Ask HN: Backup Services & Data Retention

[ajkirwin]

After reading about a service called RestBackup, which will continue to keep your data for a length of time, even if you cease to be customers, in case you 'need it later', I am wondering what peoples opinions are on such matters?

Do you think it's good for a backup service to continue to hold your data, even after the provision of the actual backup service has ceased?

Or do you think that once you're no longer a customer, the data should be wiped immediately, as it does not belong to the backup provider?

And are there any legal questions in play over data protection, industrial secrets, etcetera?

[swombat]

I suspect the reasons are to do with practicality and dealing with customers who mistakenly cancel, rather than any kind of malice.

E.g. if you keep backups of deleted files for 30 days, the files are technically still within the service's reach, but they won't look at them unless you ask them.

Ultimately, if you want your files to be completely secure, and you really care that when they're deleted, they're permanently deleted, you probably shouldn't trust any third party backup service anyway. Even if they do delete the files, they could easily be recovered by forensics examination of the hard drives.

[cperciva]

If you're worried about the security of your data, use a secure backup service.

If your backup service provider can read your files and you don't trust him to not do that after you're no longer a customer, why did you trust him to not do that while you were a customer?