Alibaba Cloud Model Studio Data Retention Policy

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1. Standard Data Retention Policy and ZDR Option

By default, user’s prompts and responses from model inference calls are retained for no longer than 30 days, unless longer retention is required by applicable laws or is reasonably necessary to ensure the security of Alibaba Cloud Model Studio services. Stateful features (conversation storage, files) are retained until deleted by users. Alibaba Cloud Model Studio provides a Zero Data Retention (ZDR) control capability to enterprise customers of Alibaba Cloud International Site (https://www.alibabacloud.com) purchasing model inference service via API calls. This document describes how, in a workspace with ZDR enabled and for inference calls made to ZDR-supported models, the prompts submitted by a user and the responses returned by models are not written to durable storage and deleted once processing is completed; while exist only transiently within an encrypted cache window as necessary to complete a single inference and will not be used for any other purpose during the cache window, and automatically deleted upon expiry of that cache window. ZDR is intended to help enterprise customers with higher requirements for data minimization, confidentiality, and compliance, such as sectors of financial services, government, healthcare, etc.

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2. ZDR Scope of Application

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2.1 Website

Applies to the model inference services of Alibaba Cloud Model Studio purchased through Alibaba Cloud International Website (https://www.alibabacloud.com).

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2.2 Regions

Non-Mainland China regions, including Singapore, US (Virginia), Germany (Frankfurt), China (Hong Kong), Japan (Tokyo), as shown in the Alibaba Cloud Model Studio console.

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2.3 Configuration Granularity

ZDR is enabled or disabled at the workspace level. Once ZDR is enabled for a workspace, all calls generated by any API Key under that workspace that fall within ZDR coverage are handled under the ZDR policy. The default workspace also supports enabling ZDR.

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2.4 Payment Modes

Pay-as-you-go calls, as well as model inference calls under dedicated deployment and payment modes of Dedicated Throughput Unit (DTU) and Provisioned Throughput Unit (PTU).

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3. How to Enable ZDR

ZDR is available to enterprise customers with an Alibaba Cloud account manager, subject to a needs assessment. Please contact your account manager to apply.

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4. ZDR Covered Models

ZDR does NOT cover the model inference services directly offered by third party vendors as listed on Alibaba Cloud Model Studio (retention policies for such services are governed by the third party vendor's own terms of use; please consult the relevant third party vendor).

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4.1 Models Supporting ZDR

For the model inference services provided directly by Alibaba Cloud, ZDR covers only models that have completed ZDR adaptation and validation. The model series currently supporting ZDR are as follows (each series includes the listed version and its subsequent new versions):

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4.2 Calling non-ZDR Models from a ZDR Workspace

If a workspace with ZDR enabled calls a model that does not support ZDR, that call will follow Alibaba Cloud Model Studio’s standard data retention policy and will not be blocked. We strongly recommend you verify the list of models supporting ZDR in section 4.1 before use.

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5. How Your Data is Processed under ZDR

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5.1 User Data

"User Data" refers to the inputs (prompts) submitted by the user through the API and the outputs (responses) returned by the model.

• User Data: Not written to durable storage; deleted once inference processing is complete.
• Encrypted cache window: To complete inference and deliver results, prompts and responses pass through an encrypted cache window (by default, no longer than 24 hours) and is automatically deleted upon expiry; during the cache period it is not used for model training, human review, or any other purpose. This transient, in-memory cache does not constitute durable storage and is not a breach of the zero data retention commitment.
• Stateful features (input/output files, images, etc.): retained until deleted by user, or deleted within 48 hours if the user does not delete them.

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5.2 No Use for Training

Without your separate consent, we will not use your business data (including inputs, outputs, and files) to train, fine-tune or improve any foundation model.

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5.3 Troubleshooting

For requests already handled under ZDR, since User Data is not retained by Alibaba Cloud, if a related issue or fault occurs you will need to troubleshoot using your own logs. We recommend establishing your own logging pipeline before enabling ZDR (see Section 8).

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6. Data Not Covered under ZDR

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6.1 Metadata and Operational Logs

For the avoidance of doubt, the following data falls outside the scope of the ZDR commitment; its data handling and retention follow the Alibaba Cloud International Website Privacy Policy, including but not limited to the following, which does not include your prompt or response unless you opt in.

• Metering and billing information;
• Network operation and security audit logs;
• Records related to violation signatures and safety-moderation rules;
• Other service-generated metadata that does not include your inputs or outputs, such as request timestamps, trace identifiers, error codes, token usage, API call counts, and routing or scheduling telemetry.

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6.2 Excluded Features and Paths

For the avoidance of doubt, the following features involve stateful storage or asynchronous processing and do not support ZDR. Even if ZDR is enabled for a workspace, data produced through these features is handled under each feature’s own data-retention rules:

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7. Content Safety Exceptions

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7.1 Content-safety Moderation

Please note that ZDR and content-safety moderation are two independent dimensions. Enabling ZDR does not turn off content-safety moderation. Alibaba Cloud Model Studio content-safety moderation runs inline with inference; and calls within a ZDR workspace are subject to automated detecting/filtering of illegal and non-compliant content, which is both an industry baseline and a compliance safeguard for you. Alibaba Cloud Model Studio does not provide a switch to "fully turn off content-safety guardrails". If your company has established a content-safety moderation mechanism and needs to adjust the content-safety policy, please contact your account manager and go through our rigorous assessment.

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7.2 Retention of Content Safety Logs

Please note that content flagged by our automated safety filtering systems is retained in accordance with Alibaba Cloud International Website Privacy Policy, applicable laws and regulations, for no longer than 2 years, for the purpose of cooperating with law enforcement cases and rights protection procedures; such retention shall not be deemed a breach of ZDR. For specific models, where we reasonably consider it necessary to investigate or prevent serious risk activity, we may, with prior written notice to you, suspend the ZDR eligibility of those models or your account.

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8. Your Responsibilities and Recommendations

To ensure the safety of your business and compliance with applicable laws, before enabling ZDR, we recommend that you:

• Retain the necessary call logs and business records yourself, as required by applicable laws and regulations;
• Evaluate the statutory data-retention and traceability requirements of your industry and ensure that ZDR is compatible with the same;
• Establish internal response processes for regulatory inquiries and abuse notices;
• Make sure your end users comply with the Alibaba Cloud Model Studio usage policies and the content-moderation and reporting obligations under applicable law.