Glossary Phone system
What is CDR?
Also called call detail record, call logs, call records
A Call Detail Record is the log entry a phone system writes for every call: the calling and called numbers, start time, duration, how it was routed and how it ended. CDRs are the raw material behind billing, reporting and most troubleshooting.
What they answer
CDRs settle arguments. Did the call come in? Was it answered, and after how long? Who transferred it, and where did it go? Because the record is written by the system rather than remembered by a person, it resolves disputes about missed calls and hold times that would otherwise be unanswerable. They also expose patterns, such as a queue that quietly abandons calls at the same time each day.
Records are not recordings
A CDR is metadata: it says a call happened, not what was said. Call recording is separate, is stored separately, and carries obligations a CDR does not, including consent requirements that vary by jurisdiction. Confusing the two in a retention policy is a common and avoidable mistake.
Retention and access
CDRs accumulate quickly, and how long they are kept is a decision rather than an accident. Keep too little and you cannot investigate a dispute from last quarter or reconstruct a billing question. Keep too much without thinking and you are holding a detailed log of who contacted whom, which is personal data in most jurisdictions and carries obligations accordingly. Decide a retention period deliberately, write it down, and make sure whoever needs the data for support work can actually get at it within that window.