Data retention policy for assistants

Overview

Data retention policies allow you to automatically delete conversation data after a specified period. This helps you protect user privacy, comply with data protection regulations, and ensure that personal information is not stored longer than necessary.

When you set a retention policy for an assistant, all conversations and their associated data will be automatically deleted after the configured time period.

Why use data retention policies

Setting a data retention policy helps you:

• Protect user privacy: Automatically remove personal information and sensitive data shared in conversations
• Comply with regulations: Meet GDPR, CCPA, and other data protection requirements that mandate limited data storage
• Minimize data exposure: Reduce the risk of data breaches by storing information only as long as needed
• Build user trust: Demonstrate your commitment to privacy by implementing clear data deletion practices

Available retention options

When creating or editing an assistant, you can choose from the following retention periods:

• No automatic deletion: Conversation data is kept indefinitely until manually deleted
• 7 days: Conversations are automatically deleted after one week
• 30 days: Conversations are automatically deleted after one month
• 365 days: Conversations are automatically deleted after one year
• Custom: Set a specific number of days that fits your organization’s requirements

How to set a data retention policy

For new assistants

1. Navigate to the assistant creation page
2. Locate the Data retention policy section
3. Select your preferred retention period from the dropdown menu
4. Complete the rest of the assistant configuration
5. Save your assistant

For existing assistants

1. Go to your assistants list
2. Select the assistant you want to configure
3. Click Edit or Settings
4. Find the Data retention policy section
5. Choose your desired retention period
6. Save your changes

What happens when data is deleted

When a message or plan is older than the configured retention period:

• The message is permanently deleted
• User inputs and assistant responses in that message are removed
• Associated metadata and linked files are cleared
• The deletion is irreversible and cannot be undone

Note: Messages and plans are deleted based on each item’s creation date. When a message is older than the retention period, it is automatically removed. Once a conversation has no messages left, the conversation record itself is also removed. This means that old messages in a conversation are deleted first, and the conversation is removed once it becomes empty.

Monitoring assistant interactions

Even with retention policies in place, admins can monitor interactions with assistants before data is deleted. The Audit log provides a comprehensive view of all assistant activities, including who accessed which assistants and when.

To learn more about tracking and reviewing assistant usage, see

Best practices

• Assess your needs: Choose a retention period that balances privacy requirements with your business needs for data access
• Inform users: Let users know that their conversations will be automatically deleted after a certain period
• Review regularly: Periodically review your retention policies to ensure they still align with your organization’s privacy standards
• Consider regulations: If your organization operates in multiple jurisdictions, choose a retention period that satisfies the strictest requirements
• Document your policy: Keep records of why you chose specific retention periods for compliance purposes

Frequently asked questions

Can I recover deleted conversations? No. Once conversations are deleted by the retention policy, they cannot be recovered.

Does the retention policy affect all users? Yes. The retention policy applies to all conversations with that specific assistant, regardless of who initiated them.

Can different assistants have different retention periods? Yes. Each assistant can have its own retention policy configured independently.

What if I change the retention policy? When you change the retention policy, the next automatic cleanup will re-evaluate all existing messages and plans using the new retention period and each item’s creation date. This means messages that fall outside the new retention window will be deleted during the next cleanup run.