Require that every API declare a written retention policy stating how long each category of data is kept, why it is kept, and when it is destroyed. I expect this policy to be discoverable alongside the API, not buried in a contract only lawyers ever read. Retention rules protect consumers, satisfy regulators, and keep providers honest about the data they hold. Undefined retention is a liability that grows quietly until it becomes a breach or an audit finding, so I treat a documented RetentionPolicy as a baseline requirement for any production API.
Data Retention Defined
Strategies
APIs Are Transparent and Accountable
I want our APIs to be transparent about how they handle data and accountable for the promises we make around it. That means the consent and data processing agreements that govern an integration are...
APIs Respect Data Privacy and Residency
I want privacy and residency to be built into how our APIs handle data, not bolted on after a regulator or a customer asks the hard question. That means we classify the PII moving through our APIs ...
Experiences
Privacy
Privacy is the experience of handling the personal data that flows through APIs responsibly. APIs move sensitive information constantly, and the people that data belongs to have a stake in how it i...
Legal
The legal aspects of producing and consuming APIs can quickly derail even the best-laid plans for API producers and disrupt the roadmaps of developers building applications and integrations. Terms ...
Lifecycle
balance Governance Production
Governance is how everything on this lifecycle stays aligned as an operation scales. Policies, rules, and standards applied consistently across teams are what keep APIs coherent without slowing eve...
