Zero Data Retention (ZDR)

Zero Data Retention (ZDR) is a routing constraint that limits ARouter to providers that have formally agreed not to store your prompts, completions, or any request data for training, logging, or any other purpose.

How ZDR Works

When ZDR is enabled for a request, ARouter:

Filters the provider pool to only ZDR-compliant endpoints
Routes the request to a compliant provider
Returns provider.zdr: true in the response metadata

If no ZDR-compliant provider is available for the requested model, the request fails with a 404 error.

Enabling ZDR Per Request

Add zdr: true in the provider object:

{
  "model": "openai/gpt-5.4",
  "messages": [{"role": "user", "content": "Analyze this confidential document..."}],
  "provider": {
    "zdr": true
  }
}

Python
TypeScript
cURL

from openai import OpenAI

client = OpenAI(
    base_url="https://api.arouter.ai/v1",
    api_key="lr_live_xxxx",
)

response = client.chat.completions.create(
    model="openai/gpt-5.4",
    messages=[
        {"role": "user", "content": "Analyze this confidential document..."}
    ],
    extra_body={"provider": {"zdr": True}},
)

print(response.choices[0].message.content)

const response = await client.chat.completions.create({
  model: "openai/gpt-5.4",
  messages: [{ role: "user", content: "Analyze this confidential document..." }],
  // @ts-expect-error ARouter extension
  provider: { zdr: true },
});

curl https://api.arouter.ai/v1/chat/completions \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer lr_live_xxxx" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "model": "openai/gpt-5.4",
    "messages": [{"role": "user", "content": "Analyze this confidential document..."}],
    "provider": {"zdr": true}
  }'

Account-Wide ZDR

Enforce ZDR for all requests made with an API key via the Dashboard or API:

curl -X PATCH https://api.arouter.ai/api/v1/keys/{key_hash} \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer lr_admin_xxxx" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"enforce_zdr": true}'

With account-wide ZDR, every request using that key automatically routes only to ZDR endpoints.

ZDR vs Data Collection

Concept	Scope	Who controls it
ZDR	Provider-level: no storage by provider	ARouter routing policy
Data Collection	ARouter-level: what ARouter stores	ARouter privacy settings

ZDR only governs what the upstream provider does with your data. ARouter itself always stores usage metadata (tokens, cost, timestamps) regardless of ZDR. See Data Collection for what ARouter stores.

Caching and ZDR

ZDR does not prevent prompt caching. Caching is a performance optimization, not a form of data retention — cached prompts are stored ephemerally for latency reduction and are not accessible to other customers or used for training.

ZDR Endpoints

Use GET /api/v1/endpoints/zdr to list all models and provider endpoints that support ZDR:

curl https://api.arouter.ai/api/v1/endpoints/zdr \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer lr_live_xxxx"

{
  "endpoints": [
    {
      "model": "openai/gpt-5.4",
      "provider": "OpenAI",
      "zdr": true,
      "context_length": 128000
    },
    {
      "model": "anthropic/claude-sonnet-4.6",
      "provider": "Anthropic",
      "zdr": true,
      "context_length": 200000
    }
  ]
}

Provider Routing — Full provider object reference including ZDR enforcement
Data Collection — What ARouter collects and stores
Provider Logging — How providers handle data retention
Guardrails — Enforce ZDR at the API key level

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Zero Data Retention (ZDR)

How ZDR Works

Enabling ZDR Per Request

Account-Wide ZDR

ZDR vs Data Collection

Caching and ZDR

ZDR Endpoints

​How ZDR Works

​Enabling ZDR Per Request

​Account-Wide ZDR

​ZDR vs Data Collection

​Caching and ZDR

​ZDR Endpoints

​Related

How ZDR Works

Enabling ZDR Per Request

Account-Wide ZDR

ZDR vs Data Collection

Caching and ZDR

ZDR Endpoints

Related