This document, obtained by the ACLU, details data retention policies of the five major US cellphone carriers.
The table below is a copy of the original PDF with some info removed, you can see the original at this link.
| Verizon | T-Mobile | AT&T / Cingular | Sprint | Nextel | Virgin Mobile | |
| Subscriber Information | Post Paid 3-5 Yrs | 5 Years | Depends on length of service | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Call Detail Records | 1 Rolling Yr | Pre paid 2 years, post paid 5 years | 5-7 Years | 18-24 Months | 18-24 Months | 2 Years |
| Cell towers used by phone | 1 Rolling Yr | Over 1 year | From July 2008 | 18-24 Months | 18-24 Months | Retained by Sprint |
| Text message detail | 1 Rolling Yr | Pre paid 2 years, post paid 5 years | Post paid 5-7 years | 18 Months | 18 Months | 60-90 Days |
| Text Message Content | 3-5 Days | Not Retained | Not Retained | Not retained | Not Retained | 90 Days w/ Search Warrant |
| Pictures | If uploaded to website | Until deleted | Not Retained | ??? | ???? | Not retained |
| IP Session Information | 1 Rolling Year | Not Retained | Non public IP retained 72hours | 60 days | 60 days | Not retained |
| IP Destimation Information | 90 Days | Not Retained | Non public IP retained 72hours | 60 days | 60 days | Not retained |
| Bill Copies | 3-5 Years | Not Retained | 5-7 Years | 7 years | 7 years | ??? |
| Payment History | 3-5 Years | 5 Years | Depends on length of service | Unlimited | Unlimited | ??? |
| Store Surveillance Videos | 30 Days | 2 Weeks | 1-2 Months | Depends | Depends | ??? |
| Service Applications | 3-5 years | Not Retained | Not Retained | Depends | Depends | Not retained |
[...] you keep your private life out of Google’s servers ;). Out of all carriers T-Mobile has the best data retention policies, comparatively of course.Share this:Mobile, News, Resources, TroubleshootingSpeak Your Mind Cancel [...]