What data does Discord retain after account deletion and for how long?
Executive summary
Discord says it deletes “identifying information” when you delete an account and retains other data as long as needed for its purposes, with some content kept in anonymized or aggregated form and backups taking up to 45 days to purge identifying data [1] [2]. European enforcement forced Discord to adopt a written retention policy that includes deleting inactive accounts after two years, and the CNIL fined Discord €800,000 for previously failing to provide clear retention periods [3] [4].
1. What Discord’s public documents actually say
Discord’s Privacy Policy states it retains personal information “until we determine it is no longer needed for the processing purposes for which we collected or retain it or for legal compliance” and promises that deleting an account “permanently deletes identifying information and anonymizes other data,” while pointing readers to a separate data retention policy for details [1] [5]. The support article clarifies that most deletions happen quickly but that identifying information can remain in backups for up to 45 days; it also says aggregated or anonymized information may be kept indefinitely [2].
2. What “anonymize other data” and aggregate retention mean in practice
Discord draws a line between identifying data and data it describes as anonymized or aggregated: identifying information is to be removed on account deletion, while aggregated/anonymized data — data that “no longer enables us to identify you” — is retained for product and research uses [2] [5]. Available sources do not enumerate every kind of field Discord classifies as identifying versus anonymized; the company refers readers to its separate data retention policy for granular periods [1] [2].
3. Backups and legal holds are exceptions
Discord warns that backup systems can hold identifying information for up to 45 days even after deletion, and that business or legal requirements may obligate retention beyond account deletion [2]. Discord’s law‑enforcement guidance also notes it can preserve and provide user data in response to legal process and that it does not always notify users about preservation or emergency disclosure requests, underscoring that legal processes can override normal deletion timelines [6].
4. Enforcement pushed Discord toward firmer limits — two years for inactivity
French regulator CNIL found Discord’s retention disclosures too vague and fined the company €800,000; the CNIL’s findings noted millions of inactive French accounts being retained and said Discord later implemented a data retention policy that deletes accounts after two years of inactivity [3] [4]. French and EU reports repeated that Discord lacked a written retention policy during the probe and that the two‑year inactive‑account deletion is part of its remedial measures [3] [7].
5. Where the public record leaves important gaps
Sources provided do not list exact retention periods for every category of user data (messages, voice records, logs, profile fields, attachments) after deletion; Discord’s public pages refer users to a “data retention policy” but the available excerpts here do not supply a comprehensive table of retention periods by data type [1] [2]. Consequently, precise answers about how long deleted messages, uploaded files, voice snippets, or metadata persist are not found in current reporting.
6. Conflicting priorities: product needs, research uses, and user privacy
Discord’s language emphasizes product continuity and legal compliance — retaining data “as long as necessary” — while research and moderation needs motivate keeping anonymized or aggregated content for model training and policy enforcement [1] [2]. Regulators flagged that such generic phrasing was insufficient under GDPR; the CNIL penalty shows a tension between a platform’s operational flexibility and regulators’ demand for specific retention schedules [4] [3].
7. Practical guidance for users who want to minimize retained traces
Based on Discord’s statements, users should delete messages or content they no longer want before deleting an account, because public posts “may be retained” for defined purposes and only certain identifying account fields are guaranteed removed on deletion; backups can persist identifying information up to 45 days and legal holds can extend retention [2] [5] [6]. Available sources do not say whether deletion requests trigger immediate removal from third‑party bots or copies held by other users; that question is not covered in current reporting.
8. How to challenge or verify retention in jurisdictions with rights
European users have leverage: the CNIL action demonstrates regulators can compel clearer retention rules and enforcement; Discord points EEA users to its local controller and directs privacy questions to privacy@discord.com, indicating channels for formal requests or complaints [8] [3]. The record shows regulators require written retention policies and transparency about periods — a route users and privacy advocates have used successfully [4] [3].
Limitations: this analysis relies solely on the provided Discord pages and regulator summaries; the full data retention policy and any subsequent updates beyond these excerpts are not included here, and many category‑specific retention timelines are not found in the available sources [1] [2] [3].