Data Retention & Deletion

Files.com provides controls for expiring files, retaining deleted contents, and preserving archived versions. Logs, operational records, generated exports, and AI conversations have separate lifetimes. A file-expiration rule does not set the retention of every related record or copy.

Working Files and Recoverable Copies

Customers define the lifetime of working files through File Expiration or delete them manually. For Native Storage, deleted-file retention determines whether a removed file can be restored afterward. Archive Removed Files can preserve an accessible copy of removed or replaced content at a separate archive path, with its own permissions and retention.

These are different outcomes. Expiring a working file after 30 days does not establish that every version is permanently removed after 30 days. Include retained deleted files and archives when defining the policy. Both count toward storage usage. Retention explains the controls and their relationship to recovery.

For mounted storage, the mounting site's native deleted-file retention and Archive Removed Files rules do not preserve the remote contents. The storage owner must provide the required versioning, recovery, and deletion controls. Copies delivered to another system or downloaded by a recipient also remain subject to that destination's controls.

Customer Audit Records

Retention depends on the record type and the event from which its lifetime is measured. Examples include:

See Log & Record Retention for the full schedule, including sharing records, delivery diagnostics, exports, and temporary downloads. The period for one record must not be applied to another. Internal security-log archives are separate from the records available to customers through the product.

Use log streaming, SIEM delivery, or exports when your organization needs to retain available records in its own environment. Configure that collection before the source record expires, and apply your own retention and access controls to the received copy.

Exports and Temporary Downloads

Generated report exports and their CSV files are retained for 30 days. A download link sent in an export-ready email expires seven days after it is sent; the shorter link lifetime does not delete the export itself. Other temporary downloads and snapshots have their own periods, documented in the retention reference.

Account Closure

Paid Accounts

When a paid account is canceled or terminated for nonpayment, Files.com deletes the account's customer content and associated account data within 7 days of the cancellation notice or termination date. This excludes retained internal security logs and business or legal records Files.com is required to retain. Internal security-log retention does not make those records available through a canceled account.

Trial Accounts

Trials that expire without converting to a paid plan are purged on a separate schedule. Purge may begin as soon as 3 months after the trial expires and may take up to 9 months. Files.com does not commit to a specific deletion date within that window. If you need your trial data deleted on a defined timeline, convert to a paid plan and then cancel. Cancellation of a paid account follows the 7-day deletion policy above, including its exceptions for retained internal security logs and required business or legal records.

Planning a Retention Requirement

Identify the information to preserve or remove, the event that starts its lifetime, who needs access during that period, and any recovery or external-copy requirements. Review file retention alongside audit records and feature-specific processing. Files.com cannot classify the contents you store or determine the legal retention schedule for your organization; those remain customer responsibilities.