Retention and limits (reference)
Approximate product defaults for documentation. Product code and store plans are authoritative if they diverge — update this page when shipping changes.
Sealed surfaces
| Item |
Typical value |
| 1:1 undelivered pending purge |
~3 days |
| E2E group catch-up relay |
~5 days |
| Whisper session presets |
~1 hour – 168 hours (7 days) |
| Whisper scan limit (example) |
up to ~50 |
| Secure View pending request |
~2 hours |
| Once-view disappear after seen |
~5 seconds |
| Disappearing message chat timers |
24h / 7d / 90d |
| Vanish timers |
seconds–hours (setting-dependent) |
| Sender certificate TTL |
~24 hours |
| Call history on Call tab |
Older local rows hidden after ~24 hours |
Shared surfaces
| Item |
Typical value |
| Stories |
~24 hours |
| Broadcast posts |
~30 days |
| Open-history / community history class |
~365 days (+ media-pool / plan limits) |
| Temporary groups lifetime |
up to ~30 days / 720 hours |
Backup (approximate)
| Item |
Value |
| Free cloud backup |
~100 MB lifetime (text-oriented) |
| Premium cloud backup |
~100 GB / year (text + media) |
| After Premium ends |
Encrypted backup retained ~60 days, then removed |
Product/store entitlements are authoritative if they diverge.
Age and wallet
| Item |
Value |
| App age gate |
13+ |
| Optional Bitcoin wallet |
18+ |
Related pages
