Privacy FAQs

Slack is committed to providing you with the information and tools 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 they've joined. Here's what you'll find there:

  • Your Workspace Owners and Admins and their contact info
  • Your workspace's plan
  • 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 & file retention

On the free version of Slack, you’ll have the option to choose whether messages and files are deleted after 90 days, or whether messages and files (including edits) are kept for a year.

On paid plans, the default message and file retention setting is to keep everything for as long as the paid workspace exists. Workspace owners can customize 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 plan, if you have the option to edit messages, only the most recent version will remain. On paid plans, 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 and the default location is AWS US. The data centre hosting location applicable to each Slack customer can vary if an organization 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.

Please note that the other categories of data, “Other Information”, as defined in Slack’s Privacy Policy are processed in the US. To support delivery of our Services, Slack may engage Sub-processors. A current list of Sub-processors for the Services, including the identities of those Sub-processors and their country of location, is accessible via https://www.slack.com/slack-subprocessors

You can also find information regarding data transfers in the following resources:

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 Addenda and the European Union’s Model Clauses (Standard Contractual Clauses) will continue to ensure compliance for EU personal data transfers outside of the EU. Our Data Processing Addenda are available to all customers regardless of the Slack plan they are using.

Data transfers between Europe and the U.S. may also be covered by the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework. Through Salesforce, Slack participates in the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework (DPF), UK Extension to the EU-U.S. DPF, and Swiss-U.S. DPF, as detailed here. More information about the DPF can be found at https://www.dataprivacyframework.gov/Program-Overview

How secure is my data on Slack?

Slack is committed to ensuring 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 organization 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 & ownership

Who owns the data 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?

  • All plans

    On any plan, Workspace Owners and Admins can export all data (messages and files) from public channels.

  • Business+ plan

    Workspace Owners can request access to a tool that will download all content from public and private channels.

  • Free and Pro plans

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

  • Enterprise Grid

    Discovery APIs 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 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 Primary Owner to remove your profile information. (A Workspace Primary Owner can contact Slack on your behalf to complete this.) Slack will only delete member profile information at the request of a Primary Owner. If that’s you, and you’ve been asked to delete a member’s profile you can reach out to us at feedback@slack.com.

Before you deactivate your account, you can also remove any profile information you'd like, such as your name and email address. Depending on your workspace's settings, you may be able to delete messages and files you've shared. Get in touch with a Workspace Owner or Admin if you have any questions about editing and deletion settings.