> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.telli.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Data Retention

> Delete contacts and call data automatically after a set time

Data retention deletes contacts and call data automatically once they reach an age you define. It runs the same deletion process as deleting a contact by hand, so the data it removes is the same. See [Deleting Contacts and Personal Data](/platform/contacts#deleting-contacts-and-personal-data) for the full list.

<Note>
  Data retention is available on Enterprise plans. Deleting contacts manually in the app, through Charlie, or through the API is available on every plan and does not require data retention. If data retention is not part of your plan, use **Contact Sales** on the Organization page to add it.
</Note>

<Frame>
  <img src="https://mintcdn.com/telli/f3aQyWJyRD2iYCFl/images/changelog/2026-08-31-data-retention-light.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=f3aQyWJyRD2iYCFl&q=85&s=b31ac636b80e53162121f59d9e8330d5" alt="Data retention settings for contacts, call data, recordings, and transcripts" className="block dark:hidden" width="2230" height="1698" data-path="images/changelog/2026-08-31-data-retention-light.png" />

  <img src="https://mintcdn.com/telli/f3aQyWJyRD2iYCFl/images/changelog/2026-08-31-data-retention-dark.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=f3aQyWJyRD2iYCFl&q=85&s=2183c5dec73698e283bd29aed10f12d0" alt="Data retention settings for contacts, call data, recordings, and transcripts" className="hidden dark:block" width="2224" height="1698" data-path="images/changelog/2026-08-31-data-retention-dark.png" />
</Frame>

## Configure rules

Open [Settings > Organization](https://app.telli.com/_/settings/organization) and scroll to **Data retention**. Each rule has a switch and a retention period between 1 and 730 days.

### Contacts

| Rule               | Deletes a contact when                                                                                                       |
| ------------------ | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Created**        | The contact was created more than the set number of days ago.                                                                |
| **Last contacted** | The contact's last call started more than the set number of days ago. Contacts that have never been called are not affected. |

If both rules are enabled, a contact is deleted as soon as either rule applies. Deleting a contact also deletes the personal data of all its calls.

### Calls

Call rules count from the moment the call was placed and apply to every call in your account, whether or not the contact still exists.

| Rule              | Deletes                                                                                                          |
| ----------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Transcripts**   | The transcript of the call.                                                                                      |
| **Recordings**    | The audio recording of the call.                                                                                 |
| **All call data** | All personal data of the call, including transcript, recording, and analysis. An anonymized call record remains. |

If **All call data** has a shorter or equal retention period than **Recordings** or **Transcripts**, it deletes them first and those rules have no additional effect.

## Save and confirm

Click **Save Changes** to review the pending rules. Because deleted data cannot be recovered, telli asks you to type a confirmation phrase before the rules take effect. Deleting data also reduces the call history Charlie can draw on for insights.

## How deletion runs

* telli checks all enabled rules once a day and deletes everything that has passed its retention period.
* Contacts in active calls are not deleted.
* Data is deleted in batches, so a large backlog can take more than one run to clear.
* Deletion is irreversible. telli never deletes records in your CRM or other connected systems.


## Related topics

- [Settings](/platform/settings.md)
- [Contacts](/platform/contacts.md)
- [Changelog](/changelog.md)