data retention and deletion clauses

These clauses are the clock inside a license: they say not just what you may store, but for how long. Three cataloged records make the range concrete. The Twitch Helix API states "third parties may cache such information for only a twenty-four hour period without further sharing it with third parties unless prior written authorization is obtained". The Spotify Web API limits "local caching ... to temporary performance caching of metadata and cover art" and, via Appendix A.5.c, "requires deleting a disconnected user's personal data within five days". The YouTube Data API v3 goes further, requiring developers to "delete all API Data upon suspension or termination". Each clause attaches to a different trigger - elapsed time, a user event, or the end of the relationship - which is what makes them easy to miss and expensive to retrofit.

Retention limits decide your storage architecture before your roadmap does. A 24-hour cache horizon, as on Twitch, rules out building historical analytics from cached API responses - history must come from a product that licenses it. Event-triggered deletion, like Spotify's five-day deadline after a user disconnects, demands working webhook handling and a deletion job that runs on schedule, because the clock is contractual. Termination clauses such as YouTube's delete-all-API-Data rule mean an account issue can turn into a data-destroying event, so backups of API-sourced material need their own legal basis. Teams that discover these deadlines during an audit face the worst case: retroactive deletion across systems that were designed to keep everything forever.

1. Extract every cache lifetime into config Twitch's "twenty-four hour period" for third-party caching is a TTL you can enforce in code - find the equivalents in any terms you accept.

1. Map deletion deadlines to user events Spotify's Appendix A.5.c gives disconnected users' personal data five days - wire disconnection events to a deletion job, not a backlog.

1. Plan for termination-triggered erasure YouTube Data API v3 requires deleting all API Data upon suspension or termination - know what survives an account dispute.

1. Check whether onward sharing needs written permission Twitch allows extended arrangements only "unless prior written authorization is obtained" - get it in writing before resharing.

Neighboring entries cover the auth flow and adjacent restrictions that travel with these clauses:

oauth-developer-app is the credential record through which disconnection and termination events arrive, starting Spotify's five-day clock. resyndication-prohibition restricts passing data onward to third parties - Twitch pairs it with the same 24-hour cache window.

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