What Slack's terms say about your data

Who owns the data the customer puts in?

The customer · covers all customer data

1. Headline Every plan covers all customer data

   The customer

   Customer retains all ownership of its Customer Data and SFDC retains all ownership in and to aggregated machine learning results.

   Slack Supplemental Terms (terms), read 2026-10-22 · link to this fact

   The MSA (6.2) agrees: "SFDC acquires no right, title or interest from Customer or its licensors under this Agreement in or to any Customer Data". The privacy principles page also says "Customers own their own Customer Data."

Does the vendor train AI on it?

Generative: opt-in. Other models: opt-out · covers messages and files

1. Headline Every plan covers messages and files

   Generative: opt-in

   Slack will not use Customer Data to train generative AI models unless Customer provides affirmative opt-in consent.

   Privacy principles: search, learning and artificial intelligence (ai policy), read 2026-10-22 · link to this fact

   Generative part of ai_training. Same page: "We do not develop generative AI models using Customer Data."

2. Headline Every plan covers messages and files

   Other models: opt-out

   If you want to exclude your Customer Data from Slack global models, you can opt out.

   Privacy principles: search, learning and artificial intelligence (ai policy), read 2026-10-22 · link to this fact

   Non-generative part of ai_training (predictive models such as channel, emoji and search recommendations). Opt-out is by email from an owner to feedback@slack.com. The Supplemental Terms make it contractual: Customer instructs SFDC to process Customer Data "to train models for use by the services and features that Customer has access to" and point to the Privacy Principles page for opt-out.

Does the vendor keep a right to use it aggregated, de-identified or as usage data?

Reserved · covers all customer data

1. Headline Every plan covers all customer data

   Reserved

   Slack aggregates and disassociates Customer Data such that Slack's use of Customer Data to update the Services will never identify any of our customers or individuals as the source of any of these improvements to any third party, other than to Slack's affiliates or sub-processors.

   Privacy principles: search, learning and artificial intelligence (ai policy), read 2026-10-22 · link to this fact

   Quote is about 45 words; kept whole for meaning. Contract backing in the Supplemental Terms: "SFDC retains all ownership in and to aggregated machine learning results."

What can the customer export, and who can run it?

1. Headline Free, Pro covers messages and file links, public channels

   Part of it by the owner or an admin through an admin screen

   Workspace Owners and Admins can export messages and file links from public channels in JSON format.

   Export your workspace data (help article), read 2026-10-22 · link to this fact

   Public channels only (plus limited access Salesforce channels by application). Private channels and DMs: "Not available" on Free and Pro. Free plan: "Workspaces on the Free plan can only export links to files from the last 90 days." Export contains file links, not files.

2. Headline Business+ covers messages and files, all channels and DMs

   Everything by the owner through an admin screen or a self-serve screen, once the vendor approves

   For legal and regulatory compliance, Workspace Owners can apply to access a self-serve data export tool for messages and file links from public channels, private channels, and DMs in JSON format.

   Export your workspace data (help article), read 2026-10-22 · link to this fact

   Without approval Business+ gets public-channel JSON export by Owners and Admins. Approval: "Applications require approval from the Workspace Primary Owner, so our Support team will reach out via email before proceeding with the application review." Approved owners can schedule weekly or monthly exports. CSV is the channel audit report (channel list only).

3. Headline Enterprise covers messages and files, all channels and DMs

   Everything by the owner or an admin through a support request or an admin screen, once the vendor approves

   Org Owners can contact our Support team to request access to self-serve data export tools (which must be separately requested).

   Export your workspace data (help article), read 2026-10-22 · link to this fact

   Once enabled: custom export by conversation type, member or workspace "in either JSON or TXT format"; all channels and conversations in JSON; channel audit as CSV. Help article says Org Owners / Admins and members with the Export Admin role can use the feature. Slack's Discovery API for Enterprise was not checked, so api is not listed.

