What Is Article Retention on Usenet?

Article retention refers to how long a Usenet provider stores articles on its servers. The longer the article retention period, the further back in time articles are kept available for access. For example, if a provider advertises 5,000 days of article retention, that means articles posted over 13 years ago may still be accessible on the provider’s servers.

This storage period applies to all newsgroups supported by the provider. It can affect how far back Indexers can search and how much access a user has to historical Usenet discussions.

Why Article Retention Matters

A longer article retention period means more historical articles are preserved for access. This is especially valuable for those who rely on older Usenet discussions or need access to articles that were posted years ago. UsenetServer, for example, offers one of the longest article retention periods available and retains every article it stores without cycling out older material to make space. As of April 8, 2025, UsenetServer offers 6080 days of article retention, and adds another day every day. You can find the most up-to-date count on our sign-up page.

Some providers advertise long article retention periods but may only apply them to certain newsgroups or begin deleting older articles once storage fills up. That’s why it’s worth verifying how retention is handled across all groups.

Secure Access With SSL Encryption

When connecting to Usenet using SSL (Secure Sockets Layer), your connection is encrypted. This means that any data exchanged between your newsreader and the Usenet server is protected from being intercepted or read during transmission. SSL encryption plays a key role in maintaining privacy and security while accessing articles over the Internet.