6 Month Retention Policy

Overview

The Sentinel Moderation Bot enforces a structured data retention policy designed to balance effective moderation capabilities with optimal service performance. This policy outlines how long various types of data are retained and the rationale behind these practices.

Retention Periods

1. Inactive Bans, Activity Logs, Analytics, and Inactive tickets.

   • Definition: "Inactive bans" include bans that have expired or have been manually lifted. Moderation logs encompass all recorded actions such as warnings, kicks, and temporary bans. Analytics refer to aggregated data related to user and moderation activity. "Inactive tickets" refer to Sentinel tickets that have been marked as resolved/closed.

   • Retention Period: These records are retained for a maximum of six months after that they will be deleted.

   • Purpose: This limitation ensures that unnecessary historical data does not burden the system, conserving storage space and maintaining service speed and reliability.

2. Active Bans

   • Definition: "Active bans" are bans that are either permanent or set without a specified expiration date.

   • Retention Period: These records are retained indefinitely, as they are essential for the enforcement of ongoing moderation policies.

   • Purpose: Permanent retention ensures the integrity of the moderation process by maintaining a record of unresolved or ongoing bans.

Rationale for the Policy

1. Data Storage Efficiency By limiting the retention period for inactive data, Sentinel minimizes the accumulation of redundant information. This efficient use of storage resources helps keep costs manageable and reduces the risk of service slowdowns due to excessive data loads.

2. System Performance The retention policy ensures that active and relevant data remains prioritized. Removing outdated logs and analytics after six months improves database query speed and overall system responsiveness, resulting in a smoother user experience.

User Responsibility and Impact

• Users are encouraged to export or back up important moderation logs within the six-month retention window if long-term access is needed. We provide tooling to mass-export within our Dashboard.

• Once the retention period expires, inactive data will be automatically and permanently deleted, with no recovery options available.

Compliance and Updates

This policy complies with relevant data protection standards and is subject to periodic review. Sentinel reserves the right to update this policy as needed to address changing technical, operational, or legal requirements. Any significant changes will be communicated to users promptly.

Inquries & Concerns

For inquiries or concerns regarding this policy, please contact Sentinel Support.