Nudge maintains raw event data from subscriptions for a period of 7 years (84 months) from the date it was collected. This period marks the maximum duration for data retention. Once a subscription exceeds this limit, any raw event data older than 7 years is automatically purged from Nudge's database.
The process of data retention at Nudge is continuously updated. As a subscription ages past 7 years, the data retention benchmark advances daily. This ensures that no raw event data is retained beyond the 7-year limit. For example, when a subscription hits 7 years and 1 day, the raw event data from the first day post-installation is discarded. The next day, the data from the second day post-installation is removed, and so on. Subscriptions less than 7 years old are not affected by this mechanism.
Under this data retention framework, any data older than 7 years from the current date cannot be accessed for analysis or through Nudge's API. This restriction only applies to raw event data and does not influence other elements of your Nudge subscription like configuration settings, integrations, tagged features, pages, tracking events, guides, saved reports, segments, or feedback requests. However, any unused Visitor or Account IDs from the retention date onward are also automatically deleted.
Modifying the Data Retention Period
Subscribers have the option to shorten the data retention period, allowing for the deletion of event data before the standard 84-month period. This period can be set anywhere between 1 and 84 months.
To modify your data retention period, please contact your Nudge account representative or Technical Support. A review process will be conducted to ensure full understanding of the implications and to obtain approval from relevant subscription managers.
Requests can also be made to delete data for a specific application, following the same procedure. The Application Start Date is the point from which Nudge begins recording data for an app. Changing this date results in the deletion of all data collected prior to the new start date. This date does not automatically adjust until it aligns with the subscription data retention period.
After approval of a change request, a short processing period is required to update the app configuration. Once the update is complete, data exceeding the new retention period is queued for deletion. In cases of errors in setting the data retention period, there may be a possibility to recover deleted data if the correction request is submitted and processed within 28 days of the deletion. It’s crucial to request data recovery promptly to maximize the chances of retrieving the deleted data. Data older than 84 months is non-recoverable.
Calculating the Data Retention Date
The data retention date is calculated as the current date minus 84 months (or the customer-chosen duration). To find this date, subtract the retention period (in months) from the current date.
The day of the month used for calculation remains constant, except if the month of the retention date does not correspond to the current day of the month. In such cases, the retention date defaults to the last day of that month. A 2-3 day buffer is included in the deletion process to prevent accidental deletion of data younger than the retention limit. Here are examples to illustrate:
If today is May 28, 2022, and the default retention limit is 84 months, the retention date is May 28, 2015.
For an 18-month retention limit, if today is May 31, 2022, subtract 18 months to get November 30, 2020, as November has no 31st.
Data Retention for Nudge Free trial
For users of Nudge Free Trial, the 7-year (84-month) data retention period applies equally. However, access to data via the Nudge interface is restricted to 1 year (12 months) for Free Trial users. Users can access data beyond these limits by upgrading their plan.