Quick answers
How long does Webex keep meeting recordings by default?
Cisco says recordings older than 360 days are permanently deleted by default. Admins can set 7 to 3,600 days, and going beyond 360 days needs Pro Pack (help article dated 21 September 2024).
Is Webex’s own storage an SEC Rule 17a-4 archive?
The Cisco pages we reviewed describe retention, eDiscovery and legal hold, but do not say Webex storage meets Rule 17a-4(f). Ask Cisco to confirm in writing before relying on it.
How long must SEC-regulated firms keep communications?
Broker-dealers: at least three years under Rule 17a-4(b)(4), the first two easily accessible, and FINRA Rule 4511 defaults to six years where no period is specified. Investment advisers: five years from the end of the fiscal year of the last entry under Rule 204-2.
Which platforms document archiving Webex recordings and chat?
Global Relay documents a Webex Meetings connector (recordings, chats, transcripts) and a separate messaging connector. Theta Lake documents capture of in-meeting chat, transcripts and recordings. Smarsh’s Webex page names messages, files and attachments, not recordings.
The short answer
For SEC-regulated firms, archiving Webex means getting the communications your firm treats as records into a system that preserves them for the required period, in a form that meets Rule 17a-4(f) if you are a broker-dealer. The Cisco pages we reviewed describe retention settings, eDiscovery, legal hold and an Events API for archiving software. They do not say that Webex’s own storage is a Rule 17a-4 compliant archive, so many firms capture Webex content into a separate archive.
The most common mistake is leaving the defaults alone. Cisco says recordings older than 360 days are permanently deleted by default, while the retention periods in the SEC and FINRA rules run from three to six years.
What the rules require
These are summaries of the rule text for broker-dealers and investment advisers. Whether a particular Webex message or recording is a required record depends on its content and on your firm’s policy. UK and EU firms should also read our guide to archiving AI meeting notes, which covers FCA SYSC 10A and MiFID II.
| Rule | What it requires | Source |
|---|---|---|
| SEC Rule 17a-4(b)(4) (broker-dealers) | Originals of communications received and copies of communications sent, including inter-office communications relating to the firm’s business, must be kept for not less than three years, the first two in an easily accessible place. | S1 |
| SEC Rule 17a-4(f) (broker-dealers) | Electronic records must be immediately producible and kept in one of two ways: with a complete time-stamped audit trail (capturing modifications and deletions, who acted and when, and enough to re-create the original), or exclusively in a non-rewriteable, non-erasable format. The system must verify storage completeness and accuracy, allow download in human-readable formats, and have backup or redundancy. The non-rewriteable route still needs an audit system. | S1 |
| SEC Rule 17a-4(f) undertakings | A designated executive officer, or a designated third party unaffiliated with the firm, must sign undertakings to provide records promptly to the SEC and other regulators and to download them if the firm fails to. The undertakings are filed with the firm’s designated examining authority. | S1 |
| FINRA Rule 4511 | Members must make and preserve books and records required by FINRA rules, the Exchange Act and its rules. Where no period is specified, the minimum is six years. Records must be kept in a format and medium that meets SEC Rule 17a-4. | S3 |
| SEC Rule 204-2(a)(7) and (e)(1) (investment advisers) | Advisers must keep originals of written communications received and copies sent that relate to recommendations or advice, receipt or delivery of funds or securities, placing or executing orders, and performance. Records are kept for not less than five years from the end of the fiscal year of the last entry, the first two years in an appropriate office of the adviser. | S2 |
| SEC Rule 204-2(g) (investment advisers) | Electronic storage must be indexed so records can be found and retrieved, a duplicate copy stored separately for the full retention period, access limited to authorised people and the SEC, and records safeguarded from loss, alteration or destruction. | S2 |
What Webex provides natively
The table below is what Cisco documents. The compliance datasheet shows only “© 2023”, so licence terms and limits may have changed since. Confirm current details with Cisco.
| Capability | What Cisco documents | Source and date |
|---|---|---|
| Messaging retention | On the standard offer the datasheet lists “Indefinite retention for messaging and Not configurable.” With Pro Pack, an administrator can set retention periods for Webex Messaging and Webex Meetings content, including recordings and transcripts. | S4 · © 2023 |
| Recording auto-deletion | Cisco says recordings older than 360 days are permanently deleted by default. Admins can set a retention period of 7 to 3,600 days; keeping data beyond 360 days needs Pro Pack. Recordings that users delete go to the trash and can be restored for up to 30 days. | S6 · 21 Sep 2024 |
| eDiscovery | Compliance officers can search messages, events, file shares, whiteboard snapshots and meeting event metadata, such as recording events and participant lists. Search covers the last 90 days unless Pro Pack is used. Reports download as zipped EML files and stay available for 10 days. Cisco says data from other organisations’ meetings cannot be searched. The article mentions eDiscovery of recordings only for Webex for Government. | S5, S4 · 24 Sep 2025; © 2023 |
| Legal hold | Not available on the standard offer. With Pro Pack, legal hold covers messaging and meetings content, and held data is not deleted under the retention period. | S4 · © 2023 |
| Export to archiving software | The datasheet describes an Events API that feeds archival software. The standard offer allows a custom range within the past 90 days; Pro Pack removes the range limit. | S4 · © 2023 |
| Audit logs | Administrator actions are logged in Control Hub, exposed through a REST API and downloadable as CSV. Compliance officer searches are also logged. | S4, S5 · © 2023; 24 Sep 2025 |
Archiving platforms that document Webex capture
If you want recordings and chat together, check whether the platform treats them as one connector or two. These are vendor statements as at 12 October 2026, not tests by Attestly, and absence from the table does not mean a platform lacks support.
