Shredding Authorization

What this means — plain-English summary, not legally binding; the full text below governs.

• Shredding permanently destroys a physical document. It cannot be undone.
• We shred an item only after you authorize it and confirm, or under a standing rule you set.
• You can turn on an optional waiting period so shred requests hold for a set time before they happen.
• We keep the record that the item was shredded, and we scan it first if you asked us to.
• We will not shred anything that is under a legal hold or a lawful request from authorities.

1. What you are authorizing

By requesting shredding, or by setting a standing shred rule, you authorize MyEverAddress to permanently and securely destroy the physical item. Shredding is irreversible: once an item is shredded, the physical document is gone and cannot be recovered. This authorization is part of the Terms of Service and works with the Mail Handling Agreement and Storage & Abandonment Policy.

2. Scan before shred

If you want a digital copy, authorize opening and scanning before you authorize shredding; see the Scanning Authorization. Once an item is shredded, no further scan or re-scan is possible. Where you have enabled scanning, the digital image remains in your account subject to our retention rules even after the physical item is shredded.

3. Confirmation and irreversibility

Because shredding cannot be undone, we ask you to confirm before we shred an item, and we display a clear irreversibility notice at the moment of confirmation. Standing shred rules you set (for example, “shred expired advertisements after scanning”) apply automatically to matching items; you can review and change these rules at any time.

4. Optional waiting period

You may enable an optional waiting period so that shred requests are held for a configurable time before they are carried out, giving you a window to cancel. During the waiting period, a shred request can be canceled from your account. When the waiting period ends and the request has not been canceled, the item is queued for secure destruction.

5. Staff hold and exceptions

Our staff may place a hold on a shred request if an item appears to be subject to a legal hold, a dispute, a lawful request from authorities, or an obvious error (for example, an item that appears mis-assigned). Held items are reviewed before any action is taken. We will not shred an item we know to be subject to a legal hold or lawful preservation obligation.

6. How shredding is performed

Items authorized for shredding are securely destroyed and the destruction is recorded as an audit event in your account, including the item reference and the date. We use secure destruction methods appropriate for confidential documents.

7. Records

We keep a record that an item was shredded, when, and under whose authorization. We do not keep the destroyed physical contents. If you scanned the item before shredding, the digital image is governed by the Privacy Policy retention rules.

8. Changes and contact

We may update this authorization framework with notice as described in the Terms of Service. Questions: support@myeveraddress.com.