosed by law.
Where legally permitted, RDC Unsaid will limit a required disclosure and notify the client before disclosure.
Set the confidentiality level before the first interview
State whether the project needs notes-only interviews, an NDA, named access, no cloud transcription, shortened retention or no portfolio use.
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