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Data Retention Policy

Retell allows you to configure a data retention period per agent. After the retention period expires, call and chat data associated with that agent is automatically and permanently deleted. By default, data is kept indefinitely (no automatic deletion).

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How It Works

  • Data retention is configured per agent under Security & Fallback Settings
  • Expired data is automatically deleted on a daily basis
  • Deletion is permanent and irreversible — deleted data cannot be recovered
  • Applies to both voice calls and chats
Retention dropdown showing available retention period options

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How to Configure

  1. Navigate to your agent
  2. Open Security & Fallback Settings
  3. Under Data Storage Settings, select your preferred data storage mode
  4. Use the Retention dropdown to set how long data is kept before automatic deletion
The retention period applies regardless of which data storage mode you select (Everything, Everything except PII, or Basic Attributes Only).

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What Gets Deleted

When the retention period expires, the following data is permanently removed:
  • Call recordings (audio files)
  • Transcripts
  • Call and chat logs
  • Knowledge base retrieval logs
  • Dynamic variables and metadata
While some basic metadata is retained internally, the call or chat is effectively deleted and will no longer appear in session history or API responses.
Deletion is irreversible. Make sure to export any data you need before the retention period expires. You can use webhook events to capture call data in real time, or use the Get Call / Get Chat API to retrieve data before it expires.

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Available Retention Periods

OptionDuration
Keep foreverNo automatic deletion (default)
1 day24 hours after call/chat starts
3 days
7 days
30 days1 month
60 days2 months
90 days3 months
180 days6 months
365 days1 year
730 days2 years

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API Configuration

You can set the retention period via the API when creating or updating an agent: 
{
  "data_storage_retention_days": 90
}
  • Field: data_storage_retention_days
  • Type: integer (1–730) or null
  • Default: null (keep forever)
See the Update Agent or Create Agent API reference for details.