Governance
Data retention policy
Formal definition
Data retention policy is a policy in governance focused on managing personal data lawfully with clear risk controls before high-impact processing begins.
What this actually means for you
Use Data retention policy to guide live decisions: document lawful basis, retention, and safeguards before changing forms, profiling, or integrations, with ownership and reporting agreed before board and committee decisions.
Example: In a live quarterly cycle, Data retention policy is applied like this: before enabling a new scoring model, the team completes a DPIA and logs mitigation actions with owners. The team then records the decision trail in policy packs, approval logs, and team guidance.
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