{"Status":true,"Message":"","Response":{"post":{"postuid":"42841fbd-2be2-4664-ab35-dc3784911068","tenantuid":"d8b744fc-2e70-4089-bb80-dd1d08f6c7b2","projectuid":"fc6490ac-7527-4f49-b06e-46f701280e85","title":"Chat Data Retention","slug":"article/chat-data-retention","html":"\u003Cp\u003EHelpGuides keeps chat data only as long as it\u0027s useful, then deletes it automatically every night. You choose how long conversations are kept for each messenger.\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ch2 id=\u0022choose_how_long_to_keep_conversations\u0022\u003EChoose how long to keep conversations\u003C/h2\u003E\u003Col\u003E\u003Cli\u003EGo to \u003Cb\u003EInbox\u003C/b\u003E, then \u003Cb\u003EMessenger settings\u003C/b\u003E, then the \u003Cb\u003EInstall \u0026amp; security\u003C/b\u003E tab.\u003C/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EUnder \u003Cb\u003EData retention\u003C/b\u003E, choose \u003Cb\u003EKeep conversations for\u003C/b\u003E: 90 days, 1 year, 2 years (the default), 5 years, or \u003Cb\u003EForever\u003C/b\u003E.\u003C/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EClick \u003Cb\u003ESave settings\u003C/b\u003E.\u003C/li\u003E\u003C/ol\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe period counts from a conversation\u0027s last message, so a conversation that\u0027s still active is never deleted. Shortening the period applies to existing conversations too, at the next nightly run.\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ccite class=\u0022warning\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022title\u0022\u003EDeletion is permanent\u003C/span\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDeleted conversations can\u0027t be recovered, by you or by HelpGuides support.\u003C/p\u003E\u003C/cite\u003E\u003Ch2 id=\u0022whats_deleted_and_when\u0022\u003EWhat\u0027s deleted, and when\u003C/h2\u003E\u003Ctable border=\u00221\u0022 style=\u0022border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%;\u0022\u003E\u003Cthead\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Cth\u003EData\u003C/th\u003E\u003Cth\u003EDeleted\u003C/th\u003E\u003C/tr\u003E\u003C/thead\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd\u003EConversations, with their messages, internal notes, AI summaries and attached files\u003C/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003EAfter the period you choose (2 years after the last message by default)\u003C/td\u003E\u003C/tr\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd\u003EVisitors who never started a conversation\u003C/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003E30 days after they were last on your site\u003C/td\u003E\u003C/tr\u003E\u003Ctr\u003E\u003Ctd\u003EVisitors\u0027 IP addresses and browser details\u003C/td\u003E\u003Ctd\u003ECleared 90 days after the visitor was last on your site. The visitor and their conversations stay.\u003C/td\u003E\u003C/tr\u003E\u003C/table\u003E\u003Cp\u003ELarge backlogs are worked through over several nights, so a big change to the period can take a few days to take full effect.\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ch2 id=\u0022what_isnt_covered\u0022\u003EWhat isn\u0027t covered\u003C/h2\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cb\u003ECopies outside HelpGuides:\u003C/b\u003E Slack alerts, alert emails sent to your team, follow-up emails sent to visitors, and transcripts anyone downloaded. Remove these in those tools if you need to.\u003C/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cb\u003EBackups:\u003C/b\u003E deleted data stays in HelpGuides\u0027 encrypted database backups until those backups expire, within 35 days.\u003C/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cb\u003EBilling records\u003C/b\u003E for AI resolutions are kept for accounting. They don\u0027t contain any message content.\u003C/li\u003E\u003C/ul\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESee also \u003Ca href=\u0022/article/using-the-chat-inbox\u0022\u003EUsing the Chat Inbox\u003C/a\u003E and \u003Ca href=\u0022/article/sending-files-and-images-in-chat\u0022\u003ESending Files and Images in Chat\u003C/a\u003E.\u003C/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003C/p\u003E","publish_status":0,"post_type":"Article","authoruid":"3dde8c16-763a-4a2b-ae0b-1d8c50c62e3d","author":{"authoruid":"3dde8c16-763a-4a2b-ae0b-1d8c50c62e3d"},"featured_image_updating":false,"meta_description":"Set how long HelpGuides keeps chat data before automatic nightly deletion. Choose retention from 90 days to forever. Deletion is permanent and secure.","display_toc":true,"has_workingcopy":false,"allow_indexing":true,"sort_order":2,"total_views":0,"date_published":"2026-10-20T20:41:01.51","date_updated":"2026-10-20T20:41:02.593","date_created":"2026-10-07T23:09:40.327"}}}