How long are traces retained?

Datadog APM retains all ingested spans for 15 days by default. For traces to be searchable and explorable in the Trace Explorer, their spans must be indexed by a retention filter. These indexed spans are also retained for 15 days. While extended retention is available as a paid add-on, the standard, default retention period is a fixed duration. Therefore, the most accurate and fundamental answer is 15 days, which is the baseline for all plans before any add-ons.

A. 7 days is incorrect. The standard retention period for ingested and indexed spans in Datadog APM is 15 days.

C. 1 month (or 30 days) is available only as a paid add-on for extended retention, it is not the standard duration.

D. While extended retention can be part of a contract, the fundamental retention period is a standard 15 days, making this answer less precise.

1. Datadog Documentation, "Trace Retention". In the section "Ingested Spans", it states: "Datadog APM retains all of your ingested spans for 15 days." In the section "Indexed Spans", it states: "Spans that are indexed by retention filters are retained for 15 days."

2. Datadog Documentation, "APM Pricing". The pricing page for both Pro and Enterprise plans explicitly lists "15-day trace & profile retention" as a standard feature.