{
  "slug": "default-object-retention",
  "term": "Default object retention (S3)",
  "aliases": [
    "S3 bucket default retention",
    "DefaultRetention"
  ],
  "definition": "Default object retention is an S3 bucket rule that supplies retention settings to new object versions when the upload omits explicit retention settings.",
  "note": "Changing a bucket default does not protect or revise existing versions; those require a separate retention operation. [s3-existing-retention] An authorized upload's explicit mode and period override the default, so the default alone is not an enforced minimum. It may also initialize variable retention through an event hold. [configure]",
  "status": "shipping",
  "advantages": [
    {
      "text": "A bucket-level rule can assign retention to new uploads without repeating settings in each upload request.",
      "citationIds": [
        "s3-default-api"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "limitations": [
    {
      "text": "Replicated source retention controls override destination defaults; without source controls, the configured destination default applies if present.",
      "citationIds": [
        "s3-replica-retention"
      ]
    },
    {
      "text": "Event-hold policy conditions check supplied request values, not inherited defaults; control permission to change bucket configuration separately.",
      "citationIds": [
        "manage"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "related": [
    "object-lock",
    "object-versioning",
    "legal-hold",
    "backup-manifest"
  ],
  "supersedes": [],
  "supersededBy": [],
  "firstSeen": null,
  "lastSeen": null,
  "updated": "2026-10-20",
  "citations": [
    {
      "id": "s3-existing-retention",
      "title": "AWS Storage Blog: Applying Amazon S3 Object Lock at scale for petabytes of existing data",
      "url": "https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/storage/applying-amazon-s3-object-lock-at-scale-for-petabytes-of-existing-data/",
      "accessed": "2026-10-20"
    },
    {
      "id": "s3-default-api",
      "title": "Amazon S3 API: PutObjectLockConfiguration",
      "url": "https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonS3/latest/API/API_PutObjectLockConfiguration.html",
      "accessed": "2026-10-20"
    },
    {
      "id": "s3-replica-retention",
      "title": "Amazon S3: What does Amazon S3 replicate? Object Lock retention precedence",
      "url": "https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonS3/latest/userguide/replication-what-is-isnot-replicated.html",
      "accessed": "2026-10-20"
    },
    {
      "id": "configure",
      "title": "Amazon S3: Configuring S3 Object Lock",
      "url": "https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonS3/latest/userguide/object-lock-configure.html",
      "accessed": "2026-10-20"
    },
    {
      "id": "manage",
      "title": "Amazon S3: Object Lock considerations",
      "url": "https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonS3/latest/userguide/object-lock-managing.html",
      "accessed": "2026-10-20"
    },
    {
      "id": "hesela-backup-evidence",
      "title": "Hesela: Backup verification is not a restore test",
      "url": "https://hesela.com/analyses/backup-verification-is-not-a-restore-test/",
      "accessed": "2026-10-20"
    }
  ]
}