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Setting a retention period for video and audio files in a workspace
Available on the Enterprise plan.

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Overview

Data retention automates the deletion of video and audio files across your workspace after a defined period. By default, Dovetail keeps files until you delete them or cancel your account. By default, only the original audio and video files are deleted — highlights, reels, transcripts, and AI summaries stay so you can keep working from the analysis. Workspace admins can optionally extend deletion to transcripts and AI summaries as well. What’s covered: Audio and video files uploaded to project notes, and optionally the transcripts and AI summaries generated from them. What’s not covered: Channels data, Docs, project attachments, and other general workspace content are not affected by data retention settings.

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How custom data retention works

The retention period is calculated from each file’s upload (creation) date. Once that period has passed for a given file:
  1. 7 days before deletion, Dovetail notifies the file’s uploader that it’s scheduled for removal. If that user no longer exists, the notification goes to the project creator instead, and finally to workspace admins if neither is available.
  2. At expiry, each highlight and reel from the file is saved as a standalone clip, and the original video or audio file is then deleted. Highlights shorter than one second are not clipped.
  3. Recovery window: the original file is retained for 30 days after deletion and can be restored during that window on request from Dovetail Support. After 30 days, it’s permanently removed and cannot be recovered.
If highlights have already been referenced in your docs, you’ll need to open those docs and update the references for them to be visible again. Learn more about updating highlight references →

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Who can manage data retention

Data retention has two levels — a workspace default that a workspace admin sets, and an optional per-project override that a project’s owners set. The two roles don’t overlap by default. Before anyone can set a project-level period, a workspace admin needs to turn on Enable project-level configuration in Settings > Compliance > Data retention. While that toggle is off, every project follows the workspace default and the per-project dropdown is disabled with the tooltip Overridden by workspace settings. Data retention is not available on trials.

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Configure custom data retention

Custom data retention can be configured at both the workspace and project levels.

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Delete all data across a workspace

  1. Go to Settings > Compliance > Data retention.
  2. Under Data retention period, choose a period from the dropdown. Options are 90 days, 6 months, 1 year, 2 years, 3 years, 5 years, 7 years, 12 years, or Indefinite to keep automatic deletion turned off.
  3. Confirm the change. Any files older than the new period will be deleted within 24 hours.
Once a retention period is set, Delete video and audio files turns on automatically and cannot be disabled independently — to stop automatic deletion, change the period back to Indefinite. To also delete the transcripts and AI summaries generated from those files, turn on Delete transcripts and AI summaries. When it’s on, each time a recording is deleted under retention Dovetail also:
  • Removes the transcript from the note
  • Clears that note’s AI summary
This toggle is off by default and only available once a retention period is set (not Indefinite).
When configured at the workspace level, all audio and video files across your workspace will be affected.

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Delete data from a specific project

Some projects may need shorter or longer retention periods than the workspace default — for example, because of the nature of the research or agreements with participants.
  1. In Settings > Compliance > Data retention, turn on Enable project-level configuration.
  2. Open the project you want to configure, go to its Data retention settings, and choose a period from the Project data retention period dropdown.
  3. Confirm the change. Any files in that project older than the new period will be deleted within 24 hours.
Project-level configuration can only be set by users with Full access to the specific project. When both a workspace-level and a project-level period are set, the project-level configuration takes precedence, so you can set more or less restrictive rules per project.

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Disable project-level configuration

Workspace admins can turn off project-level configuration entirely, so every project follows the workspace-level period. In Settings > Compliance > Data retention, turn off Enable project-level configuration. All projects will fall back to the workspace-level retention period.

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FAQs

Data retention uses each file’s upload date — the date the audio or video was added to Dovetail.A file is scheduled for deletion on upload date + the retention period. For example, a file uploaded on 1 January with a 90-day retention period is due for deletion on 1 April.Dovetail notifies the relevant people 7 days before that date. When the date is reached, the original audio or video file is deleted.
Yes. Retention applies to existing files, not only files uploaded after you change the setting.If you shorten the retention period, or turn retention on for the first time, any audio or video already older than the new period can be deleted. Those files are typically deleted within 24 hours. You’ll see a confirmation of this when you change a project’s retention period.New files follow the same rule from their own upload date.If you lengthen the period, or set it to Indefinite, automatic deletions stop going forward. Files that have already been deleted are not restored.
Seven days before a file is scheduled for deletion, Dovetail notifies the person who uploaded it. If that user has been removed from the workspace, the notification goes to the project creator instead. If neither is available, workspace admins on the project are notified as a fallback.
Files can be restored within 30 days of deletion. Reach out to Dovetail Support with the file details and they’ll assist. After 30 days, files are permanently removed and cannot be recovered.
Only if you turn on Delete transcripts and AI summaries in workspace settings. By default, transcripts, highlights, and reels are preserved even after the original video or audio file is removed.
Yes. Highlights and reels are converted into independent clips before the original file is removed, so playback and export continue to work.If a highlight or reel is embedded in a doc, the doc keeps the snapshot it captured when the reference was added, so the reference can appear broken after the original file is deleted. To fix it, open the doc and refresh the reference — see Keep references current for the steps.
The saved clip stays as it was when the original file was removed. Trimming the highlight afterwards won’t recover any additional footage.