🗄️ Data Retention
Welcome to the Data Retention settings! This feature allows administrators to control how long your data is stored in the system, helping you comply with data protection regulations and manage storage efficiently.
✨ What is Data Retention?
Data retention determines how long your system keeps certain types of data before automatically deleting them. This helps you:
- Comply with regulations: Meet GDPR, privacy laws, and industry requirements for data storage limits
- Manage storage: Keep your storage usage under control by removing old data
- Protect privacy: Automatically remove old customer data that's no longer needed
📊 What Data is Affected?
The data retention policy applies to the following types of data:
- Call Recordings: Audio files from phone conversations
- Call Records: Information about calls (timestamps, duration, status)
- Webhooks: Webhook events and their data
- WhatsApp Conversations: Messages and conversation history
Important
Data older than your configured retention period will be permanently deleted and cannot be recovered.
⚙️ Accessing Data Retention Settings
Who Can Access?
Only Administrators and Super Administrators can access and modify data retention settings.
Where to Find It
- Click on Settings in the main navigation menu
- Scroll down to the Data Retention section
🎛️ Configuring Retention Period
Setting the Retention Days
In the Data Retention section, you'll see:
- Retention Period (Days): A number input field
- Current value: Shows how many days data is currently kept
- Allowed range: 0 to 1095 days (3 years maximum)
How to Change
- Click in the number field
- Enter your desired number of days (0-1095)
- The setting saves automatically - no save button needed
- You'll see a success message confirming the update
What the Numbers Mean
- 0 days: Data is deleted after 2 hours (minimum retention period with grace period)
- 30 days: Data older than 30 days will be deleted
- 365 days: Data older than 1 year will be deleted
- 1095 days: Maximum retention - data older than 3 years will be deleted
Recommendation
Choose a retention period that balances your business needs with data protection requirements. Common settings are:
- 30-90 days for short-term customer service needs
- 180-365 days for businesses with longer customer relationship cycles
- 365-1095 days when historical data is important for compliance or analytics
🔄 How Automatic Cleanup Works
Cleanup Schedule
The system automatically runs a cleanup process every hour to delete data that has exceeded the retention period.
Grace Period
A 2-hour grace period is automatically added to your configured retention period. This ensures:
- No data is accidentally deleted too early
- You have time to adjust settings if needed
- System processes can complete before deletion
Example: If you set 30 days retention, data is actually kept for 30 days + 2 hours before deletion.
Deletion Order
The system deletes data in this order:
- Call recordings from storage
- External call records (if available)
- Webhook records from the database
- Call records from the database
- WhatsApp conversations from the database
⚠️ Important Considerations
Before Reducing Retention Period
Warning
If you reduce the retention period, data beyond the new limit will be deleted in the next cleanup cycle (within 1 hour).
Example: If you have data from 60 days ago and change retention from 90 days to 30 days, that old data will be deleted soon.
Data Cannot Be Recovered
Once data is deleted through the retention process, it is permanently removed and cannot be restored. Make sure to:
- Export important data before reducing retention periods
- Consider your legal and business requirements
- Consult with your compliance team if needed
Active Campaigns
The retention policy only affects historical data. Active campaigns, ongoing conversations, and recent calls within the retention period are not affected.
🔐 Security and Compliance
Tenant Isolation
Data retention respects tenant boundaries - each account's data is managed separately and securely.
Audit Trail
Changes to retention settings are tracked, showing:
- Who changed the setting
- When it was changed
- Old and new values
💡 Common Questions
Why should I set a retention period?
Setting a retention period helps you:
- Comply with data protection laws (like GDPR)
- Reduce storage costs
- Improve system performance
- Protect customer privacy
What happens if I set it to 0?
Setting retention to 0 days means data older than 2 hours will be deleted. This is the minimum retention period and should only be used if you have very specific requirements.
Can I recover deleted data?
No, data deleted by the retention policy is permanently removed and cannot be recovered. Always ensure you have the retention period set appropriately for your needs.
Does this affect my account settings?
No, data retention only affects transactional data (calls, recordings, webhooks, conversations). Your account configuration, assistants, campaigns, contacts, and system settings are not affected.
📞 Need Help?
If you have questions about:
- Choosing the right retention period for your business
- Compliance requirements
- Understanding what data will be deleted
Please contact your support team or system administrator for assistance.