Questions
4 of 4
1When would you use the Batches API instead of regular Messages API calls? — expected answer: async processing of large volumes, 50% cost reduction, non-time-sensitive workloads like bulk evaluation or dataset generation
2What's the max batch size and how do you retrieve results? — expected answer: results come back via a results_url on the batch object; you poll processing_status until it's done
3What statuses can a batch request have? — succeeded, errored, canceled, expired, and in_progress
4Is the Batches API eligible for Zero Data Retention? — No — batch processing requires 29-day retention for async storage, so it's not ZDR-eligible
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04 / 04

Is the Batches API eligible for Zero Data Retention? — No — batch processing requires 29-day retention for async storage, so it's not ZDR-eligible

Difficulty: 5/10
data retention policies, batch processing, API compliance

No, the Batches API is not eligible for Zero Data Retention (ZDR) because Anthropic must retain batch data for up to 29 days to support asynchronous processing and result retrieval.

Zero Data Retention (ZDR) is a feature for certain API endpoints where Anthropic does not store any request or response data after processing completes. The Batches API, by its nature as an asynchronous system, requires temporary storage of batch requests and their results for up to 29 days. This retention window allows customers to retrieve results days after submission and handles error retries post-processing.

Therefore, the Batches API is not ZDR-eligible. If your compliance or security requirements mandate zero data retention, you cannot use the Batches API and should instead use standard Messages API calls, which offer ZDR as an optional configuration.

Scenario Questions

0-2 years experience

  1. 1If you were asked to enable Zero Data Retention on a new batch endpoint, what would happen and why?
  2. 2How would you configure a batch job to satisfy the required 29‑day retention period?

2-5 years experience

  1. 1We want to cut storage costs and are considering ZDR for our batch jobs. Walk me through how you would evaluate whether that’s feasible.
  2. 2A recent release caused batch results to disappear after a week, breaking a client’s retry logic. How would you debug this issue?

5-8 years experience

  1. 1Design a system‑wide enforcement mechanism that guarantees every batch job retains data for at least 29 days, while still allowing other services to use ZDR where appropriate.
  2. 2What are the performance, compliance, and cost implications of keeping batch results for 29 days versus using Zero Data Retention at a scale of millions of batches per day?

8+ years experience

  1. 1Our company is moving toward a Zero Data Retention policy for most services. How would you plan the migration of existing batch workloads that currently rely on the 29‑day async storage requirement?
  2. 2Discuss the architectural impact of making the Batches API ZDR‑eligible on data governance, auditability, and downstream analytics pipelines, and how you would coordinate across teams.

Follow-up Questions

  • What would you need to change in the API contract to make ZDR possible?
  • How does the 29‑day rule affect downstream analytics pipelines?
  • Can you think of any scenarios where an exception to the rule might be justified?
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