keptrequired

Keptrequired is a designation used in data governance and software systems to indicate that certain data elements or records must be retained under defined conditions. It is not a universally standardized term but appears in various organizational guides and vendor documentation to describe retention obligations beyond ordinary lifecycle management.

In practice, keptrequired can refer to fields in data models that carry retention mandates, such as legal records, audit logs, or financial transactions. It may be implemented as a boolean flag on data items, a retention schedule attached to data classes, or as rules in data management platforms that trigger archival or secure deletion only after the required period or under approved exceptions.

Typical applications include regulatory compliance, such as records retention schedules, financial reporting, healthcare record-keeping, and dispute resolution logs. It also appears in software engineering contexts where applications must preserve certain histories, backups, or versioned artifacts for a minimum time to ensure integrity or traceability.

Implementation considerations include determining the retention period, ensuring consistent enforcement across systems, handling privacy constraints, and balancing storage costs with compliance needs. Organizations may need governance processes to define keptrequired criteria, audit trails, and access controls.

Related concepts include data retention, data minimization, compliance, versioning, and audit logging. The term remains informal and context-dependent, with usage varying by industry and vendor. It is often described in policy documents, data catalogs, or configuration schemas rather than as a formal standard.