Chat Data Retention
HelpGuides keeps chat data only as long as it's useful, then deletes it automatically every night. You choose how long conversations are kept for each messenger.
Choose how long to keep conversations
- Go to Inbox, then Messenger settings, then the Install & security tab.
- Under Data retention, choose Keep conversations for: 90 days, 1 year, 2 years (the default), 5 years, or Forever.
- Click Save settings.
The period counts from a conversation's last message, so a conversation that's still active is never deleted. Shortening the period applies to existing conversations too, at the next nightly run.
Deletion is permanentDeleted conversations can't be recovered, by you or by HelpGuides support.
What's deleted, and when
| Data | Deleted |
|---|---|
| Conversations, with their messages, internal notes, AI summaries and attached files | After the period you choose (2 years after the last message by default) |
| Visitors who never started a conversation | 30 days after they were last on your site |
| Visitors' IP addresses and browser details | Cleared 90 days after the visitor was last on your site. The visitor and their conversations stay. |
Large backlogs are worked through over several nights, so a big change to the period can take a few days to take full effect.
What isn't covered
- Copies outside HelpGuides: 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.
- Backups: deleted data stays in HelpGuides' encrypted database backups until those backups expire, within 35 days.
- Billing records for AI resolutions are kept for accounting. They don't contain any message content.
See also Using the Chat Inbox and Sending Files and Images in Chat.