CINXE.COM

<!DOCTYPE html> <html class="client-nojs vector-feature-language-in-header-enabled vector-feature-language-in-main-page-header-disabled vector-feature-sticky-header-disabled vector-feature-page-tools-pinned-disabled vector-feature-toc-pinned-clientpref-1 vector-feature-main-menu-pinned-disabled vector-feature-limited-width-clientpref-1 vector-feature-limited-width-content-enabled vector-feature-custom-font-size-clientpref-1 vector-feature-appearance-pinned-clientpref-1 vector-feature-night-mode-disabled skin-theme-clientpref-day vector-toc-not-available" lang="en" dir="ltr"> <head> <meta charset="UTF-8"> <title>Data retention guidelines - Meta</title> <script>(function(){var className="client-js vector-feature-language-in-header-enabled vector-feature-language-in-main-page-header-disabled vector-feature-sticky-header-disabled vector-feature-page-tools-pinned-disabled vector-feature-toc-pinned-clientpref-1 vector-feature-main-menu-pinned-disabled vector-feature-limited-width-clientpref-1 vector-feature-limited-width-content-enabled vector-feature-custom-font-size-clientpref-1 vector-feature-appearance-pinned-clientpref-1 vector-feature-night-mode-disabled skin-theme-clientpref-day vector-toc-not-available";var cookie=document.cookie.match(/(?:^|; )metawikimwclientpreferences=([^;]+)/);if(cookie){cookie[1].split('%2C').forEach(function(pref){className=className.replace(new RegExp('(^| )'+pref.replace(/-clientpref-\w+$|[^\w-]+/g,'')+'-clientpref-\\w+( |$)'),'$1'+pref+'$2');});}document.documentElement.className=className;}());RLCONF={"wgBreakFrames":false,"wgSeparatorTransformTable":["",""],"wgDigitTransformTable":["",""],"wgDefaultDateFormat" :"dmy","wgMonthNames":["","January","February","March","April","May","June","July","August","September","October","November","December"],"wgRequestId":"f1fc38d4-5af3-458a-90dd-6cd97e0e461d","wgCanonicalNamespace":"","wgCanonicalSpecialPageName":false,"wgNamespaceNumber":0,"wgPageName":"Data_retention_guidelines","wgTitle":"Data retention guidelines","wgCurRevisionId":26526305,"wgRevisionId":26526305,"wgArticleId":3355977,"wgIsArticle":true,"wgIsRedirect":false,"wgAction":"view","wgUserName":null,"wgUserGroups":["*"],"wgCategories":["Moved to Wikimedia Foundation Governance Wiki","Privacy policy"],"wgPageViewLanguage":"en","wgPageContentLanguage":"en","wgPageContentModel":"wikitext","wgRelevantPageName":"Data_retention_guidelines","wgRelevantArticleId":3355977,"wgIsProbablyEditable":false,"wgRelevantPageIsProbablyEditable":false,"wgRestrictionEdit":["autoconfirmed"],"wgRestrictionMove":["autoconfirmed"],"wgNoticeProject":"meta","wgCiteReferencePreviewsActive":false, "wgMediaViewerOnClick":true,"wgMediaViewerEnabledByDefault":true,"wgVisualEditor":{"pageLanguageCode":"en","pageLanguageDir":"ltr","pageVariantFallbacks":"en"},"wgMFDisplayWikibaseDescriptions":{"search":true,"watchlist":true,"tagline":false,"nearby":true},"wgWMESchemaEditAttemptStepOversample":false,"wgWMEPageLength":200,"wgCentralAuthMobileDomain":false,"wgEditSubmitButtonLabelPublish":true,"wgDiscussionToolsFeaturesEnabled":{"replytool":true,"newtopictool":true,"sourcemodetoolbar":true,"topicsubscription":false,"autotopicsub":false,"visualenhancements":false,"visualenhancements_reply":false,"visualenhancements_pageframe":false},"wgDiscussionToolsFallbackEditMode":"source","wgULSPosition":"personal","wgULSisCompactLinksEnabled":false,"wgVector2022LanguageInHeader":true,"wgULSisLanguageSelectorEmpty":false,"wgWikibaseItemId":"Q68634034","wgCheckUserClientHintsHeadersJsApi":["architecture","bitness","brands","fullVersionList","mobile","model","platform","platformVersion"]};RLSTATE={ "ext.globalCssJs.user.styles":"ready","site.styles":"ready","user.styles":"ready","ext.globalCssJs.user":"ready","user":"ready","user.options":"loading","ext.discussionTools.init.styles":"ready","oojs-ui-core.styles":"ready","oojs-ui.styles.indicators":"ready","mediawiki.widgets.styles":"ready","oojs-ui-core.icons":"ready","skins.vector.search.codex.styles":"ready","skins.vector.styles":"ready","skins.vector.icons":"ready","ext.wikimediamessages.styles":"ready","ext.visualEditor.desktopArticleTarget.noscript":"ready","ext.uls.pt":"ready","wikibase.client.init":"ready","ext.wikimediaBadges":"ready"};RLPAGEMODULES=["site","mediawiki.page.ready","skins.vector.js","ext.centralNotice.geoIP","ext.centralNotice.startUp","ext.gadget.AddTopic","ext.gadget.formWizard","ext.gadget.ReferenceTooltips","ext.gadget.WishlistTranslation","ext.urlShortener.toolbar","ext.centralauth.centralautologin","mmv.bootstrap","ext.visualEditor.desktopArticleTarget.init","ext.visualEditor.targetLoader", "ext.echo.centralauth","ext.discussionTools.init","ext.eventLogging","ext.wikimediaEvents","ext.navigationTiming","ext.uls.interface","wikibase.client.vector-2022","ext.checkUser.clientHints","wikibase.sidebar.tracking"];</script> <script>(RLQ=window.RLQ||[]).push(function(){mw.loader.impl(function(){return["user.options@12s5i",function($,jQuery,require,module){mw.user.tokens.set({"patrolToken":"+\\","watchToken":"+\\","csrfToken":"+\\"}); }];});});</script> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/w/load.php?lang=en&modules=ext.discussionTools.init.styles%7Cext.uls.pt%7Cext.visualEditor.desktopArticleTarget.noscript%7Cext.wikimediaBadges%7Cext.wikimediamessages.styles%7Cmediawiki.widgets.styles%7Coojs-ui-core.icons%2Cstyles%7Coojs-ui.styles.indicators%7Cskins.vector.icons%2Cstyles%7Cskins.vector.search.codex.styles%7Cwikibase.client.init&only=styles&skin=vector-2022"> <script async="" src="/w/load.php?lang=en&modules=startup&only=scripts&raw=1&skin=vector-2022"></script> <meta name="ResourceLoaderDynamicStyles" content=""> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/w/load.php?lang=en&modules=site.styles&only=styles&skin=vector-2022"> <meta name="generator" content="MediaWiki 1.44.0-wmf.3"> <meta name="referrer" content="origin"> <meta name="referrer" content="origin-when-cross-origin"> <meta name="robots" content="max-image-preview:standard"> <meta name="format-detection" content="telephone=no"> <meta name="viewport" content="width=1120"> <meta property="og:title" content="Data retention guidelines - Meta"> <meta property="og:type" content="website"> <link rel="preconnect" href="//upload.wikimedia.org"> <link rel="alternate" media="only screen and (max-width: 640px)" href="//meta.