Email Data Retention Settings

Set AhaSend email content and metadata retention within your plan limits, check the seven-day defaults, and request approval for zero data retention.

AhaSend retention settings control how long message metadata and content remain available; this guide explains the defaults, plan ranges and per-message overrides.

Available on Free, Pro and Max; the retention ranges depend on your plan, and zero message-data retention needs approval. See plans and features.

Choose retention periods that fit your privacy policy. A retention setting alone does not establish compliance with a law or standard.

Retention Limits

Setting	Free	Pro	Max	New-account default
Message metadata	1–7 days	1–14 days	1–30 days	7 days
Message data	1–7 days	0–14 days	0–30 days	7 days

Zero data retention needs approval from AhaSend, to prevent abuse. Per-message retention headers are capped at the plan’s maximum. Both settings are configurable within your plan’s range.

All message data is stored in the EU. See data location and the data processing agreement. After retention expires, the affected content or metadata is no longer available; S3 archives have their own storage policy.

Message Data vs Metadata

Understanding the difference between data and metadata helps you set appropriate retention policies:

Message Metadata

Minimal tracking information kept for delivery monitoring:

• Message ID and email subject
• From and recipient email addresses
• Message direction (outbound/inbound)
• Delivery status (received, delivered, bounced, failed)
• Delivery attempt logs and timestamps

Retention: 1 day to your plan’s maximum (see the table above)

Message Data

Complete email content and details:

• All email headers
• HTML and plain text body content
• File attachments
• Full message payload

Retention: Within your plan’s range; 0 days needs approval

Message routing needs message data. Keep message data retention at 1 day or more on any account that uses message routing.

Account-Wide Settings

Configure default retention periods for your entire account:

1. Access Retention Settings

   1. Log in to your AhaSend Dashboard
   2. Navigate to Account Settings
   3. Find the Retention Policy section
2. Set Default Periods

   Configure retention periods:

   • Message Metadata: Within your plan’s range (new-account default: 7 days)
   • Message Data: Within your plan’s range (new-account default: 7 days)

   Minimum Requirements: Message metadata requires at least 1 day retention for delivery tracking. Message data can be set to 0 days on Pro and Max after approval from AhaSend. Accounts that use message routing must keep message data for at least 1 day: routes deliver inbound emails from stored message data and stop working at 0 days.

3. Save Changes

   Apply settings to all future emails sent through your account.

   Existing Data: Changes only affect new emails. Previously sent emails retain their original retention settings.

Per-Message Overrides

Override account defaults for specific emails using special headers:

SMTP Headers

When sending via SMTP, add these headers to individual emails:

ahasend-metadata-retention: 7
ahasend-data-retention: 0

ahasend-metadata-retention

Controls metadata retention period:

• Value: Integer from 1 to your plan’s maximum (days)
• Purpose: Set how long delivery tracking data is kept
• Example: ahasend-metadata-retention: 7 (keep for 7 days)

ahasend-data-retention

Controls full email data retention:

• Value: Integer within your plan’s range (days); 0 needs approval
• Purpose: Set how long complete email content is stored
• Example: ahasend-data-retention: 0 (delete immediately)

API v1 Implementation

For API v1, include retention headers in your message payload:

{
  "from": {
    "email": "[e-mail]",
    "name": "Your Company"
  },
  "recipients": [
    {
      "email": "[e-mail]",
      "name": "John Doe"
    }
  ],
  "content": {
    "subject": "Sensitive Information",
    "text_body": "This email contains sensitive data.",
    "headers": {
      "ahasend-metadata-retention": "1",
      "ahasend-data-retention": "0"
    }
  }
}

API v2 Implementation

For API v2, use the dedicated retention fields:

{
  "from": {
    "email": "[e-mail]",
    "name": "Your Company"
  },
  "recipients": [
    {
      "email": "[e-mail]",
      "name": "John Doe"
    }
  ],
  "subject": "Sensitive Information",
  "text_content": "This email contains sensitive data.",
  "retention": {
    "metadata": 1,
    "data": 0
  }
}

Full API v2 Documentation: See the Create Message API reference for complete documentation on all available fields and options.

Header Removal: Retention headers are automatically removed before email delivery and never visible to recipients.

Common Use Cases

Use the settings below only when they fit your plan’s range. Any 0-day data setting needs prior approval.

Financial Services

Compliance Requirements:

• Short retention for sensitive financial data
• Metadata retention for audit trails

Recommended Settings:

• Metadata: 7-30 days
• Data: 0-1 days for sensitive emails

Healthcare

Data minimisation:

• Minimal retention of patient information
• Quick deletion of medical data

Recommended Settings:

• Metadata: 1-7 days
• Data: 0 days for patient emails

Marketing

Campaign Tracking:

• Longer retention for analytics
• Full content for A/B testing

Recommended Settings:

• Metadata: 30 days
• Data: 30 days

Transactional

Order Confirmations:

• Medium retention for customer service
• Balance between utility and privacy

Recommended Settings:

• Metadata: 30 days
• Data: 7-14 days

Best Practices

Compliance Strategy

Develop a Retention Policy:

• Review legal requirements for your industry
• Consider customer privacy expectations
• Document your retention decisions
• Regularly audit and update policies

Implementation Tips:

• Start with shorter periods and extend if needed
• Use per-message overrides for sensitive content
• Monitor compliance with internal policies

Operational Considerations

Balance Compliance and Functionality:

• Keep metadata longer for delivery troubleshooting
• Delete sensitive data quickly while retaining delivery records
• Consider customer service needs for support queries

Monitoring:

• Track delivery issues that may require message data
• Review retention effectiveness regularly
• Adjust policies based on operational needs

Related Guides

• API authentication, Send-only API keys, Account settings API.
• SMTP retention headers, API message retention, S3 archiving.
• Plans and limits, Tracking setup.