Retention policy
Cloud.gov retains platform logs and metrics to support agency investigations and continuous monitoring.
Storage windows
- Searchable: readily searchable and accessible without restoration.
- Retrievable: recoverable upon request within a reasonable timeframe for investigations and forensics. (Source: OMB M-26-14.)
What Cloud.gov retains
See "Available logs and metrics" for the list of logs and metrics retained by Cloud.gov Logs.
Retention windows
Retention for logs aligns to OMB M-26-14 requirements to be searchable for 6 months after creation and retrievable for 12 months after creation.
Logs are searchable for the first 6 months after creation and remain
retrievable through 12 months after creation. After the searchable window
ends, logs must be restored before they can be queried — the Retrievable
column below shows that restore-required period, not a separate retention
window.
| Data type | Searchable | Retrievable | Total retention |
|---|---|---|---|
| Logs | 6 months | 6 months | 1 year |
| Metrics | 90 days | 3 days | 93 days |
Retrieval and eDiscovery
- Searchable window: data is searchable in OpenSearch Dashboards without restoration.
- Retrievable window: data can be restored upon request for investigations or legal holds. Coordinate with support@cloud.gov.
- Agencies should maintain independent exports for mission-specific eDiscovery, legal, or extended retention beyond the federal baseline. Customer Responsibility. (Source: OMB M-26-14.)