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/Data_retention_guidelines"> <link rel="icon" href="/static/favicon/community.ico"> <link rel="search" type="application/opensearchdescription+xml" href="/w/rest.php/v1/search" title="Meta (en)"> <link rel="EditURI" type="application/rsd+xml" href="//meta.wikimedia.org/w/api.php?action=rsd"> <link rel="canonical" href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Data_retention_guidelines"> <link rel="license" href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/"> <link rel="alternate" type="application/atom+xml" title="Meta Atom feed" href="/w/index.php?title=Special:RecentChanges&feed=atom"> <link rel="dns-prefetch" href="//login.wikimedia.org"> </head> <body class="ext-discussiontools-replytool-enabled ext-discussiontools-newtopictool-enabled ext-discussiontools-sourcemodetoolbar-enabled skin--responsive skin-vector skin-vector-search-vue mediawiki ltr sitedir-ltr mw-hide-empty-elt ns-0 ns-subject page-Data_retention_guidelines rootpage-Data_retention_guidelines skin-vector-2022 action-view"><a class="mw-jump-link" href="#bodyContent">Jump to content</a> <div class="vector-header-container"> <header class="vector-header mw-header"> <div class="vector-header-start"> <nav class="vector-main-menu-landmark" aria-label="Site"> <div id="vector-main-menu-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown vector-main-menu-dropdown vector-button-flush-left vector-button-flush-right" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-main-menu-dropdown-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-main-menu-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Main menu" > <label id="vector-main-menu-dropdown-label" for="vector-main-menu-dropdown-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only " aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-menu mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-menu"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Main menu</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="vector-main-menu-unpinned-container" class="vector-unpinned-container"> <div id="vector-main-menu" class="vector-main-menu vector-pinnable-element"> <div class="vector-pinnable-header vector-main-menu-pinnable-header vector-pinnable-header-unpinned" data-feature-name="main-menu-pinned" data-pinnable-element-id="vector-main-menu" data-pinned-container-id="vector-main-menu-pinned-container" data-unpinned-container-id="vector-main-menu-unpinned-container" > <div class="vector-pinnable-header-label">Main menu</div> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-pin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-main-menu.pin">move to sidebar</button> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-unpin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-main-menu.unpin">hide</button> </div> <div id="p-navigation" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-navigation" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> Navigation </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="n-mainpage-description" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Main_Page" title="Visit the main page [z]" accesskey="z"><span>Main page</span></a></li><li id="n-wikimedia-news-label" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Wikimedia_News"><span>Wikimedia News</span></a></li><li id="n-translations-text" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:LanguageStats"><span>Translations</span></a></li><li id="n-recentchanges" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:RecentChanges" title="A list of recent changes in the wiki [r]" accesskey="r"><span>Recent changes</span></a></li><li id="n-randompage" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:Random" title="Load a random page [x]" accesskey="x"><span>Random page</span></a></li><li id="n-help" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Help:Help" title="The place to find out"><span>Help</span></a></li><li id="n-Babel-text" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Meta:Babel"><span>Babel</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-community" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-community" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> Community </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="n-WikimediaResourceCenter-text" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Wikimedia_Resource_Center"><span>Wikimedia Resource Center</span></a></li><li id="n-WikimediaForum-text" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Wikimedia_Forum"><span>Wikimedia Forum</span></a></li><li id="n-mailinglists-text" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Mailing_lists/Overview"><span>Mailing lists</span></a></li><li