# Auto Clean Up Recording Files

Call recordings accumulate quickly and take up space on local storage. Cloud Voice already protects that space automatically: once your stored recordings reach the maximum recording capacity (measured in recording minutes), the system discards the oldest files first to make room for new ones. If you would rather retire recordings on a fixed schedule instead of waiting for the capacity limit, you can also set a retention period so that files older than a certain number of days are cleared out on their own.

## Set a retention period

1. Sign in to the Cloud Voice management portal and open **System > Storage > Auto Cleanup > Recording Auto Cleanup > Recording Files**.
2. In the **Recordings Preservation Days** field, enter how many days a recording should be kept before it becomes eligible for automatic removal.

   Enter `0` if you do not want a day-based limit.
3. Click **Save**, then **Apply** to put the change into effect.

:::caution
A shorter retention window makes older recordings eligible for removal sooner, and deleted recordings cannot be recovered. Before you lower this value, confirm the files are no longer needed (or are backed up elsewhere), because the next cleanup will permanently remove anything past the new limit.
:::

:::note
When [Auto Cleanup Reminder](/pbx/administrator-guide/event-notification-overview/#event-notification-overview__auto-cleanup-reminder) is turned on, Cloud Voice emails you once stored recordings climb to 90% of the threshold. If those older recordings still matter to you, use that warning to back them up or raise the retention limit before anything is deleted.
:::