How Long We Keep It — Ktown Team

Not all data needs to be immediately accessible. Here is what cold storage is, what goes there, and how long it stays.

What Is Cold Storage?

Cold storage refers to data that is retained for long-term purposes but is no longer actively used in day-to-day platform operations. Unlike "hot" data — which is queried frequently and kept in fast, online systems — cold data is moved to offline or near-offline infrastructure where access is restricted, deliberate, and logged. The tradeoff is retrieval speed for security and cost: cold data is harder to access, which also makes it harder to breach.

What Goes Into Cold Storage

Data is moved to cold storage when its active purpose has been fulfilled but a retention obligation remains — legal, compliance, or historical. This includes:

Completed program records that must be retained for legal or audit purposes
Anonymized research datasets no longer in active analysis
System backups and point-in-time snapshots
Highly sensitive personal data that requires offline protection
Historical platform logs past their active monitoring window

Cold storage is not a dumping ground. Every dataset in cold storage has a defined retention period, a stated reason for retention, and a scheduled deletion date.

How Cold Storage Is Protected

Cold storage carries the highest security classification in our infrastructure:

Physical access requires multi-factor authentication and is logged and audited
All data is encrypted at rest using AES-256 encryption
Cold storage systems are air-gapped from the live platform — they cannot be reached through normal network paths
Access requests must be authorized by two independent team members and are reviewed quarterly
Any retrieval from cold storage generates an automatic audit trail

Retention Periods

Data does not stay in cold storage indefinitely. Retention periods are set at the time data is archived and are based on legal requirements, community commitments, and the nature of the data itself. When a retention period expires, data is securely and permanently deleted — not just marked for deletion, but destroyed so it cannot be recovered.

Your Data in Cold Storage

If your personal data is in cold storage, your rights still apply. You can still request access, correction, or deletion. Deletion from cold storage may take longer than deletion from active systems due to the retrieval process, but it will be completed and confirmed. To make a data request, contact [email protected] or visit the User Rights page.

Community Oversight