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    ApsaraDB RDS:Delete or reduce backups

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    ApsaraDB RDS:Delete or reduce backups

    Last Updated:Jun 21, 2026

    You can delete or reduce backups for an ApsaraDB RDS for PostgreSQL instance to lower backup costs.

    Usage notes

    • Deleting a backup is a permanent operation. Deleted backup sets cannot be recovered.

    • Data backups and log backups are stored in backup storage and do not use your instance's storage capacity. To free up storage capacity, see Troubleshoot storage capacity issues.

    Delete or reduce data backups

    Delete data backups

    Automatic deletion

    Note

    This method applies to data backups from both manual backup and automatic backup.

    1. Log on to the ApsaraDB RDS console and go to the Instances page. In the top navigation bar, select the region in which the RDS instance resides. Then, find the RDS instance and click the instance ID.

    2. In the left-side navigation pane, click Backup and Restoration.

    3. On the Restoration page, click the Backup Strategy tab.

    4. In the Backup Settings section, click Edit to shorten the backup retention period.

      The minimum backup retention period is 7 days. The system automatically deletes data backup sets older than the specified retention period.

    Manual deletion

    Note

    This applies only to deleting data backups for ApsaraDB RDS for PostgreSQL that are created from manual backups. You can manually delete a backup set if its Backup Method is displayed as Manual backup. To perform this operation, click the image icon.

    1. Log on to the ApsaraDB RDS console and go to the Instances page. In the top navigation bar, select the region in which the RDS instance resides. Then, find the RDS instance and click the instance ID.

    2. In the left-side navigation pane, click Backup and Restoration.

    3. On the Backup and Restoration page, go to Base Backups > Data Backup.

    4. Find the target backup set and click Delete in the Actions column.

    Reduce data backups

    1. Log on to the ApsaraDB RDS console and go to the Instances page. In the top navigation bar, select the region in which the RDS instance resides. Then, find the RDS instance and click the instance ID.

    2. In the left-side navigation pane, click Restoration.

    3. On the Restoration page, click the Backup Strategy tab.

    4. In the Backup Settings section, click Edit to reduce the backup frequency.

      Note

      To ensure data security, back up your ApsaraDB RDS for PostgreSQL instance at least twice a week.

    Delete log backups

    You cannot reduce the volume of log backups by lowering the backup frequency. To delete log backups, you can either shorten the log backup retention period or disable the log backup feature.

    1. Log on to the ApsaraDB RDS console and go to the Instances page. In the top navigation bar, select the region in which the RDS instance resides. Then, find the RDS instance and click the instance ID.

    2. In the left-side navigation pane, click Backup and Restoration.

    3. On the Restoration page, click the Backup Strategy tab.

    4. In the Backup Settings section, click Edit.

      • Shorten the log backup retention period

        The minimum log backup retention period is 7 days. The system automatically deletes log backup sets older than the specified retention period.

      • Disable the log backup feature

        After you disable log backups, the system automatically deletes existing log backup sets within 1 to 3 minutes. This action prevents you from performing a point-in-time recovery (PITR).

    Related APIs

    API

    Description

    DeleteBackup

    Deletes a specified data backup file.

    ModifyBackupPolicy

    Modifies the backup policy for a specified instance.