Push notification retention

  • Release version: Zurich
  • Updated July 31, 2025
  • 2 minutes to read
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    Summary of Push notification retention

    Push notification retention allows ServiceNow customers to archive and eventually destroy push notification records that are no longer needed or when the Push Notification table becomes excessively large. This feature has been available since the Jakarta release and helps maintain system performance and data management by automatically managing push notification lifecycle.

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    Key Features

    • Archiving and destruction plugins: The feature relies on the Data Archiving plugin for archiving and destroying records, and the Push Retention plugin for defining rules on when to archive and destroy push notifications.
    • Default rules:
      • Push notifications older than 365 days are archived from the Push Notification [syspushnotification] table to the Push Notification Archive [arsyspushnotification] table.
      • Archived notifications older than 365 days are destroyed (deleted) from the archive table.
      This results in a total retention period of two years for push notifications—one year active, one year archived.
    • Plugin activation: For new ServiceNow instances, the Push Retention plugin and rules are active by default. For upgraded instances, you must manually activate both the plugin and archive/destroy rules after reviewing them.
    • Manual archiving: Push notifications can also be archived on demand rather than waiting for scheduled jobs.
    • Compatibility: If you already have a custom or third-party process for managing push notification records, you do not need to activate the Push Retention plugin. Only one retention process should be active to avoid accidental data loss.

    Practical Considerations

    • Review and approve archive and destroy rules before activation to ensure they meet your organization's data retention policies.
    • If replacing an existing push notification management process with Push Retention, deactivate the current process first to prevent conflicts.
    • For assistance transitioning to Push Retention, contact ServiceNow professional services or your sales representative.

    Expected Outcomes

    By implementing push notification retention, customers can efficiently manage the lifecycle of push notification records, reduce database size, and maintain optimal instance performance while complying with data retention requirements.

    You can archive and eventually destroy push notifications that you no longer need or if your Push Notification table is excessively large.

    Push notification retention is available starting with the Jakarta release.

    Push notification archive and destruction plugins

    The push notification archiving and destruction feature uses the Data Archiving and Push Retention plugins. The Data Archiving plugin must be active to archive and destroy push notification records. The Push Retention plugin provides a set of rules that specify when the system archives and destroys push notification records.

    In new instances, the Push Retention plugin and associated archive and destroy rules are active by default. On upgraded instances, you must manually activate both the plugin and the archive and destroy rules. Be sure to review and approve the archive and destroy rules before activating them.

    If your instance already has a process for managing push notification records, you do not need to activate the Push Retention plugin. If you want to replace your current process with Push Retention, be sure to deactivate the current process before activating the archive and destroy rules.

    Archiving and destroying push notification records

    Archiving means moving records from the Push Notification [sys_push_notification] table to the Push Notification Archive [ar_sys_push notification] table when they exceed the archive rule time limit. Destroying means deleting records in the Push Notification Archive table when they exceed the destroy rule time limit.

    Default archive and destroy rules

    Push retention provides the following push archive rules:
    • Push Notification - Over a year old: archives push notification records that were created more than 365 days prior to the current date.
    • Push Notification Archive - Over a year old:destroys push notification records that have been archived for more than 365 days prior to the current date.
    With these default settings, your messages are kept on the instance for a total of two years: one year in the Push Notification table, and one year in the Push Notification Archive table. At the end of the period, the system deletes the expired notification records from the Push Notification Archive table.
    Note:
    By default these rules are active on new instances and inactive on upgrades. The system runs archive and destroy rules when you activate them.

    Compatibility with other record management implementations

    If you are already using another method for managing push notification records, such as table cleaners, you do not have to use the Push Retention feature. To prevent unexpected record deletion, avoid using multiple push notification management processes on the same instance at the same time.
    Note:
    For assistance replacing your existing record management implementation with push notification retention, contact your professional services or sales representative.