id="n-Requests-text" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Meta:Requests_and_proposals"><span>Requests</span></a></li><li id="n-Babylon-text" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Meta:Babylon"><span>Babylon</span></a></li><li id="n-Reports-text" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Wikimedia_Affiliates_Data_Portal"><span>Reports</span></a></li><li id="n-Research-text" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Research:Index"><span>Research</span></a></li><li id="n-planet" class="mw-list-item"><a href="//en.planet.wikimedia.org/" title="Weblog aggregator of Wikimedia-related posts"><span>Planet Wikimedia</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-beyond_the_web" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-beyond_the_web" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> Beyond the Web </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="n-Meetup-text" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Meetup"><span>Meet Wikimedians</span></a></li><li id="n-Events-text" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Events"><span>Events</span></a></li><li id="n-wikimedia-movement-affiliates-shortlabel" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Wikimedia_movement_affiliates"><span>Movement affiliates</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </nav> <a href="/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Main_Page" class="mw-logo"> <img class="mw-logo-icon" src="/static/images/icons/metawiki.svg" alt="" aria-hidden="true" height="50" width="50"> <span class="mw-logo-container skin-invert"> <img class="mw-logo-wordmark" alt="Wikimedia Meta-Wiki" src="/static/images/mobile/copyright/metawiki-wordmark.svg" style="width: 7.5em; height: 1.8125em;"> </span> </a> </div> <div class="vector-header-end"> <div id="p-search" role="search" class="vector-search-box-vue vector-search-box-collapses vector-search-box-show-thumbnail vector-search-box-auto-expand-width vector-search-box"> <a href="/wiki/Special:Search" class="cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only search-toggle" title="Search Meta [f]" accesskey="f"><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-search mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-search"></span> <span>Search</span> </a> <div class="vector-typeahead-search-container"> <div class="cdx-typeahead-search cdx-typeahead-search--show-thumbnail cdx-typeahead-search--auto-expand-width"> <form action="/w/index.php" id="searchform" class="cdx-search-input cdx-search-input--has-end-button"> <div id="simpleSearch" class="cdx-search-input__input-wrapper" data-search-loc="header-moved"> <div class="cdx-text-input cdx-text-input--has-start-icon"> <input class="cdx-text-input__input" type="search" name="search" placeholder="Search Meta" aria-label="Search Meta" autocapitalize="sentences" title="Search Meta [f]" accesskey="f" id="searchInput" > <span class="cdx-text-input__icon cdx-text-input__start-icon"></span> </div> <input type="hidden" name="title" value="Special:Search"> </div> <button class="cdx-button cdx-search-input__end-button">Search</button> </form> </div> </div> </div> <nav class="vector-user-links vector-user-links-wide" aria-label="Personal tools"> <div class="vector-user-links-main"> <div id="p-vector-user-menu-preferences" class="vector-menu mw-portlet" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="ca-uls" class="mw-list-item active user-links-collapsible-item"><a data-mw="interface" href="#" class="uls-trigger cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet"><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-language mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-wikimedia-language"></span> <span>English</span></a> </li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-vector-user-menu-userpage" class="vector-menu mw-portlet emptyPortlet" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> </ul> </div> </div> <nav class="vector-appearance-landmark" aria-label="Appearance"> <div id="vector-appearance-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown " title="Change the appearance of the page's font size, width, and color" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-appearance-dropdown-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-appearance-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Appearance" > <label id="vector-appearance-dropdown-label" for="vector-appearance-dropdown-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only " aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-appearance mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-appearance"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Appearance</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="vector-appearance-unpinned-container" class="vector-unpinned-container"> </div> </div> </div> </nav> <div id="p-vector-user-menu-notifications" class="vector-menu mw-portlet emptyPortlet" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-vector-user-menu-overflow" class="vector-menu mw-portlet" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="pt-sitesupport-2" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item user-links-collapsible-item"><a data-mw="interface" href="//donate.