TotalCloud KCS: Reducing Maximum Retention Time for Containers from 13 months to 30 days
We’re updating the Container Object’s Retention policy to better align with usage needs and improve performance and relevance for our customers.
New retention maximum starting October 30, 2025
As containers continue to become mainstream, their ephemeral and dynamic nature makes data collected from stale containers and their subsequent buildup result in a lot of noise in the system, degrading performance and responsiveness. At Qualys, we are seeing rapid growth in container security adoption across our customer base. To ensure you get the best possible performance and noise-free insights from our platform, we’re making important changes in how long we retain data from dead/stale containers.
Current Behavior
Currently, data from your deleted containers is being stored in our platform for 13 months by default. This unused data slows down your experience and clutters the container page and insights with stale data mixed in.
New Behavior:
- By default, container data will be stored for 7 days
- This number is configurable between 0-30 days.
- We recommend an aggressive setting (7 days or less) for a more optimal experience.
Proactively Optimize Your Experience Today with Self-serve Configuration
You can begin optimizing right away by following the steps outlined below. The benefits will take effect immediately, even before we roll out the new default. Be sure to configure a custom retention policy set to 30 days or less – to stay compliant with the upcoming changes. The more aggressive your retention policy is, the better your experience will be. This will not affect any long-running containers.
What You Need to Do
Please set a retention policy for deleted container data before October 30, 2025. Doing so will:
- Help Qualys deliver a faster, more efficient platform experience
- Improve UI responsiveness and dashboard clarity
- Enable focus on the most relevant and up-to-date findings and data
Prerequisites (Optional):
If you need to retain container data for a longer period for compliance or other purposes, please ensure it is backed up outside the Qualys platform. For more instructions on how to use our APIs to back up, please contact Qualys support.
How to Set Up a Custom Retention Policy
- Step 1: Log in to the Container Security application.
- Step 2: Navigate to Configuration > General > Data Retention Settings.
- Step 3: Enable the option to set a custom Data Retention policy.
- Step 4: Type in the number of Days to set a custom retention time for Containers.
NOTE: (For Container Security release less than or equal to 1.39) Select an option to set a custom retention time for Containers from the drop-down.
Enforcement Starts October 30, 2025
If no action is taken, we will enforce a default retention period of 7 days.
After this change kicks in, unless a custom default is configured (maximum allowed will be 30 days), containers in the DELETED or UNKNOWN state will be automatically purged from your account after 7 days.
We understand that certain organizations may require extended retention for compliance or auditing. For such custom needs, please contact Qualys support.
Additionally, Qualys has introduced a new option for extremely ephemeral environments that allows you to match your in-use containers with the Containers tab in real time (zero-day retention). If you enable the Instant Delete checkbox, any container removed from the host or cluster will also be immediately deleted from your Qualys account under the Containers tab starting with the 1.39 release of Container Security.
Get Help
Our support team is here to assist with configuration or answer any questions.
Thank you for helping us keep your container security fast, focused, and future-ready.