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How long can you cache YouTube API data?
Under YouTube’s current API Services Developer Policies, many categories of stored API data must be deleted or refreshed after 30 calendar days. That is a maximum boundary for eligible data, not a universal retention entitlement:
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- Non-authorized data: Store only what is needed for the API client’s purpose, and delete or refresh it within 30 calendar days.
- Authorized data outside specified statistical categories: Retain it only as long as needed for the purpose covered by the user’s consent, and delete or refresh it within 30 calendar days.
- Qualifying authorized statistics: Analytics API data, Reporting API data, and certain statistics accessed with authorization may be retained as needed for the consented purpose, subject to additional checks described below.
- Non-authorized statistics: A statistic such as a channel subscriber count accessed without owner authorization must not be stored for more than 30 calendar days.
YouTube states in section III.E.4.c that after 30 calendar days, an API client must either delete or refresh stored data. The policies are incorporated into the governing YouTube API Services Terms of Service; access can be suspended or terminated for noncompliance. Check the live policy and its revision history before shipping, since the rules can change.
Which fields need different cache rules?
Do not attach one time-to-live (TTL) to an entire API response. Apply a retention class to each value you persist. Titles, other video metadata, comments, and ordinary statistics do not all have identical authorization or retention treatment. Keep audiovisual content out of a metadata cache: the data-storage rules do not grant permission to download, back up, cache, or store copies of YouTube audiovisual content. That requires YouTube’s prior written approval.
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| Data class | Retention treatment | Important condition |
|---|---|---|
| Non-authorized metadata and other ordinary data | Delete or refresh within 30 calendar days | Keep only what is needed for the API client’s purpose. |
| Authorized data outside listed statistical categories | Delete or refresh within 30 calendar days | Retain only as needed for the purpose covered by the user’s consent. |
| Authorized Analytics API or Reporting API data, and certain authorized statistics | May be retained as needed for the consented purpose | Verify authorization every 30 calendar days; for video statistics, check that the video still exists. |
| Non-authorized statistics | Do not store for more than 30 calendar days | The authorized-statistics exception does not apply. |
| Specified metrics for an API client accepted under the additional analytics policy | Up to 36 calendar months | Only the approved statistical metrics and derived metrics qualify; the amendment is not a general extension. |
| Audiovisual content | Not permitted under the ordinary API data-storage allowance | Storing copies requires YouTube’s prior written approval. |
How to design the cache and its expiry process
YouTube’s policies set outcomes; they do not prescribe a database schema, TTL mechanism, programming language, or job queue. The following is an engineering approach for meeting the stated retention and deletion requirements, not a YouTube-mandated design.
1. Classify every persisted field
At ingestion, record whether each value is authorized or non-authorized, its data category, and the rule that determines its retention. A practical record might include:
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- Resource identifier and field or category.
- Authorization status and, where needed, an authorizing account or consent reference.
- Fetch time and last successful refresh time.
- Retention class, expiry time, and deletion status.
- Whether the client has accepted the additional analytics amendment, if relevant.
Avoid retaining credentials or additional user information unless it is independently necessary and allowed. Classification should happen before persistence so a broad response object cannot accidentally inherit a longer retention period than one of its fields permits.
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For ordinary eligible data, schedule a successful refresh or deletion before 30 calendar days have elapsed from storage. A refresh should reset the timestamp only after the returned value is valid and the record has been updated. If a refresh fails, keep the existing expiry guard and delete at the boundary rather than letting stale data remain indefinitely. This fail-closed behavior is a conservative implementation choice, not a prescribed YouTube algorithm.
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For non-authorized data, use the shorter period if the application no longer needs it before the 30-day maximum. For authorized data, apply the consented purpose as an additional constraint: the policy maximum does not justify retaining data after that purpose no longer requires it.
3. Treat authorized statistics as a separate workflow
If you retain eligible authorized statistics beyond 30 calendar days, verify every 30 calendar days that the user still authorizes access. For statistics about a video, also check that the video still exists. If authorization or video existence cannot be verified, delete the affected data as soon as possible under the applicable rules. Do not apply this exception to statistics obtained without authorization.
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How often should the cache refresh, and what should users see?
A 30-day retention ceiling is not a recommended 30-day refresh interval. The policies call for reasonable efforts to keep stored API data consistent with current API data. They say metadata changes and view-count updates should be reflected as quickly as possible, and user-facing presentations must display the most updated API data available.
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Repair common Windows errors and clear accumulated junk for a smoother, more stable PC - no reinstall needed.Free scan · no reinstallChoose refresh cadence according to the field and the freshness users need; do not present an old cached value as current. Historical values can be displayed when their time context is accurate—for example, label a value with when it was retrieved or which reporting period it represents. Refreshing a record addresses its stored-data obligation; it does not make a stale value suitable for an unlabeled “current” display.
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How should deletion requests and revoked authorization work?
Deletion is part of the cache design, not an afterthought. YouTube requires API clients to provide users a way to request deletion of stored user data and to delete it as soon as possible, within seven calendar days after the request. When a user revokes consent, delete the associated authorized data within seven calendar days as well. Deleting your copy does not delete the underlying data on YouTube.
- Offer a request path: Provide an accessible way for users to request deletion, as well as a privacy policy describing your data practices.
- Resolve the full deletion scope: Identify affected records by user and resource, including records linked through authorization or consent references.
- Propagate deletion: Remove data from primary storage, replicas, search indexes, derived stores, and caches under your control.
- Handle revocation: Revoke the token through the appropriate mechanism and remove the authorized data tied to it within the same seven-calendar-day limit.
- Check ongoing authorization: Periodically reconfirm token validity; remove data associated with tokens that cannot be refreshed.
Google’s developer guide and policies warn that violations may lead to reduced quota, revoked credentials, other action, or termination of the associated Google account.
Does the 2026 analytics exception change the 30-day rule?
Only narrowly. Google’s revision history records that the additional derived-metrics and storage policy was added May 4, 2026, and updated June 1, 2026. It is for audited developers with analytics use cases who explicitly apply for and accept the relevant permission. Under the additional analytics and derived-metrics policy, qualifying statistical and derived metrics may be stored for up to 36 calendar months.
The extension does not cover every client or use case. Video titles, creator names, descriptions, and comment text remain subject to the 30-day refresh-or-deletion policy. The general policies also prohibit replacing API data with similar independently calculated data or using API data to create new or derived metrics; the supplemental policy permits only its specified use cases under its terms. Do not assume that caching data, or calculating a metric from it, is covered unless your client has accepted the applicable amendment and the metric is within its scope.
What to verify before release
- Every persisted field has a category, authorization state, and expiry rule.
- Ordinary eligible data cannot outlive its 30-calendar-day boundary without a valid refresh; non-authorized data is limited to what the application needs.
- Any extended retention of authorized statistics includes 30-day authorization checks and, for video statistics, an existence check.
- Refresh jobs update timestamps only after a successful, valid refresh, and failed jobs do not disable expiry.
- Displays use the most updated data available or clearly identify a historical value’s time context.
- Deletion requests and revocations reach every copy under the client’s control within seven calendar days.
- No audiovisual content is stored without prior written approval, and no derived-metrics exception is assumed without acceptance of its terms.
For uncertain use cases, Google’s developer guidance points developers to the policies and suggests considering an API Compliance Audit. This implementation guidance is not legal advice or a determination that a particular cache will pass an audit.
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