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FundraiserRedirector?utm_source=donate&utm_medium=sidebar&utm_campaign=C13_meta.wikimedia.org&uselang=en" class=""><span>Donate</span></a> </li> <li id="pt-createaccount-2" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item user-links-collapsible-item"><a data-mw="interface" href="/w/index.php?title=Special:CreateAccount&returnto=Data+retention+guidelines" title="You are encouraged to create an account and log in; however, it is not mandatory" class=""><span>Create account</span></a> </li> <li id="pt-login-2" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item user-links-collapsible-item"><a data-mw="interface" href="/w/index.php?title=Special:UserLogin&returnto=Data+retention+guidelines" title="You are encouraged to log in; however, it is not mandatory [o]" accesskey="o" class=""><span>Log in</span></a> </li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> <div id="vector-user-links-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown vector-user-menu vector-button-flush-right vector-user-menu-logged-out user-links-collapsible-item" title="More options" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-user-links-dropdown-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-user-links-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Personal tools" > <label id="vector-user-links-dropdown-label" for="vector-user-links-dropdown-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only " aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-ellipsis mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-ellipsis"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Personal tools</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="p-personal" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-personal user-links-collapsible-item" title="User menu" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="pt-sitesupport" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="//donate.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FundraiserRedirector?utm_source=donate&utm_medium=sidebar&utm_campaign=C13_meta.wikimedia.org&uselang=en"><span>Donate</span></a></li><li id="pt-createaccount" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:CreateAccount&returnto=Data+retention+guidelines" title="You are encouraged to create an account and log in; however, it is not mandatory"><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-userAdd mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-userAdd"></span> <span>Create account</span></a></li><li id="pt-login" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:UserLogin&returnto=Data+retention+guidelines" title="You are encouraged to log in; however, it is not mandatory [o]" accesskey="o"><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-logIn mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-logIn"></span> <span>Log in</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </header> </div> <div class="mw-page-container"> <div class="mw-page-container-inner"> <div class="vector-sitenotice-container"> <div id="siteNotice"></div> </div> <div class="vector-column-start"> <div class="vector-main-menu-container"> <div id="mw-navigation"> <nav id="mw-panel" class="vector-main-menu-landmark" aria-label="Site"> <div id="vector-main-menu-pinned-container" class="vector-pinned-container"> </div> </nav> </div> </div> </div> <div class="mw-content-container"> <main id="content" class="mw-body"> <header class="mw-body-header vector-page-titlebar"> <h1 id="firstHeading" class="firstHeading mw-first-heading"><span class="mw-page-title-main">Data retention guidelines</span></h1> <div id="p-lang-btn" class="vector-dropdown mw-portlet mw-portlet-lang" > <input type="checkbox" id="p-lang-btn-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-p-lang-btn" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox mw-interlanguage-selector" aria-label="This article exist only in this language. Add the article for other languages" > <label id="p-lang-btn-label" for="p-lang-btn-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--action-progressive mw-portlet-lang-heading-0" aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-language-progressive mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-language-progressive"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Add languages</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> </ul> <div class="after-portlet after-portlet-lang"><span class="wb-langlinks-add wb-langlinks-link"><a href="https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Special:EntityPage/Q68634034#sitelinks-wikipedia" title="Add interlanguage links" class="wbc-editpage">Add links</a></span></div> </div> </div> </div> </header> <div class="vector-page-toolbar"> <div class="vector-page-toolbar-container"> <div id="left-navigation"> <nav aria-label="Namespaces"> <div id="p-associated-pages" class="vector-menu vector-menu-tabs mw-portlet mw-portlet-associated-pages" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="ca-nstab-main" class="selected vector-tab-noicon mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Data_retention_guidelines" title="View the content page [c]" accesskey="c"><span>Content page</span></a></li><li id="ca-talk" class="vector-tab-noicon mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Talk:Data_retention_guidelines" rel="discussion" title="Discussion about the content page [t]" accesskey="t"><span>Discussion</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="vector-variants-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown emptyPortlet" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-variants-dropdown-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-variants-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Change language