Question

A privacy engineer is designing a new microservice that ingests customer support chat transcripts. Product management has not yet decided how long transcripts should be kept, and wants to defer the retention decision until after launch to 'see how the data is used.' The engineer must configure the storage layer before go-live. Which approach BEST applies the privacy-by-default principle in this situation?

Accepted Answer

Configure the shortest defensible retention period tied to the stated support purpose and enforce automated deletion by default, adjusting only if a longer period is later justified and documented

Answer

Store transcripts indefinitely until product management finalizes a retention policy, then apply deletion retroactively

Answer

Retain transcripts for the maximum period allowed under the strictest applicable regulation to avoid accidental loss of needed data

Answer

Leave retention unlimited but restrict access to transcripts through role-based access controls until a policy is set