Leaving Comma: your data, your copy

You can keep a copy of your archive outside Comma, and you can export everything yourself if you change providers. Self-service export is free. Your records are yours.

Our commitment

• No export fee, no switching fee, no egress fee. Every self-service export path on this page is included in your subscription. If you would rather have Comma staff run a migration for you, that is paid service work, and nothing requires it. These are the no-fee switching terms the EU Data Act requires of providers from January 2027; we apply them now.
• One declared export standard. A complete archive export is a delivery of your sealed archive into an Amazon S3 bucket or Azure Blob container you own, in the documented batch layout below. The same format whether it runs continuously or once at the end. Bucket-to-bucket transfer stays simple at any size, so a large archive arrives the same way a small one does.
• Open formats, originals first. Records export as JSON (the sealed record as stored, with its SHA-256) and EML (per message or thread). PDF renderings ride along in packages as readable copies; they are representations, not originals. JSON and EML are what another system ingests.
• You have 60 days after a contract ends to finish exporting. Every export path on this page stays available for that window. The one thing that pauses them is an overdue invoice.
• Regulated records are not deleted for non-payment. If you are a FINRA member, an SEC Rule 17a-4 recordkeeper, or similarly regulated, we do not delete or discard your records solely because payment stopped until the retention period ends or your regulator has access or consents in writing.

Keep a continuous copy in storage you control

On the Retention, storage & records screen, enter your Amazon S3 bucket or Azure Blob container, prefix, region, and credentials, then run Verify credentials. Once delivery is activated, Comma writes a second copy of your sealed archive into storage you own, in daily batches: gzipped JSON Lines envelopes (comma-blob-export/1), attachment bytes named by their SHA-256, a manifest.json listing every object with its checksum and size, and a _SUCCESS marker written last. The copy covers messages, attachments, reactions, calls, poll votes, message revisions, inbound email, artifact versions, voicemails, and transcriptions. Content classified as personal does not ship.

Delivery begins at activation and does not back-fill content sealed before it, so turn it on early. Details: Deliver your archive to your own bucket, S3 setup, Azure setup.

Export everything yourself

Two ways to get the whole archive, and two more for slices. None of them is paid migration work.

1. Continuous copy, already running. If you enabled the bucket copy above, everything sealed since activation is already in your storage. Keep it running through your last day.
2. Request a full export. On the Retention, storage & records screen, enter the S3 bucket or Azure container you want it in and run Verify credentials (the same intake as the continuous copy). Then email support@commacompliance.com with the subject “Full export” and the bucket name. Comma delivers your complete archive of business-classified sealed records - including everything from before any continuous copy was activated - into that bucket within 10 business days, in the same batch layout: JSON Lines envelopes, attachment bytes named by SHA-256, a manifest.json per batch, and a _SUCCESS marker. You can verify every delivered batch against its manifest. This is a standard support-requested export at no charge. Your account must be in good standing when you ask. If you do not have cloud storage, create a free AWS or Azure account; the S3 and Azure guides take about ten minutes.
3. Collection export, for a case or matter. Export any Case or Legal Hold as a ZIP: the sealed JSON record for every item, digest-verified native attachments, a readable PDF per thread, index.csv, a manifest.json with per-item SHA-256 values, and an attestation. Packages hold up to 50,000 items or 10 GiB. Above that the package fails rather than truncating, so split a large matter by date range and export it in parts. Downloads need step-up verification, and a package stays available for 30 days.
4. EML and the API, for anything smaller. Export any message or thread as EML. Or open the team menu in the top-right, go to Development → API and create a token, then page through platform accounts, threads, messages, calls, and voicemails, and fetch each item’s sealed record from /worm_records/{id} - the original, with its SHA-256. API access is enabled per account; if you do not see Development → API, email support@commacompliance.com. See the API reference.

You can also export search results as CSV or PDF from the dashboard, download analytics CSVs, and the quarterly compliance report - useful for people, not for migration.

A full export is not a formatted regulatory production (load files, Bates numbering). If an examiner asks for one, start from the JSON and EML.

Timing when a contract ends

Your agreement gives you 60 days after termination or expiration to use the export tools on this page. Ask for your full export in the first week, not the last: it takes up to 10 business days to land, and you want time to check each batch against its manifest.

If you stop paying

While undisputed fees are overdue, Comma is not obliged to provide access, export, or bucket delivery. Bring the account current and access returns. Your records are not deleted in the meantime, and for regulated firms the non-payment safeguard above still applies. An unpaid invoice changes when you can reach your records, not who owns them.

If your firm is closing

Closing the firm does not end its recordkeeping obligation. Most firms either export everything and hand the records to whoever is responsible for keeping them, or keep them with Comma at the archival rate ($15 per archived user per month, the same rate as a departed employee - see pricing), prepaid for the rest of the retention period. On the archival plan the product stays exactly as it is - search, review, holds, exports, API, your bucket copy - and simply stops taking in new messages. Your firm designates its accountable party (D3P or designated executive officer); Comma provides the records access and export those parties rely on. Decide the destination and the responsible person before the 60-day window ends, especially for anything under legal hold. To prepay continued retention, get in touch.

Frequently asked questions

Does our bucket copy include the historical archive?

Not by itself. It begins at activation. Request a full export and the history is delivered into the same bucket.

What does a complete export include?

Every record type Comma seals: messages, attachments, reactions, calls, voicemails, transcriptions, poll votes, message revisions, inbound email, and artifact versions. Collection exports add a readable PDF per thread; bucket deliveries carry the sealed records and attachments only. Content your settings classify as personal is never exported, by design. Audit logs are available separately through the API.

Can our new vendor ingest the export?

Ask them whether they accept JSON with native attachments, or EML. Those are the two formats we publish. The bucket layout and the collection-export contents are documented above so their import team can plan against them.

Is there really no charge to leave?

No export fee, no switching fee, no egress fee for anything you run yourself. If you want Comma staff to do migration work for you, that is paid service work like any other professional service, and nothing requires it.

What happens to records under legal hold?

A legal hold stops disposal. Export the held collection and hand it to the party responsible for the matter before your access ends; then release the hold.