Data Retention Policy

A Data Retention Policy is a retention policy that governs data storage duration, archival procedures, and disposal requirements for organizational data based on legal requirements and business needs.

• AKA: Information Retention Policy, Record Retention Policy, Data Preservation Policy, Data Lifecycle Policy.
• Context:
  • It can typically define Retention Schedules specifying minimum retention periods and maximum retention periods per data category.
  • It can typically establish Data Classification Schemes based on sensitivity levels, regulatory requirements, and business value.
  • It can typically mandate Secure Disposal Methods including data wiping, physical destruction, and cryptographic erasure.
  • It can often comply with Industry Regulations such as GDPR, HIPAA, SOX, and PCI DSS.
  • It can often implement Legal Hold Procedures for litigation-related data and investigation material.
  • It can often balance Storage Costs against Compliance Risks and Business Requirements.
  • It can range from being a Short-Term Retention Policy to being a Long-Term Archival Policy, depending on its retention duration.
  • It can range from being a Selective Retention Policy to being a Comprehensive Retention Policy, depending on its data scope.
  • It can range from being a Manual Retention Policy to being an Automated Retention Policy, depending on its implementation method.
  • It can range from being a Rigid Retention Policy to being a Flexible Retention Policy, depending on its adaptation capability.
  • ...
• Example:
  • Financial Data Retention Policys, such as:
    • Transaction Record Retention Policy for audit requirements.
    • Tax Document Retention Policy for compliance obligations.
  • Communication Data Retention Policys, such as:
    • Email Retention Policy for corporate communications.
    • Chat Log Retention Policy for customer service.
  • Customer Data Retention Policys, such as:
    • Personal Data Retention Policy for privacy compliance.
    • Publisher Customer Retention Policy for subscriber management.
  • ...
• Counter-Example:
  • Data Creation Policy, which governs data generation rather than retention.
  • Data Access Policy, which controls data usage rather than storage duration.
  • Data Sharing Policy, which manages data distribution rather than preservation.
• See: Retention Policy, Data Privacy Policy, Compliance Policy, Information Lifecycle Management, Publisher Customer Retention Policy, Data Governance Framework, Record Management System.

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