1. What is the Data Retention Page?
The Data Retention page allows administrators to define how long channels and files are retained within TitanFile.
These settings help organizations manage data lifecycle policies, enforce compliance requirements, and reduce risk by automatically expiring or deleting outdated content.
2. How to Access the Data Retention Page
To reach the management dashboard:
- Log in to your TitanFile account
- Click Settings in the left-hand navigation menu
- Select Data Retention
3. What Can You Do Here?
From this page, you can configure retention and lifecycle controls, including:
Difference between Channel Expiry and Activity-Based Expiry (IMPORTANT)
Channel Expiry is the setting for subscriptions that want channels to automatically expire after a set number of days after the creation of a channel.
Channel Expiry example: Channel (A) is created on July 1st, 2026 with expiration set for 10 days post-creation. On July 11th, 2026, the channel will expire and contacts will lose access to the channel and data until the channel is updated with a new expiry date.
Activity-Based Expiry example: Channel (A) is created on July 1st, 2026 with expiration set for 10 days after last activity so the channel is set to expire on July 11th, 2026 upon creation. On July 7th, a contact within the channel sends a message and adds new files to the channel. The expiration for the channel is automatically updated to July 17th, 2026 based on this new activity.
4. How Data Retention Settings Work (IMPORTANT SECTION)
Data Retention settings behave differently depending on your subscription type and configuration:
Mutual Exclusivity (IMPORTANT)
- You can enable either Channel Expiry or File Retention — but not both at the same time
- Enabling one will prevent the other from being enabled
Important:
- This ensures there is no conflict between channel-level and file-level retention policies
- You must choose the approach that best fits your organization’s data management strategy
For Non-Enterprise Plans
- Settings are applied globally across the subscription
- When enabled, the setting applies to all users and all new channels/files
- Users cannot override these settings
For Enterprise Plans
- Settings act as feature controls (similar to admin configurations)
When a setting is:
- Enabled → The feature becomes available and can be assigned to roles
- Disabled → The feature is not available anywhere in the system
Important:
- If a setting is disabled, it will not appear in Manage Roles
- To assign a feature to a custom role, it must first be enabled here
Additional Behavior
- Channel Expiry may include options to apply changes to existing channels
- File Retention cannot be applied retroactively and will only apply to files uploaded after the setting is enabled
- Retention policies are enforced automatically once configured
Best Practice
To fully control retention policies:
- Decide whether your organization should use:
- Channel Expiry (lifecycle driven by channel activity or time), or
- File Retention (lifecycle driven by file-level policies)
- Enable only the option that aligns with your compliance requirements
- Use retroactive application carefully when applying Channel Expiry to existing channels
- Understand that File Retention will only impact new files going forward
- Then assign control through Manage Roles (Enterprise only)
This ensures:
- Clear and consistent retention logic
- No conflicting policies
- Alignment with compliance and legal requirements
5. Why This Matters
Data Retention settings help you:
- Automatically manage the lifecycle of channels and files
- Reduce risk by removing outdated or unnecessary data
- Enforce compliance with legal and regulatory requirements
- Maintain a clean and organized system