Skip to content

Home Topics Email Compliance Data retention and DSARs

Email Compliance · Data retention and DSARs

Email data retention checklist for 2026

Short answer

A complete email data retention checklist has 4 setup items and 2 things to audit against. Work through setup in order, then schedule a quarterly review.

Setup checklist#

  • ☐ Classify data: consent records, engagement logs, message content.
  • ☐ Set retention periods per class and automate deletion.
  • ☐ Build a DSAR process that can search and export across ESP, CRM, and mailbox.
  • ☐ Log every deletion and export for accountability.

Audit checklist#

  • ☐ Confirm you are not: deleting consent records that you need to defend a complaint.
  • ☐ Confirm you are not: no process for AI tools that have processed mailbox content.

Ongoing monitoring#

  • ☐ Weekly: review provider dashboards (Postmaster Tools, SNDS) and bounce logs
  • ☐ Monthly: re-run the setup verification after any vendor or DNS change
  • ☐ Quarterly: full audit against this checklist

Frequently asked questions#

How long can I keep unsubscribed contacts?

Keep the suppression record indefinitely (email only) so you never re-mail them; delete profile data per your retention schedule.

Keep reading on Data retention and DSARs