Data Retention

Q: What is data retention?

Data retention is a key aspect of data management referring to the practice of storing data for a key period of time. It may be necessary for compliance or business reasons. Typically, companies must retain data long enough to harness any value and meaning from it while also keeping that data secure and complying with key data retention requirements and regulations like the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

E-Learning Glossary

Data Retention

Sara Heegaard March 31, 2025 1 min read

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What is data retention?

Data retention is a key aspect of data management referring to the practice of storing data for a key period of time. It may be necessary for compliance or business reasons. Typically, companies must retain data long enough to harness any value and meaning from it while also keeping that data secure and complying with key data retention requirements and regulations like the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

A data retention policy defines a company’s data retention process, including the data retention period and the types of data retained.

Example: As part of our data retention policy, we delete data after a specified period to ensure security and privacy.

Why are data retention policies important?

With a proper data retention strategy in place, companies can gain value from the data they collect while maintaining security and compliance best practices. Communicating retention policies clearly and effectively is also crucial for preserving users’ trust. Learn more about Articulate’s data retention practices and more in our data processing agreement.