Announcement: New Policy for File Data Retention for New Ingestion Audiences (6/15/26)
To maintain high data quality and system efficiency, starting Monday, June 15, 2026, a File Data Retention Policy with a 365-day default file data retention period will go into effect for all newly-created ingestion audiences in Connect.
This means that after a file’s data is older than 365 days, all the segment data associated with that file will be removed from that audience.
Note
This feature was previously referred to as an “Import Recency FIlter (IRF)”.
This policy only applies to newly-created ingestion audiences, not existing ones and not Measurement (FBR) or clean room audiences.
Because this policy applies to audiences on or after June 15, 2026, the soonest file data will be deleted will be June 15, 2027.
The benefits of this new policy include:
Improved data freshness: Audiences will be clear of stale data and will reflect a fresher view of your customers.
Faster processing: Smaller, optimized audiences lead to quicker ingestion and distribution of new files and data.
Cost savings: If your contract includes Records Under Management (RUM) billing, removing old data after 365 days may reduce your total record count and associated costs long-term.
Once a file’s data has been deleted, any file data that also exists in a newer file will continue to exist in the associated fields and segments. If no other data exists for a given field or segment in a newer file, that field or segment will continue to appear in Connect but with no members.
If a shorter file data retention period better fits how often your data is refreshed and how long you want older data to remain active, you can create a support case to have the retention period be shortened (the minimum retention period is 30 days and the maximum is 365 days).
Note
Files themselves (and any associated PII) are automatically deleted 30 days after ingestion (for more information, see “LiveRamp Data Security Overview”). This file data retention policy applies to the deletion of the file data from those files.
If you want to delete a file's data manually, see the instructions in "Delete a File from an Audience".
For more information, see "Use a File Data Retention Period to Automatically Delete Older File Data".
FAQs
What happens exactly once the file data is more than 365 days old?
Once file data becomes older than the 365-day file data retention period, that data is automatically removed from all fields and segments in theaudience, unless the same data also exists in newer file data. This helps keepaudiences current and better aligned to recent data.
Once the file data has been deleted, do the resulting fields and segments get deleted?
The fields and segments themselves are not deleted, even if all members get removed as part of the deletion. If data for those fields and segments also exists in newer files, the fields and segments will continue to have members. If no data exists in newer files for a particular field or segment, the field or segment continues to appear but its size goes to zero.
If the fields and segments do not exist in newer file data, do those fields and segments disappear once the file data has been deleted?
If no data exists in newer files for a particular field or segment, the field or segment continues to appear but its size goes to zero.
Does this policy apply to my existing audiences?
No, but if you want to get the benefits of having a file data retention period you can request that a file data retention period be applied to a specific audience by creating a support case.
Can I choose a different time period?
Yes. A different file data retention period can be requested based on your use case. The retention period can be set to a different number of days if that better fits how often your data is refreshed and how long you want older data to remain active. The minimum retention period is 30 days and the maximum is 365 days.
Can I change the time period later?
Yes. You can have the file data retention period adjusted later if your needs change by creating a support case. For example, if your refresh cadence or data strategy changes over time, the retention setting can be adjusted accordingly. However, make sure you understand the implications of shortening the time period before making the changes.
Is the file data deletion permanent? Can LiveRamp restore the deleted data?
File data deletion is permanent. Once older file data has been removed under the file data retention period, it cannot simply be restored. If that data is needed again, the original file would need to be re-uploaded.
How do I know which files have been deleted?
You can identify these on the Files page, where the related files appear with an ingestion status of “Canceled”.
How will the deletion of file data impact active distributions or downstream destination platforms?
The deletion of older file data might reduce the size of your fields and segments by removing stale data. For Record Sync integrations, the identifiers for the members who have been removed will be sent as deletion segments to the platform. For non-Record Sync integrations, the older data will stop being delivered to the destinations and those members will age out, depending on the each destination platform’s policy.
If the deletion of file data causes a particular distributing field or segment to have no members, that distribution should be removed from distribution. To check on the field or segment size after file deletion, go to the Audience Segments page
Will the deletion of file data reduce my costs?
Removing older file data may reduce the amount of active data being maintained, which can help manage audience size and may reduce costs for customers whose pricing is tied to the Records Under Management billing model.
Can I change this time period myself?
No, this is not a self-serve setting. If you want to set or change the file data retention period, that request needs to be handled by creating a support case.
How does this policy differ from the security policy that involves deleting files 30 days after ingestion?
These are two separate policies with different purposes:
The file data retention period controls how long data from uploaded files continues to contribute to audience fields and segments. Once data becomes older than the configured retention period, that older data is removed from the audience unless it is also present in newer file data.
The 30-day security policy is different. That policy relates to how long original uploaded source files (and their associated PII) are retained in storage for operational and security purposes before being securely deleted. For more information, see “LiveRamp Data Security Overview”.
In short, the file data retention period affects whether older data continues to populate fields and segments, while the 30-day security policy affects how long the original uploaded files are kept in storage.