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Data Retention

Data Management

Storage duration for data, defined by policy, law, and operational needs.

Definition

Data retention is the period data is stored in systems, logs, backups, and archives. Retention should be limited to what is necessary and aligned with legal/operational requirements.

In plain English Storage duration for data, defined by policy, law, and operational needs.

Why this matters

Why it matters: Shorter retention reduces breach impact and profiling capability.

Example

Example: Rotating logs and deleting identifiers after a fixed window while preserving aggregated statistics.