variant" > <label id="vector-variants-dropdown-label" for="vector-variants-dropdown-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet" aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">English</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="p-variants" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-variants emptyPortlet" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </nav> </div> <div id="right-navigation" class="vector-collapsible"> <nav aria-label="Views"> <div id="p-views" class="vector-menu vector-menu-tabs mw-portlet mw-portlet-views" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="ca-view" class="selected vector-tab-noicon mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Data_retention_guidelines"><span>Read</span></a></li><li id="ca-viewsource" class="vector-tab-noicon mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Data_retention_guidelines&action=edit" title="This page is protected.
You can view its source [e]" accesskey="e"><span>View source</span></a></li><li id="ca-history" class="vector-tab-noicon mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Data_retention_guidelines&action=history" title="Past revisions of this page [h]" accesskey="h"><span>View history</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </nav> <nav class="vector-page-tools-landmark" aria-label="Page tools"> <div id="vector-page-tools-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown vector-page-tools-dropdown" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-page-tools-dropdown-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-page-tools-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Tools" > <label id="vector-page-tools-dropdown-label" for="vector-page-tools-dropdown-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet" aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Tools</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="vector-page-tools-unpinned-container" class="vector-unpinned-container"> <div id="vector-page-tools" class="vector-page-tools vector-pinnable-element"> <div class="vector-pinnable-header vector-page-tools-pinnable-header vector-pinnable-header-unpinned" data-feature-name="page-tools-pinned" data-pinnable-element-id="vector-page-tools" data-pinned-container-id="vector-page-tools-pinned-container" data-unpinned-container-id="vector-page-tools-unpinned-container" > <div class="vector-pinnable-header-label">Tools</div> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-pin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-page-tools.pin">move to sidebar</button> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-unpin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-page-tools.unpin">hide</button> </div> <div id="p-cactions" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-cactions emptyPortlet vector-has-collapsible-items" title="More options" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> Actions </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="ca-more-view" class="selected vector-more-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Data_retention_guidelines"><span>Read</span></a></li><li id="ca-more-viewsource" class="vector-more-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Data_retention_guidelines&action=edit"><span>View source</span></a></li><li id="ca-more-history" class="vector-more-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Data_retention_guidelines&action=history"><span>View history</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-tb" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-tb" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> General </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="t-whatlinkshere" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:WhatLinksHere/Data_retention_guidelines" title="A list of all wiki pages that link here [j]" accesskey="j"><span>What links here</span></a></li><li id="t-recentchangeslinked" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:RecentChangesLinked/Data_retention_guidelines" rel="nofollow" title="Recent changes in pages linked from this page [k]" accesskey="k"><span>Related changes</span></a></li><li id="t-specialpages" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:SpecialPages" title="A list of all special pages [q]" accesskey="q"><span>Special pages</span></a></li><li id="t-permalink" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Data_retention_guidelines&oldid=26526305" title="Permanent link to this revision of this page"><span>Permanent link</span></a></li><li id="t-info" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Data_retention_guidelines&action=info" title="More information about this page"><span>Page information</span></a></li><li id="t-cite" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:CiteThisPage&page=Data_retention_guidelines&id=26526305&wpFormIdentifier=titleform" title="Information on how to cite this page"><span>Cite this page</span></a></li><li id="t-urlshortener" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:UrlShortener&url=https%3A%2F%2Fmeta.wikimedia.org%2Fwiki%2FData_retention_guidelines"><span>Get shortened URL</span></a></li><li id="t-urlshortener-qrcode" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:QrCode&url=https%3A%2F%2Fmeta.wikimedia.org%2Fwiki%2FData_retention_guidelines"><span>Download QR code</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-coll-print_export" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-coll-print_export" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> Print/export </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="coll-create_a_book" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:Book&bookcmd=book_creator&referer=Data+retention+guidelines"><span>Create a book</span></a></li><li id="coll-download-as-rl" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:DownloadAsPdf&page=Data_retention_guidelines&action=show-download-screen"><span>Download as PDF</span></a></li><li id="t-print" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Data_retention_guidelines&printable=yes" title="Printable version of this page [p]" accesskey="p"><span>Printable version</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-wikibase-otherprojects" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-wikibase-otherprojects" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> In other projects </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="t-wikibase" class="wb-otherproject-link wb-otherproject-wikibase-dataitem mw-list-item"><a href="https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Special:EntityPage/Q68634034" title="Link to connected data repository item [g]" accesskey="g"><span>Wikidata item</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </div> </div> <div class="vector-column-end"> <div class="vector-sticky-pinned-container"> <nav class="vector-page-tools-landmark" aria-label="Page tools"> <div id="vector-page-tools-pinned-container" class="vector-pinned-container"> </div> </nav> <nav class="vector-appearance-landmark" aria-label="Appearance"> <div id="vector-appearance-pinned-container" class="vector-pinned-container"> <div id="vector-appearance" class="vector-appearance vector-pinnable-element"> <div class="vector-pinnable-header vector-appearance-pinnable-header vector-pinnable-header-pinned" data-feature-name="appearance-pinned" data-pinnable-element-id="vector-appearance" data-pinned-container-id="vector-appearance-pinned-container" data-unpinned-container-id="vector-appearance-unpinned-container" > <div class="vector-pinnable-header-label">Appearance</div> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-pin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-appearance.pin">move to sidebar</button> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-unpin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-appearance.unpin">hide</button> </div> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </div> <div id="bodyContent" class="vector-body" aria-labelledby="firstHeading" data-mw-ve-target-container> <div class="vector-body-before-content"> <div class="mw-indicators"> </div> <div id="siteSub" class="noprint">From Meta, a Wikimedia project coordination wiki</div> </div> <div id="contentSub"><div id="mw-content-subtitle"></div></div> <div id="mw-content-text" class="mw-body-content"><div class="mw-content-ltr mw-parser-output" lang="en" dir="ltr"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r27362704">.mw-parser-output .ombox{margin:4px 0;border-collapse:collapse;border:1px solid #a2a9b1;background-color:var(--background-color-neutral-subtle,#f8f9fa);box-sizing:border-box;color:var(--color-base,#202122)}.mw-parser-output .ombox.mbox-small{font-size:88%;line-height:1.25em}.mw-parser-output .ombox-speedy{border:2px solid #b32424;background-color:#fee7e6}.mw-parser-output .ombox-delete{border:2px solid #b32424}.mw-parser-output .ombox-content{border:1px solid #f28500}.mw-parser-output .ombox-style{border:1px solid #fc3}.mw-parser-output .ombox-move{border:1px solid #9932cc}.mw-parser-output .ombox-protection{border:2px solid #a2a9b1}.mw-parser-output .ombox .mbox-text{border:none;padding:0.25em 0.9em;width:100%}.mw-parser-output .ombox .mbox-image{border:none;padding:2px 0 2px 0.9em;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .ombox .mbox-imageright{border:none;padding:2px 0.9em 2px 0;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .ombox .mbox-empty-cell{border:none;padding:0;width:1px}.mw-parser-output .ombox .mbox-invalid-type{text-align:center}@media(min-width:720px){.mw-parser-output .ombox{margin:4px 10%}.mw-parser-output .ombox.mbox-small{clear:right;float:right;margin:4px 0 4px 1em;width:238px}}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output table.ombox img{max-width:none!important}@media screen{html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .ombox-speedy{background-color:#310402}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .ombox-speedy{background-color:#310402}}</style><table class="plainlinks ombox ombox-move" role="presentation"><tbody><tr><td class="mbox-image"><span typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Wikimedia-logo_black.svg" class="mw-file-description" title="Wikimedia Foundation mark"><img alt="Wikimedia Foundation mark" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8b/Wikimedia-logo_black.svg/80px-Wikimedia-logo_black.svg.png" decoding="async" width="80" height="80" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8b/Wikimedia-logo_black.svg/120px-Wikimedia-logo_black.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8b/Wikimedia-logo_black.svg/160px-Wikimedia-logo_black.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="512" data-file-height="512"/></a></span></td><td class="mbox-text"><b>This page has been moved to "<a href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Legal:Data_retention_guidelines" class="extiw" title="foundation:Special:MyLanguage/Legal:Data retention guidelines">Legal:Data retention guidelines</a>" on <a href="/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Wikimedia_Foundation_Governance_Wiki" title="Special:MyLanguage/Wikimedia Foundation Governance Wiki">Wikimedia Foundation Governance Wiki</a> where you can provide translations and feedback on it.