What is zero data retention (ZDR)?

Zero data retention (ZDR) is the claim that an AI endpoint does not keep the prompt, the completion, or other residue of a request after the call finishes.

OpenRouter hop, zdr enforced zero data retention: terms and exceptions

Q: What is the ZDR score for OpenRouter hop, zdr enforced?

On zdr.dev the published score is ZDR 0.5 (f,x) · B. Routes only to endpoints OpenRouter marks as zero-retention. OpenRouter itself does not store prompts unless you opt in. Still third-party plaintext. Implicit prompt cache is not treated as retention; plugins and web search keep their own policies; ZDR is claimed by upstream, not verified here.

ZDR 0.5 (f,x) · B

Short answer

Routes only to endpoints OpenRouter marks as zero-retention. OpenRouter itself does not store prompts unless you opt in. Still third-party plaintext. Implicit prompt cache is not treated as retention; plugins and web search keep their own policies; ZDR is claimed by upstream, not verified here.

Scope and evidence

Provider	OpenRouter
Service	hop, zdr enforced
Lane	ZDR
Origin	US United States
License	open-weight
Hosting	Self-host
Score	ZDR 0.5 (f,x) · B Architectural ZDR. Nothing durably written by provider; stateful features blocked/rejected; still third-party plaintext processing
Evidence	Public documentation reviewed (B: published documentation)
Source-review date	2026-08-25

Other lanes for OpenRouter

ZDR 0.5 (f,x) · Bopenrouter/api · zdrZDR

ZDR 3.0 (x) · Bopenrouter/api · defaultAPI default

Structured breakdown

Default posture: Routes only to endpoints OpenRouter marks as zero-retention. OpenRouter itself does not store prompts unless you opt in. Still third-party plaintext.
Exceptions and carve-outs: implicit prompt cache is not treated as retention; plugins and web search keep their own policies; ZDR is claimed by upstream, not verified here

Approval and setup path

Approval and setup path not yet reviewed.

Flags on this record

f: stateful-feature carve-outs (files, batch, threads, caching, grounding)
x: subprocessor exposure

Practical questions for your agreement

Does your signed agreement cover this exact service, model set, and feature path?
Which retention, logging, and human-review exceptions still apply after any ZDR election?
What configuration evidence (flags, project settings, store defaults) confirms the posture you expect?
Do your customer commitments match what the reviewed evidence supports?

Does your agreement cover this deployment?

We can review the relevant terms, feature choices, and customer commitments, then help your team identify what to clarify or negotiate.

Speak to a ZDR expert about OpenRouter

Sources

Trust and security

Trust Portal trust.openrouter.ai

Posture ledger

2026-08-24

seeded

ZDR 0.5 (f,x) · B

Seeded from published documentation.

Full key on the scale. Method notes on methodology. Notation is always ZDR 1.0 (s,f,r) · A.