> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.farmgpu.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Data Retention Policy

> Retention schedules for the FarmGPU LLM inference API

# FarmGPU Inference API Data Retention Policy

**Effective date:** August 29, 2026

This policy defines how long each category of data associated with the
**FarmGPU Inference API** is kept, and how it is deleted. It should be read
together with the [Privacy Policy](/company-docs/legal/privacy-policy).

The governing principle: **request content is never retained; operational
metadata is retained only as long as it is useful for running a reliable
service.**

***

## Retention schedule

| Data category                    | What it contains                                                                                                  | Retention                                                          | Purpose                                    |
| -------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------ |
| **Prompts and completions**      | Request and response content, tool definitions, reasoning output                                                  | **Not persisted.** In memory only, for the duration of the request | Serving the request                        |
| **In-memory prefix cache**       | Token-level KV state of recent request prefixes, in GPU memory                                                    | Transient; continuously evicted, fully cleared on process restart  | Latency reduction for repeated prefixes    |
| **Distributed traces**           | Request lifecycle timing and sizes (OpenTelemetry spans); no content                                              | Up to **7 days**, then automatically deleted                       | Reliability debugging                      |
| **Application logs**             | Serving-engine and gateway logs: timestamps, status codes, request/queue state; no content                        | Up to **30 days**, then automatically deleted                      | Incident investigation, abuse prevention   |
| **Edge / network logs**          | Connection metadata at the network perimeter (IPs, URLs, timing)                                                  | Up to **30 days**                                                  | Security, DDoS and abuse mitigation        |
| **Aggregate metrics**            | Latency histograms, token-count totals, error and utilization counters; fully aggregated, no per-request payloads | Up to **13 months**                                                | Capacity planning, SLO reporting           |
| **Usage and billing records**    | Per-partner / per-customer token counts and request totals                                                        | **7 years**                                                        | Invoicing, accounting, and tax obligations |
| **Direct-customer account data** | Business contact and billing details                                                                              | Life of the agreement **+ 7 years**                                | Contract and accounting obligations        |

***

## How deletion works

* **Content is never written**, so there is nothing to delete: prompts and
  completions exist only in volatile GPU and host memory and are gone when the
  request completes, the cache entry is evicted, or the process restarts.
* Telemetry stores (traces, logs, metrics) enforce the windows above through
  **automatic time-based expiry** — deletion does not depend on a manual
  process.
* Backups of telemetry are subject to the same maximum windows.

## Zero Data Retention (ZDR) status

Our operating posture is zero retention of request content. However, we do not
yet advertise a formal **ZDR designation**: we are completing an independent
validation pass confirming that no diagnostic system (including request
tracing) can capture content under any configuration. Until that validation is
published, partners should treat this endpoint as **"no content logging or
training, short-lived operational telemetry"** rather than certified ZDR.

## Exceptions

Retention windows may be extended only when:

* Data is subject to a **legal hold** or valid legal process, or
* Metadata is needed for an active **security or abuse investigation**.

In both cases the extension applies only to the specific records involved,
access is restricted to authorized personnel, and normal expiry resumes when
the matter closes. These exceptions cannot create retention of prompt or
completion content, because that content is never stored in the first place.

## Questions

Contact **[privacy@farmgpu.com](mailto:privacy@farmgpu.com)**.