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Data Backups

Why Backing Up Slack Data Is Crucial After Recent Changes

Gary David
7 Nov
2024
5
min read

Slack recently rolled out significant updates that impact users on free workspaces, limiting data retention and message history. If you manage projects or collaborate with teams on Slack’s free plan, it's crucial to understand these changes and how they affect your ability to access past conversations and files. Here’s everything you need to know about the update and why a solid backup strategy is more important than ever.

What’s Changing in Slack’s Free Workspaces?

Slack has shifted from storing messages and files indefinitely to a rolling 90-day limit on free workspaces. This means:

  • Message Retention: Only messages from the past 90 days will be available. Anything older will be inaccessible unless your workspace is upgraded to a paid plan.
  • File Storage: Similarly, files shared more than 90 days ago will no longer be accessible.

This change can be a major disruption for teams that rely on Slack for daily communication. Old conversations, decisions, and shared files are critical, especially in long-term projects.

Why Should You Be Concerned?

While Slack's free plan remains a valuable tool for small teams, the updates pose a risk of data loss. Without proper backups, you could lose access to important files, project discussions, or decision-making threads, which may affect future work. Key risks include:

  • Loss of Historical Data: Teams often refer back to past discussions in long-term projects. Under the new Slack policy, this historical data could vanish unless you pay for a higher plan.
  • Unreliable File Availability: Shared files older than 90 days will no longer be stored, which could lead to gaps in your documentation.

How ProBackup Can Help

ProBackup is designed to protect your valuable data on platforms like Slack. Our solution offers automated, scheduled backups that ensure your conversations, files, and attachments are securely stored and easily retrievable - no matter what happens on Slack’s servers.

With ProBackup, you can back up various types of data, including:

  • Users: Maintain records of all team members.
  • Channels: Keep a complete history of discussions across different channels.
  • Threads: Save important threaded conversations for context.
  • Messages: Archive all messages for future reference.
  • Attachments: Securely store files shared in channels and direct messages.
  • Direct Messages: Back up direct messages that you have access to, ensuring no vital communication is lost.

With ProBackup, the retention of your data depends on your subscription plan:

  • Plus Plan: Retains revisions for up to 6 months.
  • Pro Plan: Retains revisions for up to 2 years.
  • Premium Plan: Retains revisions for up to 4 years.

This flexibility allows you to choose a plan that best fits your team's needs.

What You Can Do Now

To avoid any disruption or potential data loss, here’s what you should do:

  1. Evaluate Your Needs: If you rely heavily on Slack’s free version for project management, consider the potential impact of the 90-day limit.
  2. Upgrade or Back Up: You can either upgrade to Slack’s paid plan for longer retention or use ProBackup to ensure your data is backed up and retrievable.
  3. Set Up ProBackup: Automate the process of securing your Slack data, giving you continuous access to your messages and files based on your chosen retention plan.

Conclusion

Slack's changes to free workspaces introduce limits that could put your team’s data at risk. ProBackup offers a seamless solution to these challenges by ensuring your conversations and files are always backed up, accessible, and secure - so you can focus on what matters most: getting work done.

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