---
schema_version: "1"
id: 2edc6af27c2207908b8ecb36694d96d53516765013aaeb43759bfa1f5683ee85
title: Retention Vs Purge Policies in the Archive App
collection: admin
version: current
locale: en-us
portal_url: https://docs.salesforce.com/admin/current/en-us/xcloud/264-0-0/archive_retention_vs_purge_policies_in_archive.md
canonical_url: https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=xcloud.archive_retention_vs_purge_policies_in_archive.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5
source_site: help.salesforce.com
content_type: documentation
content_hash: 4f85b9e425ddd8d8078a7d8a918f9f17debc5ff4868cbba10f6fea6f74abd152
description: Retention sets how long Archive keeps records. A purge policy deletes records before that period ends, such as for Right to Be Forgotten requests.
products:
  - Salesforce Platform
  - Cross Cloud
release: "264"
---
# Retention Vs Purge Policies in the Archive App

Retention sets how long Archive keeps records. A purge policy deletes records before that period ends, such as for Right to Be Forgotten requests.

When you archive data, you create an archive policy that includes a retention option. The retention period, defined in the archive policy, is a field specifying how long a record is kept based on legal requirements or according to a set of criteria.

A purge policy deletes records that meet criteria you define, even if their retention period hasn't ended.

Both retention and purge permanently delete records from Archive.

## Retention and Purge Compared

Retention is the default expiration set on the archive policy. A purge policy deletes records earlier, based on its own criteria.

| Characteristic | Retention | Purge |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Defined in | Retention period in the archive policy | Criteria in the purge policy |
| Deletes records | When the retention date is reached | When records meet the purge criteria |
| Runs | Automatically | Automatically or manually |
| Activities tab label | Purge by Retention | Purge |

## Retention

Retention is the period during which archived data or records are kept intentionally.

The retention period is defined when setting up the archive policy. The length of the retention period is determined based on legal requirements, regulations, business needs, or other criteria specific to your company.

During the retention period, the archived data remains accessible in Archive and isn't deleted automatically. When the retention date is reached, Archive deletes the data. The Activities tab shows these deletions as Purge by Retention.

## Purge

A purge policy permanently deletes data from Archive before its retention period ends.

Purging happens when a record meets the criteria in the purge policy. The policy runs automatically, or you run it manually as a custom action. The criteria in the purge policy override the retention period.

Use a purge policy to comply with data protection regulations or to respond to data deletion requests, such as Right to Be Forgotten (RTBF) requests. These requests take precedence over the predefined retention period.

For example, your archive policy keeps cases for 7 years. In year 2, a customer submits an RTBF request. You create a purge policy that deletes that customer's archived cases without waiting for the 7 years to pass.

A purge policy deletes up to 1,000,000 records in each run. It doesn't delete records under legal hold or records protected by Archived Data Protected from Purge. For details, see [How Purge Policies Work](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=xcloud.archive_how_purge_policies_work.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5 "A purge policy permanently deletes archived records that match your query conditions, up to 1,000,000 records in each run. It doesn't delete records under legal hold or records protected by Archived Data Protected from Purge.").

## Retention and Purge in Archive

If the retention criterion for a specific archive policy has changed, update the retention period in the archive policy.

![Important](https://sf-zdocs-cdn-prod.zoominsoftware.com/tdta-xcloud-setup-264-0-0-production-enus/6f21df35-9ea0-4f53-ac94-45c3b5dfd5bc/images/icon_important.png)

Important This change retroactively affects all previously archived records through that policy.

To avoid retroactively affecting records, disable this archive policy and create a clone with the newly defined retention period.

## Review Activities

The Archive Activities tab shows whether a record was purged because of the retention period defined in the archive policy or because of a purge policy.

Purge shows records removed via the purge policy.

Purge by Retention shows that records were removed when the retention period was reached.