Privacy FAQs
Slack is committed to providing you with the information and tools that you need to meet data and privacy obligations. Below, you'll find resources related to our Privacy Policy and specific data protection laws:
Workspace settings
The Workspace settings page is where members can review info about workspaces that they've joined. Here's what you'll find there:
- Your workspace owners and admins plus their contact info
- Your workspace’s subscription
- Message and file retention policies
- Available data export options
💡 Read more about the Workspace settings page.
Delete your Slack account
If you're ready to permanently leave a workspace, members can deactivate their account and ask a workspace owner to delete their profile information.
Delete a workspace
A workspace primary owner can delete their workspace. Read more about deleting a workspace and our security practices.
Transfer ownership of a workspace
The workspace primary owner can transfer ownership of their workspace.
Message and file retention
For any workspace, the default message and file retention setting is to keep everything for as long as the workspace exists.
On paid subscriptions, workspace owners can customise their retention policies. They can choose to set a custom time frame to keep messages and files, and they can also choose to retain all versions of an edited or deleted message.
Edited and deleted messages
On the Free subscription, if you have the option to edit messages, only the most recent version will remain. On paid subscriptions, workspace owners or admins can choose to keep a log of all edited messages. Visit your Workspace settings to confirm which option your workspace has enabled.
Data storage
Where is my data stored?
Slack is hosted with Amazon Web Services (AWS) and we are currently using data centres hosted in the United States and Europe. The data centre hosting location applicable to each Slack customer can vary if the organisation uses our data residency feature. Data residency for Slack allows global teams to choose the region where certain types of data at rest are stored. To learn more, visit Data residency for Slack.
Does the GDPR require EU personal data to stay in the EU?
The GDPR does not require EU data to reside in the European Union. Slack’s data processing agreement and the European Union’s Model Clauses will continue to ensure compliance for EU personal data transfers outside of the EU.
How secure is my data on Slack?
Slack is committed to ensuring that our infrastructure is secure, redundant and reliable, while providing your team with tools to administer your environment. We are proud to exceed the industry standard when it comes to protecting your organisation and we've outlined many of our security practices and certifications on our website.
Is my data encrypted?
Slack provides data encryption in transit and at rest. Read more about our approach to security.
Data exports and ownership
Who owns the data that’s submitted to a workspace?
A Customer owns and controls all content submitted to their workspace. Slack processes customer data on behalf of the Customer.
What export tools are available with Slack, and who can use them?
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All subscriptions
On any subscription, workspace owners and admins can export all data (messages and files) from public channels. -
Free and Standard subscriptions
The option to export data from all channels and conversations is available to workspaces on the Free and Standard subscriptions under limited circumstances. We require workspace owners on these subscriptions to provide (a) valid legal process, (b) consent of members or (c) a requirement or right under applicable laws. -
Plus subscription
Workspace owners can request to export data from all channels and conversations, including private channels and direct messages. -
Enterprise Grid and selected Slack subscriptions
Org owners can apply to export content from all channels and conversations, including private channels and direct messages, and from all conversations that a single user is a part of. Discovery APIs also allow eligible Slack customers to use third-party applications to export, retain or archive messages and files submitted to Slack. This includes messages and files that have been migrated to a Slack Enterprise Grid org.
💡 Visit Guide to Slack import and export tools to learn more.
How do I delete personal information from Slack?
When you're ready to permanently leave a workspace, you can deactivate your account and ask a workspace owner to remove your profile information. (A workspace owner can contact Slack on your behalf to complete this.)
Before you deactivate your account, you can also remove any profile information that you like, such as your name and email address. Depending on your workspace's settings, you may be able to delete messages and files that you've shared. Get in touch with a workspace owner or admin if you have any questions about editing and deletion settings.