Third Schedule: Retention periods for large platforms
- Status
- Upcoming
- Applies from
- 13 May 2027Rule 1(4)
- Penalty
- Up to Rs 50 croreAct, Schedule, item 7
- Binds
- Every Data Fiduciary
In plain English
Three classes of Data Fiduciary and one time period. E-commerce entities with two crore or more registered users in India, online gaming intermediaries with fifty lakh or more, and social media intermediaries with two crore or more must erase a person's personal data three years from the date the person last approached them for the specified purpose or exercised a right, or from the commencement of the Rules, whichever is latest. Two purposes are excepted and may continue: letting the person access their user account, and letting them access a virtual token (a wallet balance or credit) issued by or for the platform that can be used to get money, goods or services.
The Note defines each class by reference to the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 and the IT Intermediary Rules, 2021, and defines "user" widely enough to count anyone who accesses the service, with or without an account.
What you must do
Count registered users in India against the two crore and fifty lakh thresholds and record the count; the duty turns on it.
Build the three-year inactivity clock from the later of last contact and 13 May 2027, with the 48-hour warning under Rule 8(2) before erasure.
Gazette text · Third Schedule[See rule 8(1)]
- [See rule 8(1)]
| Sl. No. | Entry | Purposes | Time period |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Data Fiduciary who is an e-commerce entity having not less than two crore registered users in India. | For all purposes, except for the following:
| Three years from the date on which the Data Principal last approached the Data Fiduciary for the performance of the specified purpose or exercise of her rights, or the commencement of the Digital Personal Data Protection Rules, 2025, whichever is latest. |
| 2. | Data Fiduciary who is an online gaming intermediary having not less than fifty lakh registered users in India. | For all purposes, except for the following:
| Three years from the date on which the Data Principal last approached the Data Fiduciary for the performance of the specified purpose or exercise of her rights, or the commencement of the Digital Personal Data Protection Rules, 2025, whichever is latest. |
| 3. | Data Fiduciary who is a social media intermediary having not less than two crore registered users in India. | For all purposes, except for the following:
| Three years from the date on which the Data Principal last approached the Data Fiduciary for the performance of the specified purpose or exercise of her rights, or the commencement of the Digital Personal Data Protection Rules, 2025, whichever is latest. |
- Note: In this Schedule, —
- (a)“e-commerce entity” means any person who owns, operates or manages a digital facility or platform for e-commerce as defined in the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 (35 of 2019), but does not include a seller offering her goods or services for sale on a marketplace e-commerce entity as defined in the said Act;
- (b)“online gaming intermediary” means any intermediary who enables the users of its computer resource to access one or more online games;
- (c)“social media intermediary” means an intermediary as defined in clause (w) of sub-rule (1) of rule 2 of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021; and
- (d)“user”, in relation to—
- (i)an e-commerce entity, means any person who accesses or avails any computer resource of an e-commerce entity; and
- (ii)an online gaming intermediary or a social media intermediary, means any person who accesses or avails of any computer resource of an intermediary for the purpose of hosting, publishing, sharing, transacting, viewing, displaying, downloading or uploading information.
- (i)
- (a)
Source: Gazette of India, G.S.R. 846(E), 13 Nov 2025 (MeitY copy)
Act sections and tools that apply
Source: Gazette of India, G.S.R. 846(E), 13 Nov 2025 (MeitY copy) · Change log