"How long should we keep visitor records?" is a question the paper logbook never forced you to answer — it just kept everything, forever. Under India's DPDP Act, indefinite retention is exactly what you want to avoid.
The principle: keep it only as long as you need it
Storage limitation means holding visitor data only while you have a genuine reason — security, safety, audit — and disposing of it once that purpose is met. There's no single legal number; it depends on why you hold it.
Setting a sensible period
- Map the reason — security review, compliance audit, incident investigation.
- Set a retention window that matches (often weeks to months for routine visits).
- Delete automatically when the window lapses — don't rely on manual clean-ups.
- Keep any legal-hold exceptions documented and separate.
Why automation matters
A digital system can enforce retention and deletion; a logbook can't. See the DPDP Act and visitor data for the wider picture. Certopact supports configurable retention by design. This is general information, not legal advice — set your periods with your own counsel.