Data management: transparency and control

This resource provides insight into Slack’s data management policies and practices, as well as information about the tools that you need to manage, protect and control your data.

Getting started

In order to understand Slack’s data management practices, it’s important to note that we define data under two distinct categories: Customer Data and Other Information. Customer Data (i.e. the messages, content and files that you submit to the Services) is owned and controlled by the Customer, as defined by our Terms of Service. In addition, Slack processes and controls Other Information (i.e. usage information and account information). For more information about this please see our Privacy policy.

Who owns the data that’s submitted to a workspace?

A Customer owns and controls all content that is submitted to their workspace. Slack processes Customer Data on behalf of the Customer.

What data portability tools are available with Slack, and who can use them?

What data Customers may access using Slack’s import and export tools are specific to each subscription, but we have given an overview below. Review our Guide to Slack import and export tools to learn more.

  • All subscriptions

    On any plan, workspace owners and admins can export all data (messages and files) from public channels.

  • Business+ subscription

    Workspace owners can request access to self-service export functionality that will download all content from public and private channels. Please note that all requests are subject to an application process to ensure that (a) appropriate employment agreements and corporate policies have been implemented, and (b) all use of data exports is permitted under applicable law.

  • Free and Pro subscriptions

    The option to download all workspace data is available to workspaces on the Free and Pro subscriptions under limited circumstances only. We require workspace owners on these subscriptions to undergo a review process and provide (a) valid legal process, (b) consent of members or (c) a requirement or right under applicable laws.

  • Enterprise Grid

    Org owners can apply to access self-serve export functionality that permits an org owner to export and manage exports across all workspaces, including all conversations that a single user is part of, from private channels and one-to-one or group direct messages as needed and permitted by law. Additionally, Discovery APIs allow eligible Slack customers to use third-party applications to export, retain or archive messages and files submitted to Slack.

What channel management tools are available and who can use them?

Slack is built to help organisations of all sizes to run their businesses faster. We provide controls to help you to manage and govern all your teams with ease. One of these controls is our channel management tool. With this, Enterprise Grid and approved Business+ customers can take actions on channels without joining the workspaces or channels where actions are taking place (and without seeing the content in those channels).

For example, there may be times when you want to use a simple channel name such as #sales or #announcements, but that channel name has been used somewhere else. In these cases, the channel management tool can be used to rename an old channel and free up the desired channel name for other uses. Or, if there’s a private channel where you want to add outside counsel as a guest, you can use this tool to add the guest without viewing the contents of the private channel.

The org primary owner, and any org owners or org admins who have permission, can view the following information and take the following actions from the org dashboard.

Available information

  • Which workspaces the channel is in
  • The number of members and guests in the channel
  • Who created the channel
  • The date of the most recent channel activity
  • When the channel was created

Available actions

  • Manage posting permissions
  • Rename a channel
  • Convert a channel to private
  • Convert a private channel to public
  • Archive or unarchive a channel
  • Delete a channel
  • Create a channel
  • Add a user to a channel that the admin is not a member of
  • Disconnect a channel from an external organisation

Visit our Help Centre to learn more.

How do I request personal information from Slack?

To request access to Customer Data (message content or files), you should contact your workspace primary owner. If you don’t know who your primary owner, is visit the About this workspace page. If you need help, get in touch with feedback@slack.com and we’ll direct your request to the right person.

You might also have certain rights to request access to the data that Slack may have collected about you. In order to exercise those rights and to request access to Other Information (workspace, account or usage info), any customer or user can contact privacy@slack.com and we will be in touch.

How do I delete personal information from Slack?

The primary owner of a workspace or org controls their workspace’s data (we call this customer data). This includes all of the content submitted by members, along with member profile information. When members leave a workspace or org, they may have the right to request their profile information be deleted by the primary owner. As the data controller, the primary owner is responsible for determining whether profile information requires deletion. Primary owners of a workspace or org can delete a member’s profile information after the account is deactivated

Depending on your workspace’s settings, you may be able to remove your profile information and/or delete messages and files that you’ve shared before your account is deactivated. Get in touch with a workspace owner or admin if you have any questions about editing and deletion settings.

How do I delete messages and files from Slack?

Because mistakes sometimes happen, it’s possible to edit and delete messages in Slack. If allowed by their workspace owners and admins, members can edit and delete the messages that they send. Workspace owners and admins can delete anyone’s messages in public channels, and in private channels that they've joined.

Please note that your company may have chosen to retain edit and deletion logs. To learn more, review your workspace settings and take a look at our Help Centre.

Enterprise Grid subscription customers can also use approved third-party apps to bulk export or act on messages and files from Slack; take a look at this guide for more information.

How do we use information to improve Slack?

We analyse aggregated and disassociated Customer Data that is submitted to Slack, as well as Other Information, to find patterns that help us to make our customers’ experiences better. For example, we may improve search functionality by using Other Information to help to determine and rank the relevance of content and channels. Learn more and see some examples here: Privacy principles: search, learning and intelligence.

Where is your data stored?

Slack is hosted with Amazon Web Services (AWS). The default data centre is in the United States, but some customers may choose to use our data residency capability. Data residency for Slack allows global teams to choose the region or country where their data is stored at rest. To learn more, visit Data residency for Slack.