Conversations · 1 min read
Data retention policy
How automatic deletion of conversation data works, the periods available, and how organization-wide caps interact with per-assistant settings.
A data retention policy deletes conversation data automatically once it reaches a set age. It’s the mechanism behind both the per-assistant Data setting and any organization-wide maximum an administrator sets.
Why retention policies exist
Section titled “Why retention policies exist”Automatic deletion helps you protect user privacy, meet data protection requirements, and avoid keeping personal information for longer than your organization actually needs it.
Where retention is set
Section titled “Where retention is set”On an assistant
Section titled “On an assistant”Each assistant can have its own retention period, set on its Data settings. See Data.
Organization-wide
Section titled “Organization-wide”An administrator can also set a maximum retention period that applies across the whole organization, as a policy. See Policies.
Available periods
Section titled “Available periods”There’s no fixed list of presets. Enter any positive number of days, or leave the field empty for no automatic deletion.
How the organization-wide maximum interacts with per-assistant settings
Section titled “How the organization-wide maximum interacts with per-assistant settings”If your organization has set a maximum retention period, no assistant’s setting can exceed it — even one configured with no limit. The maximum is a ceiling, not a default; individual assistants can still be set to delete data sooner.
What happens when data is deleted
Section titled “What happens when data is deleted”Messages and plans are deleted based on each item’s creation date, not the date of the conversation as a whole:
- A message older than the retention period is permanently deleted, along with its linked files and metadata.
- Once a conversation has no messages left, the conversation record itself is removed too.
What retention does not cover
Section titled “What retention does not cover”Retention settings govern conversation data — messages, plans, and their linked files. They don’t remove attachments configured on the assistant itself, or knowledge sources it’s connected to; those persist until someone removes them directly.
Frequently asked questions
Section titled “Frequently asked questions”Can I recover deleted conversations? No. Once a retention policy deletes a message, it’s gone.
Does the retention policy apply to everyone who uses the assistant? Yes. It applies to every conversation with that assistant, regardless of who started it.
Can different assistants have different retention periods? Yes, as long as none of them exceed your organization’s maximum, if one is set.
What happens if I change the retention period? The next cleanup re-evaluates every existing message against the new period and each message’s own creation date. Messages that now fall outside the window are deleted on that next run.