How to choose a retention period for your work history

Keep recorded history for a reason you can name. A useful retention period might cover the time between working on a project and reviewing it, while avoiding an open-ended archive you never inspect.

The right choice depends on the sensitivity of the content, available storage and how far back your real searches tend to go.

Start from a retrieval task

Think about the last time you needed an old reference. Was it from yesterday, the previous week or a project completed months ago? Decide which of those needs belongs in temporary activity history and which needs a deliberate project record.

For example, a weekly review may benefit from recent context. A contract decision should usually live in an appropriate project or records system, not depend on temporary screen captures.

Retention is easier to manage when those purposes are separate.

Review each capture store

CiteSilo has separate screenshot and rewind controls. Do not assume one retention setting describes every type of stored activity or image.

In the current beta, the report-screenshot setting removes older folders once that day has a report. Rewind has its own retention and storage-limit behavior. Storage limits can affect image availability, so a nominal number of days is not a promise that every image will remain for that long.

Read the explanatory text beside the actual setting before changing it.

Expect links to outlive some images

You may still have activity context while an original capture is no longer available. A reference can help you locate the time or application without providing the visual evidence you hoped to inspect.

When reviewing an important claim, check whether the source is actually present. Do not treat a surviving summary as equivalent to the deleted image or original document.

Extending retention later does not restore data already removed.

Keep important outcomes deliberately

If a reference matters beyond the temporary history window, save the appropriate source location in your project notes. Follow the rules that apply to that material, especially for client or personal information.

Use your normal backup and document-versioning process for files you need to preserve. An activity history is not a replacement for either.

The goal is a small, useful memory aid supported by intentional records where they matter.

Review storage and usefulness together

After a trial period, ask whether you actually used older captures. If not, a shorter window may be sufficient. If you repeatedly need a specific kind of reference, improve the project-note habit rather than automatically retaining everything longer.

Before using an erase action, understand its scope. In CiteSilo, erasing a day removes its activity annotations, and erasing everything also removes projects. Those actions are different from merely hiding a project from an active list.

See local storage and controls and choosing what to record before changing the amount of history you keep.