I was reading the rules of retention, and how long does Bronto save data. Their clarity around offering a data retention policy grabbed my attention, but I also found the ability to pay for longer storage, increasing data retention worth highlighting as well. If longer storage is an option for inclusion in API plans, it might also make sense to charge for shorter periods? IDK--maybe pay for something to go away sooner, with a shorter overall time to live (TTL).
Before I can see the Bronto data retention policy I have to create an account, so it won't happen today. I will make sure and get in there to document the moving parts of their policy as I am curious how much detail they get into. After that, I"d bee keen on finding any other API provider who provides a data retention policy, and help highlight those who do, while also assembling a list of the common moving parts.
Providing details on what data is being collected is something I'd like to see all platforms do by default, but I'd also like to see increased detail on how long data is stored like Bronto is offering, and possibly some day even see it in a machine-readable format. This blog post is meant to serve as a reminder for me to add data retention to my API terms of service research, as well as an element to consider when crafting API plans, and an API monetization strategy.
Honestly, I'm thinking I will have to push pretty hard to get providers to even share what data they are collecting, let alone offer up the details of how long it is being stored. By highlighting providers like Bronto, maybe I can convince other API providers of the value of this type of transparency--until it is seen as a standard business practice.
