“Following expiry or termination of the Agreement, OpenAI will, at Customer's instruction, return or delete Customer Data, and existing copies unless retention of Customer Data is required under applicable laws...”
This analysis describes what OpenAI'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
This clause establishes that Customer Data does not automatically disappear upon termination—it depends on Customer instruction—and that legal retention obligations can override the return or deletion obligation.
Interpretive note: The excerpt is truncated after 'applicable laws'; any further qualifications or procedures are not captured in the canonical claim.
Customers must actively instruct OpenAI to return or delete their Customer Data after the Agreement ends; OpenAI is not required to act without that instruction, and applicable law may require OpenAI to retain certain data regardless.
How other platforms handle this
each Party will, upon written request, return or destroy all Confidential Information of the other Party in its possession or control.
We may continue to retain some information even after you delete your account if we are required to do so in order to comply with applicable laws.
We will promptly destroy personal information at the end of the retention period, as described above. When we destroy personal information, we do so in a way that prevents that information from being restored or reconstructed.
"Following expiry or termination of the Agreement, OpenAI will, at Customer's instruction, return or delete Customer Data, and existing copies unless retention of Customer Data is required under applicable laws...Excerpt from OpenAI's Data Processing Addendum
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This clause establishes that Customer Data does not automatically disappear upon termination—it depends on Customer instruction—and that legal retention obligations can override the return or deletion obligation.
Customers must actively instruct OpenAI to return or delete their Customer Data after the Agreement ends; OpenAI is not required to act without that instruction, and applicable law may require OpenAI to retain certain data regardless.
ConductAtlas has identified this type of provision across 268 platforms. See the full comparison.
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