AI glossary
Zero data retention (ZDR)
An arrangement where an AI provider does not store your prompts and outputs after processing them, beyond what is strictly needed.
By default, providers keep API data for a period (for abuse monitoring, for example). With zero data retention, requests are processed and then discarded. It is usually offered to business customers who handle sensitive information, sometimes with conditions.
It is a contractual and technical setting, not a property of a model, so check your agreement and which features are covered.
Example: A hospital that uses a model through an API to summarise reports agrees zero retention with the provider: each request is processed and neither the text nor the answer is kept afterwards.
In practice
- Not every model or feature supports it: Anthropic, for example, does not offer Claude Fable 5.1 under zero retention unless expressly authorised.
- Features that store data by design, such as memory or uploaded files, may be excluded.
- It does not replace your data protection obligations: you are still responsible for what you send.