</b><hr/>Any translations should be provided at <a href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Legal:Data_retention_guidelines" class="extiw" title="foundation:Special:MyLanguage/Legal:Data retention guidelines">its location on Wikimedia Foundation Governance Wiki</a> and any related feedback provided on <a href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Legal_talk:Data_retention_guidelines" class="extiw" title="foundation:Legal talk:Data retention guidelines">its talk page there</a>. Thank you!</td></tr></tbody></table> <p><br/> </p> <div class="privacy-policy-navigation-2"> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r19611947">.mw-parser-output .privacy-policy-navigation-2{clear:both;margin:2px 0;border:1px solid #aaa;background-color:#f8f8f8;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .pp-navigation-2-header,.mw-parser-output .pp-navigation-2-list{margin:4px}.mw-parser-output .pp-navigation-2-editlink{font-size:smaller;margin-right:.5em;float:left}.mw-parser-output .pp-navigation-2-translatelink{font-size:smaller;margin-left:.5em;float:right}.mw-parser-output .pp-navigation-2-title{font-weight:bold}.mw-parser-output .pp-navigation-2-list ul{margin:0;padding:0}.mw-parser-output .pp-navigation-2-list li{margin:0;display:inline}.mw-parser-output .pp-navigation-2-list li::after{content:" ·";font-weight:bold}.mw-parser-output .pp-navigation-2-list li:last-child::after{content:none}.mw-parser-output .pp-navigation-2-list ul ul{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .pp-navigation-2-list ul ul li:first-child:before{content:"("}.mw-parser-output .pp-navigation-2-list ul ul li:last-child:after{content:")";font-weight:normal}.mw-parser-output .pp-navigation-2-list li{white-space:nowrap}.mw-parser-output .pp-navigation-2-list li ul{white-space:normal}</style> <div class="pp-navigation-2-header"> <div class="pp-navigation-2-editlink"><a href="/wiki/Special:EditPage/Template:Privacy_policy_navigation_2" title="Special:EditPage/Template:Privacy policy navigation 2">+/−</a></div> <div class="pp-navigation-2-translatelink"><bdi lang="en" dir="ltr" class="plainlinks" style="font-size:smaller;"><a class="external text" href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Translate/page-Template:Privacy_policy_navigation_2&language=en&action=page">translate</a></bdi></div> <div class="pp-navigation-2-title">Privacy-related pages</div> </div> <div class="pp-navigation-2-list"> <ul><li><a href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Privacy_policy" class="extiw" title="foundation:Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Privacy policy">Privacy policy</a></li> <li><a href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Privacy_policy/Frequently_asked_questions" class="extiw" title="foundation:Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Privacy policy/Frequently asked questions">FAQ</a></li> <li><a href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Privacy_policy/Glossary_of_key_terms" class="extiw" title="foundation:Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Privacy policy/Glossary of key terms">Glossary of key terms</a></li> <li><a href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Privacy_policy/Subpoena_frequently_asked_questions" class="extiw" title="foundation:Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Privacy policy/Subpoena frequently asked questions">Subpoena FAQ</a></li> <li><a href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Legal:Data_retention_guidelines" class="extiw" title="foundation:Special:MyLanguage/Legal:Data retention guidelines">Data retention guidelines</a></li> <li><a href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Cookie_statement" class="extiw" title="foundation:Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Cookie statement">Cookie statement</a></li> <li><a href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Access_to_nonpublic_personal_data_policy" class="extiw" title="foundation:Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Access to nonpublic personal data policy">Access to nonpublic personal data</a> <ul><li><a href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Legal:Confidentiality_agreement_for_nonpublic_information" class="extiw" title="foundation:Special:MyLanguage/Legal:Confidentiality agreement for nonpublic information">Confidentiality agreement</a></li> <li><a href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Legal:Confidentiality_agreement_for_nonpublic_information/How_to_sign" class="extiw" title="foundation:Special:MyLanguage/Legal:Confidentiality agreement for nonpublic information/How to sign">How to sign</a></li> <li><a href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Access_to_nonpublic_personal_data_policy/Underage_exemptions" class="extiw" title="foundation:Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Access to nonpublic personal data policy/Underage exemptions">Underage exemptions</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Access_to_nonpublic_personal_data_policy/Noticeboard" title="Access to nonpublic personal data policy/Noticeboard">Noticeboard</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Donor_privacy_policy" class="extiw" title="foundation:Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Donor privacy policy">Donor privacy policy</a></li></ul> </div> </div>    </div><noscript><img src="https://login.