How does data decay affect compliance?

Data decay refers to contact information becoming inaccurate over time. It creates both deliverability and compliance problems.

• Decay rates:
• B2B email addresses decay at roughly 20% to 30% per year
• Job changes, company closures, and domain changes all contribute
• The longer data sits unused, the less reliable it becomes
• Deliverability impact:
• Outdated addresses generate hard bounces
• High bounce rates damage sender reputation
• Old addresses may have become spamtraps
• Compliance impact:
• GDPR data minimization principle: don't keep data longer than necessary
• Accuracy principle: take reasonable steps to ensure data is correct
• Sending to someone who left the company may reach an unintended recipient
• Old consent may no longer be valid if circumstances changed significantly
• Mitigation strategies:
• Re-verify data before campaigns
• Set data retention policies (delete or refresh after X months)
• Track data age and prioritize recent records
• Remove addresses that bounce and don't re-add from old sources