| Platform | What the vendor documents | Source and date |
|---|---|---|
| Global Relay (meetings) | Its Webex Meetings connector lists meeting recordings (audio and video), meeting chats, a participants summary, transcripts and closed captions. The customer must agree a proposal with Cisco for additional services, after which Cisco configures the integration point. The page says documentation is still being created. | S7 · 11 Aug 2026 |
| Global Relay (messaging) | Its Webex messaging connector lists chat and channel conversations, including in-meeting chats, plus files, attachments and GIFs. Capture can be scoped to chosen Webex groups. It requires an active paid Webex account and a Global Relay account. | S8 · 30 Jun 2026 |
| Theta Lake | Cisco’s blog says Theta Lake can capture in-meeting chat without the video or audio, Cisco-generated transcripts, messaging content and complete recordings, with SEC 17a-4-compliant storage or integration with a firm’s existing archive. Cisco says it offers a free version of Theta Lake’s suite to Webex customers. Theta Lake’s own page says Webex meetings, events and training content is archived and retrievable for eDiscovery, and does not say how the meetings capture works. | S9, S10 · 18 Sep 2024; 7 Aug 2025 |
| Smarsh | Its Webex page says Smarsh captures Webex content directly from source on the Cisco Webex cloud platform, and names messages, files and attachments. It names FINRA, SEC, FCA and MiFID II. It does not mention meetings, calling, recordings or transcripts. | S11 · 8 Jun 2026 |
Compare these and other archiving platforms in our communications archiving tools directory.
A practical sequence
- Decide what counts as a record. Webex produces chat messages, in-meeting chat, files, recordings, transcripts and call records. The rules above apply to communications that relate to your business, so your compliance function has to decide, in writing, which of these your firm treats as records. Recordings and transcripts are the grey area.
- Check the retention defaults. Cisco says recordings older than 360 days are deleted by default, which is shorter than the three-, five- and six-year periods above. A firm that records meetings and changes nothing will lose them. Set the retention you need in Control Hub and confirm which licence it requires.
- Choose the capture route. Either rely on Webex retention and export through the Events API, or capture into a separate archive. The Cisco pages we reviewed describe retention, eDiscovery, legal hold and archiving partners, but do not say that Webex’s own storage is a Rule 17a-4 compliant archive. If you plan to rely on it, ask Cisco to confirm that in writing.
- Get the scope confirmed in writing. Ask Cisco and your archive vendor to confirm what is captured (chat, files, recordings, transcripts, participants), under which Webex licence, and whether recordings and chat arrive together or through separate connectors.
- Test it end to end. Run a test meeting with a recording, in-meeting chat, a shared file and an external guest. Confirm each item reaches the archive complete, with timestamps and participants, and that you can search and export it.
- Confirm the Rule 17a-4(f) route. Broker-dealers need either the audit-trail or the non-rewriteable approach, plus the designated executive officer or third-party undertakings. Ask your archive vendor which route it supports and how it evidences it.
- Plan for the gaps. Cisco says other organisations’ meeting data cannot be searched through eDiscovery, and the standard offer searches only the last 90 days. Decide how you cover external participants and older content.
- Review it on a schedule. Both Cisco and the archive vendors change what they document. Recheck the connector scope and licence terms at least yearly and after any Webex plan change.
What to ask Cisco and your archive vendor
- Does Webex’s own storage meet Rule 17a-4(f), or must we capture into a separate archive? Please confirm in writing.
- Which Webex licence do we need for the retention, legal hold and export we plan to use?
- Does the connector capture recordings, transcripts, in-meeting chat and files, and do they arrive together or separately?
- What happens to content in meetings with external participants or hosted by other organisations?
- How soon after a meeting does the record reach the archive, and how are failed deliveries reported?
- If a recording is deleted from Webex after capture, which copy is the record, and can we show the audit trail?
- What additional cost or Cisco services agreement is required for the connector?
If you also use an AI note-taker in Webex
An AI meeting assistant joining a Webex call creates its own transcript and summary, which may be separate records from the ones Webex holds. See Archiving AI meeting notes for how to treat them, and our vendor due diligence checklist for the wider review.
Sources
- S1: 17 CFR 240.17a-4 (eCFR), eCFR states up to date as of 8 October 2026.
- S2: 17 CFR 275.204-2 (eCFR), eCFR states up to date as of 8 October 2026.
- S3: FINRA Rule 4511, General Requirements, rule effective 5 December 2011.
- S4: Webex Control Hub compliance datasheet (PDF), shows © 2023, no other date.
- S5: Webex Help Center: eDiscovery in Control Hub, last updated 24 September 2025.
- S6: Webex Help Center: Enable the auto-deletion policy for Webex recordings, dated 21 September 2024.
- S7: Global Relay: Webex Meetings by Cisco connector, page last modified 11 August 2026.
- S8: Global Relay: Cisco Webex (messaging) connector, page last modified 30 June 2026.
- S9: Webex blog: New capabilities for compliant Webex communications, published 17 March 2022, updated 18 September 2024.
- S10: Theta Lake: Webex Meetings integration, page last updated 7 August 2025.
- S11: Smarsh: Webex capture, page last modified 8 June 2026.
All sources read on 12 October 2026. The eCFR is authoritative but unofficial; the published CFR is the official text. A FINRA page on books and records did not load when we checked, so it is not used as a source.
Compare archiving and meeting-notes tools
Attestly tracks what vendors state about security, training policy and archive integrations, with sources and dates.
See archiving toolsThis article is a general overview for orientation and is not legal, regulatory or compliance advice. Recordkeeping obligations depend on your firm, its regulators and the specific communication, and they change. Confirm what applies to you with a qualified compliance or legal professional, and verify current rules before relying on anything here.