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:CentralAutoLogin/start?type=1x1" alt="" width="1" height="1" style="border: none; position: absolute;"></noscript> <div class="printfooter" data-nosnippet="">Retrieved from "<a dir="ltr" href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Data_retention_guidelines&oldid=26526305">https://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Data_retention_guidelines&oldid=26526305</a>"</div></div> <div id="catlinks" class="catlinks" data-mw="interface"><div id="mw-normal-catlinks" class="mw-normal-catlinks"><a href="/wiki/Special:Categories" title="Special:Categories">Categories</a>: <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Moved_to_Wikimedia_Foundation_Governance_Wiki" title="Category:Moved to Wikimedia Foundation Governance Wiki">Moved to Wikimedia Foundation Governance Wiki</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Privacy_policy" title="Category:Privacy policy">Privacy policy</a></li></ul></div></div> </div> </main> </div> <div class="mw-footer-container"> <footer id="footer" class="mw-footer" > <ul id="footer-info"> <li id="footer-info-lastmod"> This page was last edited on 2 April 2024, at 05:26.</li> <li id="footer-info-copyright">Text is available under the <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en">Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License</a>; additional terms may apply. See <a class="external text" href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Terms_of_Use">Terms of Use</a> for details.</li> </ul> <ul id="footer-places"> <li id="footer-places-privacy"><a href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Privacy_policy">Privacy policy</a></li> <li id="footer-places-about"><a href="/wiki/Meta:About">About Meta</a></li> <li id="footer-places-disclaimers"><a href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:General_disclaimer">Disclaimers</a></li> <li id="footer-places-wm-codeofconduct"><a href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Universal_Code_of_Conduct">Code of Conduct</a></li> <li id="footer-places-developers"><a href="https://developer.wikimedia.org">Developers</a></li> <li id="footer-places-statslink"><a href="https://stats.wikimedia.org/#/meta.wikimedia.org">Statistics</a></li> <li id="footer-places-cookiestatement"><a href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Cookie_statement">Cookie statement</a></li> <li id="footer-places-mobileview"><a href="//meta.m.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Data_retention_guidelines&mobileaction=toggle_view_mobile" class="noprint stopMobileRedirectToggle">Mobile view</a></li> </ul> <ul id="footer-icons" class="noprint"> <li id="footer-copyrightico"><a href="https://wikimediafoundation.org/" class="cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--size-large cdx-button--fake-button--enabled"><img src="/static/images/footer/wikimedia-button.svg" width="84" height="29" alt="Wikimedia Foundation" loading="lazy"></a></li> <li id="footer-poweredbyico"><a href="https://www.mediawiki.org/" class="cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--size-large cdx-button--fake-button--enabled"><img src="/w/resources/assets/poweredby_mediawiki.svg" alt="Powered by MediaWiki" width="88" height="31" loading="lazy"></a></li> </ul> </footer> </div> </div> </div> <div class="vector-settings" id="p-dock-bottom"> <ul></ul> </div><script>(RLQ=window.RLQ||[]).push(function(){mw.config.set({"wgHostname":"mw-web.codfw.main-84d8f4b96-969lf","wgBackendResponseTime":113,"wgDiscussionToolsPageThreads":[],"wgPageParseReport":{"discussiontools":{"limitreport-timeusage":"0.004"},"limitreport":{"cputime":"0.088","walltime":"0.116","ppvisitednodes":{"value":298,"limit":1000000},"postexpandincludesize":{"value":7079,"limit":2097152},"templateargumentsize":{"value":389,"limit":2097152},"expansiondepth":{"value":10,"limit":100},"expensivefunctioncount":{"value":2,"limit":500},"unstrip-depth":{"value":0,"limit":20},"unstrip-size":{"value":2853,"limit":5000000},"entityaccesscount":{"value":0,"limit":400},"timingprofile":["100.00% 98.309 1 -total"," 70.93% 69.731 1 Template:MovedToFoundationGovWiki"," 45.95% 45.176 1 Template:MovedToFoundationGovWiki/Content/en"," 38.73% 38.070 1 Template:Ombox"," 28.98% 28.486 1 Template:Privacy_policy_navigation_2"," 21.00% 20.644 1 Template:TNTN"," 7.85% 7.714 1 Template:Int_string"," 7.41% 7.289 3 Template:Int"," 4.67% 4.587 1 Template:Translate"," 2.01% 1.976 1 Template:Dir"]},"scribunto":{"limitreport-timeusage":{"value":"0.029","limit":"10.000"},"limitreport-memusage":{"value":973165,"limit":52428800}},"cachereport":{"origin":"mw-api-int.codfw.main-c7d574d9b-f8g6w","timestamp":"20241114112935","ttl":2592000,"transientcontent":false}}});});</script> <script type="application/ld+json">{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"Article","name":"Data retention guidelines","url":"https:\/\/meta.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/Data_retention_guidelines","sameAs":"http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q68634034","mainEntity":"http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q68634034","author":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Contributors to Wikimedia projects"},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/www.wikimedia.org\/static\/images\/wmf-hor-googpub.png"}},"datePublished":"2014-01-09T21:15:48Z","dateModified":"2024-04-02T05:26:05Z"}</script> </body> </html>