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Outdated addresses generate hard bounces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