What specific categories of user content (messages, attachments, server logs) does Discord anonymize versus delete?
Executive summary
Discord’s public policy states it deletes “identifying information” when an account is deleted but continues to retain and use other data in an anonymized or aggregated form for operational, legal, and product purposes [1] [2]. Messages and attachments that users manually delete are generally removed and not included in a user data package, but Discord also retains copies of content in backups and for specified retention windows for abuse prevention, product modeling, or legal compliance [3] [4] [5].
1. What “delete” means for messages and attachments
Users can edit or delete any message or content they posted while they retain access to that space, and Discord’s own Data Package guidance says a manually deleted message “is no longer stored in Discord and therefore will not be included in your Data Package” [2] [3]. Attachments referenced in Data Packages appear as CDN links to files the user included, which implies attachments persist at least long enough to be exported unless the message was deleted before the export [3]. At the same time, Discord warns deletions can take up to 45 days to clear from backups and that in some cases law or obligations require retaining information even after a user deletes it [4] [5].
2. What Discord says it “anonymizes” when accounts are deleted
Discord’s Privacy Policy and archived versions repeatedly state that deleting an account “permanently deletes identifying information and anonymizes other data” — meaning personal identifiers are removed while non-identifying event or usage data can be kept for analytics, safety, or product improvement in an aggregated form [1] [2] [5]. That anonymized data is explicitly used to train models and understand user interaction trends, with public posts sometimes retained for months to years to support those functions [4] [5].
3. Server logs, event data and security telemetry: mostly retained, sometimes for long periods
Discord retains event and log information to keep the service secure, prevent fraud, and defend legal claims, and some of this data is held for the life of the account to analyze how users interact with the product [4]. The company also says it retains customer support records for five years after case closure, illustrating that not all operational logs are short-lived and some operational records are preserved for dispute or compliance reasons [4].
4. Public posts, backups and retention windows — the practical caveats
Public posts and other content can be retained for use in product development or moderation purposes for periods described as “180 days to two years” in support material, and Discord’s policy explicitly notes that some data may remain in backups for up to 45 days even after deletion requests [4] [5]. The company also cautions that removing or anonymizing content “cannot ensure complete or comprehensive removal” because third parties may have republished material, a limitation laid out in regional privacy guidance pages [6].
5. Regulatory pressure and evolving practice: why retention isn’t uniform
European enforcement action exposed gaps in Discord’s prior retention disclosures — France’s CNIL fined Discord for not having clear retention periods and led the company to adopt account deletion rules like removing accounts after prolonged inactivity, showing retention practices can change under legal pressure [7]. Discord’s written policies therefore reflect a hybrid approach: delete identifying metadata on account deletion, allow user deletion of messages and attachments that will not appear in Data Packages, but still retain anonymized, aggregated, backup, or legally compelled copies and operational logs for specified retention windows or purposes [1] [4] [2] [5].