GA4 Data Retention

Google Analytics data retention settings let you control how long user- and event-level data is stored before being automatically deleted from Analytics servers. This article explains how retention works in Universal Analytics and Google Analytics 4, how to configure retention settings, and how these settings affect your data and reports.

Overview of User and Event Data Retention

The data retention duration applies to both user-level and event-level data associated with:

• Cookies

• User identifiers (such as User-ID)

• Advertising identifiers (such as DoubleClick cookies, Android's Advertising ID [AAID or AdID], and Apple's Identifier for Advertisers [IDFA])

Although the retention period and user-activity reset controls cover the event- and user-level data retained by Google Analytics, specific user-keyed data (such as age, gender, and interests) is automatically purged by Google Analytics regardless of your retention settings:

• Universal Analytics property: user-keyed data is deleted after six months of inactivity for a given user.

• Google Analytics 4 property: user-keyed data is deleted after two months of inactivity for a given user.

Analytics lets you specify how long it keeps data before automatically deleting it. The maximum retention period for Google signals data in Analytics is 26 months, regardless of your settings. By default, Google signed-in data expires after this duration. If you set Analytics data retention to a shorter period than 26 months, the Google signed-in data will follow this shorter period.

Data Retention in Google Analytics 4 Properties

In Google Analytics 4 properties, you can configure retention separately for user-level data (including key events) and for other event data, within the limits of your property size and edition.

User-Level Data and Key Event Data

For GA4 properties, you can configure the retention period for user-level data (including key event data) to:

• 2 months

• 14 months

Key event data is also subject to this same retention term.

Other Event Data Retention Options

For all remaining event data in GA4, you can configure the retention to:

• 2 months

• 14 months

• 26 months (360 only)

• 38 months (360 only)

• 50 months (360 only)

Find out more about the 360 data retention choices in the Google Analytics 360 documentation.

The two-month retention period is always enforced for age, gender, and interest data, regardless of your configuration.

When you extend the retention period, it applies to data you have already collected. However, Large and XL properties have a maximum retention period of 2 months.

The data retention setting does not affect standard aggregated reports (for example, primary and secondary dimensions) in your Google Analytics 4 property, even when you apply comparisons. The setting only affects Explorations and Funnel reports.

How Data Is Deleted When You Change the Retention Period

Data deletion in Analytics is an ongoing monthly process that depends on the configured retention period and whether you extend or reduce that period.

Automatic Monthly Deletion

Data is automatically deleted every month when it reaches the end of the configured retention period.

Extending the Retention Period

For Universal Analytics properties:

• If you extend the retention period or set a property to Do not automatically expire, data that has already been collected and is still within its original retention window is not deleted earlier than originally scheduled.

• For example, if data was collected under a 14-month retention setting, it will still be deleted 14 months after collection, even if you later change the setting to 26 months.

For Google Analytics 4 properties:

• When you extend the retention period, the new period applies to previously collected data that has not yet been deleted.

Shortening the Retention Period

When you shorten the retention period (for example, changing from a 26-month retention to a 14-month retention), data older than the new retention period is deleted in the next monthly deletion process.

Analytics waits 24 hours before applying any change to the retention period. You can revert your change within this 24-hour window to prevent it from affecting your data.

Effect on Non-Aggregated Reports

If you apply a date range in non-aggregated reports (such as Explorations in GA4) that extends beyond your retention period, any data outside the retention period will not appear in those reports.

For example, if your retention period is set to 14 months and you select a date range of 14 months plus one day, the data for that extra day will not be available in your reports.

When Large Properties Exceed Event Collection Limits

When a standard property upgrades to a Large or a 360 property and then becomes an XL property, the event-level data retention setting is automatically reduced to 2 months.

• Event-level data older than 2 months is permanently deleted and cannot be used.

• If Analytics projects that the property will approach event collection limits based on weekly event volume, it sends a warning email to all property administrators.

• When the limit is reached, Analytics sends another email to all property administrators, informing them that the data retention setting has been lowered.

During the time between these notifications, you can:

• Reduce the number of billable events sent to the GA4 property so you stay within the current limits for your property size and keep a longer event-level retention period.

• If you receive a warning for a free property, upgrade to 360 to access higher limits.

Reset on New Activity

The Reset on new activity setting controls whether the retention period for a user identifier is refreshed when the user performs new activity.

How Reset on New Activity Works

When this setting is enabled:

• The retention period for a user identifier is refreshed with every new event from that user.

• The expiration date is updated to the current time plus the configured retention period.

• For example, if data retention is set to 14 months and a user starts a new session every month, their identifier is refreshed monthly and never reaches the 14-month expiration date.

• If the user does not start a new session before the retention period ends, their data is deleted.

When this setting is disabled:

• The retention period for the user identifier is not reset when the user performs new activity.

• Data associated with the user identifier is automatically deleted once the retention period elapses.

Only user-level data is affected by the Reset on new activity option.

How to Configure Data Retention Options

Use this procedure to configure data retention and reset settings for both Universal Analytics and Google Analytics 4 properties. You must have the Editor role on the property to change these settings.

1. Step 1: Open Admin in Google Analytics.
   

   Sign in to Google Analytics and click Admin from the main navigation.

2. Step 2: Confirm the correct account and property.
   

   Verify that you are working in the appropriate account and property where you want to configure data retention.

3. Step 3: Navigate to the Data Retention settings.
   

   For Universal Analytics properties:
   In the PROPERTY column, click Tracking Info > Data Retention.
   
   For Google Analytics 4 properties:
   In the PROPERTY column, click Data Settings > Data Retention.

4. Step 4: Choose your data retention period.
   

   For Universal Analytics properties:
   Under User and event data retention, select your preferred retention period.
   
   For Google Analytics 4 properties:
   Under Event data retention, select your preferred retention period (within the allowed options for your property type).

5. Step 5: Configure the reset on new activity option.
   

   For Universal Analytics properties:
   Enable or turn off the "Reset on new activity" switch.
   
   For Google Analytics 4 properties:
   Activate or deactivate the "Reset user data on new activity" switch.

6. Step 6: Save your changes.
   

   Click Save to apply the updated data retention settings. Remember that Analytics waits 24 hours before enforcing the new retention period, allowing you to revert the change if necessary.

Data Retention and the Users Metric

Starting in February 2018, the Users metric was added to several additional reports in Analytics. Because this metric was new in those reports, aggregated user data is not available for some earlier periods.

This can affect historical reporting and may result in zero user counts for periods before data for the Users metric was aggregated in those specific reports.

• For 360 properties, user data aggregation for these reports started on May 1, 2016.

• For standard properties, user data aggregation for these reports started on September 1, 2016.

This change does not affect the Audience Overview report, which includes aggregated user data over a much longer period.