Figma keeps your personal data for as long as it considers necessary for business, legal, or fraud prevention purposes, after which it states it will delete or anonymize the data.
This analysis describes what Figma's agreement states, permits, or reserves. It does not constitute a legal determination about enforceability. Regulatory applicability and practical outcomes may vary by jurisdiction, enforcement context, and individual circumstances. Read our methodology
The retention standard of 'as long as necessary' is broad and gives Figma significant discretion over how long your data, including design file content, is kept after you stop using the service.
Interpretive note: The policy does not specify retention periods for individual data categories, making it difficult to assess compliance with GDPR storage limitation requirements without reviewing Figma's internal retention schedule.
Figma does not commit to specific retention periods for most data categories, meaning personal information including account data and content may be retained for extended periods after account closure if Figma determines it is needed for legal or business reasons.
How other platforms handle this
We retain personal information for as long as necessary to provide our services, comply with legal obligations, resolve disputes, and enforce our agreements. The specific retention periods depend on the type of information and the purposes for which it is processed.
We keep information for as long as we need it to provide our products, comply with legal obligations, or for other legitimate purposes, such as to maintain safety, security, and integrity.
After your account is deleted, we keep data about interactions you've had on our service to prevent abuse, ban evaders and others in an effort to protect and ensure the safety and security of our service and our members.
Monitoring
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"We retain personal information for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes for which it was collected, including for the purposes of satisfying any legal, accounting, or reporting requirements, to establish or defend legal claims, or for fraud prevention purposes. When we no longer need to use your personal information, we will take steps to securely delete or anonymize it.— Excerpt from Figma's Figma Privacy Policy
REGULATORY LANDSCAPE: GDPR's storage limitation principle requires that personal data be kept for no longer than necessary for its specified purposes, and data protection authorities generally expect organizations to implement documented retention schedules. The absence of specific retention periods in the public-facing policy may be consistent with common practice but may be insufficient for GDPR accountability purposes without internal retention documentation. US laws do not impose equivalent general retention limits but sector-specific rules may apply. GOVERNANCE EXPOSURE: Low to Medium. The policy's retention standard is broadly consistent with industry norms for SaaS platforms but does not provide the granularity that GDPR accountability expectations may require. Organizations subject to specific data retention obligations, such as financial services or healthcare, should ensure that Figma's retention practices do not conflict with regulatory requirements for either minimum or maximum retention periods. JURISDICTION FLAGS: EU and UK users are most affected by GDPR storage limitation requirements. California users retain deletion rights under CCPA regardless of Figma's internal retention determinations, subject to legal exception carve-outs. Sector-specific retention requirements may interact with Figma's general retention approach in regulated industries. CONTRACT AND VENDOR IMPLICATIONS: Enterprise customers should request Figma's internal data retention schedule as part of vendor due diligence and confirm that it aligns with organizational and regulatory retention requirements. Data processing agreements should specify retention obligations and the process for data return or deletion upon contract termination. COMPLIANCE CONSIDERATIONS: Compliance teams should request and review Figma's retention schedule and assess alignment with organizational policies. Procedures for requesting early deletion of personal data upon account closure should be documented and tested. For regulated industries, legal counsel should assess whether Figma's retention practices create any conflict with sector-specific minimum or maximum retention mandates.
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The retention standard of 'as long as necessary' is broad and gives Figma significant discretion over how long your data, including design file content, is kept after you stop using the service.
Figma does not commit to specific retention periods for most data categories, meaning personal information including account data and content may be retained for extended periods after account closure if Figma determines it is needed for legal or business reasons.
ConductAtlas has identified this type of provision across 136 platforms. See the full comparison.
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