Amazon Connect Call Recording Retention

Before you start

Call recording retention in Amazon Connect depends on where recordings are stored and which settings control how long they remain available. The process is service-side: recordings are not kept locally by default, and managing retention requires access to the AWS Management Console and the relevant storage or lifecycle policies.

Typical prerequisites include an AWS account with permission to view Amazon Connect instances, recording settings, and the S3 bucket used for recordings. If your organization separates security and storage roles, you may need an administrator to confirm access before you begin.

Step-by-step instructions

First, confirm where recordings are stored. Open the Amazon Connect console, select your instance, and review the data storage settings. Call recordings are commonly directed to an S3 bucket that the instance uses for exported audio.

Then check whether recordings are enabled for the relevant contact flows. Recording behavior is often set at the contact flow level or through a contact recording block. If recording is not active, retention settings for the bucket may still exist, but no new audio will be added.

• Open the Amazon Connect console and choose the instance you want to review.
• Go to the data storage or recording settings area to identify the S3 bucket name and path prefix used for call recordings.
• Open the S3 console and select that bucket.
• Check the bucket or folder for an existing lifecycle rule that applies to call recording objects.
• If no rule is present, create a lifecycle rule that applies to the recording prefix and specifies expiration after the desired number of days.
• Save the rule and note whether it applies to current and future objects or only to objects created after the rule is enabled.

Retention is usually implemented through an S3 lifecycle rule, not through a single recording expiry setting in the Connect console. The exact menu labels can differ between console versions, so if you cannot find an option under the expected name, search the AWS console help for lifecycle configuration.

Where possible, keep the change reversible. Record the existing lifecycle rules before editing them, and avoid deleting recordings or bucket data as part of a retention review.

Version differences

The location of recording settings can vary by AWS region and console release. Some organizations also manage retention through a separate data lake or archive process. Check your instance documentation for the supported storage flow before assuming that S3 lifecycle rules are the only mechanism in use.

Check the output

After changing a lifecycle rule, confirm that the rule status is enabled and that its prefix matches the recording location. In the S3 console, inspect the rule details to verify the expiration period and object filter.

For a practical verification, upload a small test object to the recording prefix and wait for the lifecycle rule to evaluate it. Lifecycle actions are asynchronous and may take time to run. Do not use a real customer recording as a test object if its removal would cause a compliance issue.

Quality and format limitations depend on the original recording format and storage configuration. Retention controls generally affect availability, not audio quality. Changing retention does not convert or re-encode existing recordings.

Common problems and next steps

A common issue is that recordings continue to appear after the expected expiration date. This can happen because the lifecycle rule does not match the correct prefix, the rule was created after the objects were uploaded, or the rule is still pending evaluation.

Another issue is missing access to recorded audio. If a user cannot open a recording, review the S3 bucket policy and the IAM permissions for both the Connect role and the user. Retention settings do not grant playback access.

If you need to preserve calls for a specific period for legal or quality review, do not rely on a single unverified setting. Check the actual storage class, lifecycle status, and any separate archive process before confirming your retention policy.

For long-term or compliance-sensitive audio, consider exporting call detail records together with the recordings. Retention often needs to cover both the audio files and the associated metadata, and those may be governed by different storage rules.