How much history does the plan keep?

1. Headline Free covers messages and files

   365 days (1 year), older data deleted

   Any content in your workspace more than a year old will be permanently deleted

   Slack plans and features (plans page), read 2026-10-22 · link to this fact

   Free plan shows only 90 days of message and file history ("90-day access") and stores one year. The retention article agrees: "On the free plan, you can choose to retain data for 90 days or one year."

2. Headline Pro, Business+, Enterprise covers messages and files

   All of it

   data is kept for the lifetime of your workspace by default.

   Customize data retention in Slack (help article), read 2026-10-22 · link to this fact

   Sentence begins "On paid plans, data is kept...". Owners can set shorter retention.

How long is data kept after the account ends, and can it still be exported?

1. Headline Pro, Business+, Enterprise covers all customer data

   30 days to export

   Upon request by Customer made within 30 days after the effective date of termination or expiration of this Agreement, SFDC will make Customer Data available to Customer for export or download as provided in the Documentation.

   Salesforce Main Services Agreement (governs Slack, linked from slack.com/main-services-agreement) (terms), read 2026-10-22 · link to this fact

   Next sentence: after the 30 days SFDC "will thereafter delete or destroy all copies of Customer Data". Applies to paid subscriptions; Free Services have their own clause (see Free fact). DPA section 9 defers deletion timing to the Security, Privacy and Architecture Documentation.

2. Headline Free covers all customer data

   None, export before the account ends^*

   Customer is solely responsible for exporting Customer Data from the Free Services prior to termination of Customer's access to the Free Services for any reason

   Salesforce Main Services Agreement (governs Slack, linked from slack.com/main-services-agreement) (terms), read 2026-10-22 · link to this fact

   MSA 2.7 controls over the rest of the MSA for Free Services. Exception: "if SFDC terminates Customer's account, except as required by law SFDC will provide Customer a reasonable opportunity to retrieve its Customer Data" (no day count).

What the read couldn't settle

• Plan names: the plans help article lists Free, Pro, Business+ and Enterprise+; the export help article uses 'Enterprise' for Enterprise plans (Enterprise Grid/Enterprise+). Grouped as 'Enterprise'.
• Free-plan after_cancel export_window=false is a reading of MSA 2.7 (customer must export before termination); when Slack ends a Free account it promises only 'a reasonable opportunity to retrieve' with no day count.
• Slack's Security, Privacy and Architecture Documentation (deletion timelines referenced by DPA section 9) was not fetched; exact post-30-day deletion timing not recorded.
• Privacy principles, help articles and the User Terms show no last-updated date on the page; version left null. The DPA PDF header says 'Revision August 2026' while its page footer says 'April 2026'; version left null.
• Enterprise API export (Discovery API) not checked; export method for Enterprise lists only support_request and admin_screen.
• slack.com/main-services-agreement now only links to the Salesforce MSA PDF (marked status 'moved'); the old /terms/supplemental-terms URL is 404, current one is /slack-supplemental-terms.

Documents

9 of 9 read. Each fact above names the one it comes from.

1. Salesforce Main Services Agreement (governs Slack, linked from slack.com/main-services-agreement) Terms · version 2026-10-15 · read 2026-10-22
2. Main Services Agreement (Slack landing page) Terms · version 2023-04-25 · read 2026-10-22 · moved since
3. Slack Supplemental Terms Terms · version 2026-02-27 · read 2026-10-22
4. User Terms of Service Terms · read 2026-10-22
5. Salesforce Data Processing Addendum (Revision August 2026), linked from slack.com/terms-of-service/data-processing Data processing addendum · read 2026-10-22
6. Privacy principles: search, learning and artificial intelligence AI policy · read 2026-10-22
7. Export your workspace data Help article · read 2026-10-22
8. Slack plans and features Plans page · read 2026-10-22
9. Customize data retention in Slack Help article · read 2026-10-22