diff --git a/cmd/bd/compact.go b/cmd/bd/compact.go
index b8ac50ab..d83e299d 100644
--- a/cmd/bd/compact.go
+++ b/cmd/bd/compact.go
@@ -53,7 +53,7 @@ Tiers:
 
 Deletions Pruning:
   All modes also prune old deletion records from deletions.jsonl to prevent
-  unbounded growth. Default retention is 7 days (configurable via --retention
+  unbounded growth. Default retention is 3 days (configurable via --retention
   or deletions_retention_days in metadata.json).
 
 Examples:
diff --git a/internal/configfile/configfile.go b/internal/configfile/configfile.go
index 9a9854b8..3c1a6db0 100644
--- a/internal/configfile/configfile.go
+++ b/internal/configfile/configfile.go
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ type Config struct {
 	JSONLExport string `json:"jsonl_export,omitempty"`
 
 	// Deletions configuration
-	DeletionsRetentionDays int `json:"deletions_retention_days,omitempty"` // 0 means use default (7 days)
+	DeletionsRetentionDays int `json:"deletions_retention_days,omitempty"` // 0 means use default (3 days)
 
 	// Deprecated: LastBdVersion is no longer used for version tracking.
 	// Version is now stored in .local_version (gitignored) to prevent
@@ -104,7 +104,7 @@ func (c *Config) JSONLPath(beadsDir string) string {
 }
 
 // DefaultDeletionsRetentionDays is the default retention period for deletion records.
-const DefaultDeletionsRetentionDays = 7
+const DefaultDeletionsRetentionDays = 3
 
 // GetDeletionsRetentionDays returns the configured retention days, or the default if not set.
 func (c *Config) GetDeletionsRetentionDays() int {