Retention determines how long information remains available as files are updated, replaced, or deleted. A useful policy balances two needs: removing data when its working life ends and preserving the records or previous versions the organization may still need for recovery or review.

For Site Administrators, the first distinction is between the lifetime of an active file and the lifetime of a removed copy. Automatically expiring a working file answers when it should leave a folder. Keeping a deleted copy answers whether it can be recovered afterward. Those are separate decisions, so plan them together rather than assuming that a deletion rule also defines recovery.

For example, expiring working files after 30 days without modification can still leave deleted copies or archived versions available longer. Choose the lifetime of those copies as part of the same policy.

One file expiration leads to three recovery paths. In a native folder, the expired file becomes a restorable deleted copy that is not visible in the folder, until the deleted-file retention window ends. With an Archive Removed Files rule, the expired file moves to the archive path and stays accessible there under the archive's own rules. In a mounted folder, the file is deleted from the remote storage and Files.com keeps no copy. An archive path covered by the same expiration rule expires again.

Retention Choices

For files in your site's native Files.com storage, choose the controls that meet the cleanup and preservation requirement:

Requirement	Control	Recovery Path
Remove working files after a period without modification.	File Expiration	Recovery depends on the deleted-file retention or archive policy that applies when the file expires.
Keep deleted files recoverable for a defined period.	Retaining Deleted Files	Use Restore Deleted Files and Folders within the configured retention window. Retained copies are not visible in the working folder.
Keep an accessible history of removed or replaced files.	Archive Removed Files	Retrieve content directly from the configured archive path, without a restore step. The archive's permissions and retention govern access to those copies.
Prevent changes to file contents and deletion of files and folders.	Archive Only Mode	Files remain in place. The mode applies to the entire site and cannot be turned off; choose that permanent commitment only for a workflow that requires it.

Retained deleted files and archived content both count toward storage usage. Clearing a working folder does not remove those preserved copies from storage.

Files on Remote Servers

File Expiration can delete files on mounted storage, but the mounting site's native deleted-file retention and Archive Removed Files rules do not preserve those remote contents. Plan recovery with the remote storage's owner, using the recovery or versioning options available there.

For a Files.com Remote Server, the other site's archive and retention rules govern its stored files. Ask that site's administrator to check the preserved copies and recovery options.

Logs, operational records, and generated reports have separate retention periods; file retention settings do not extend those periods.