An abstraction layer communicates with a plurality of applications executing on a multi-application platform. The abstraction exposes a standard interface for the plurality of applications to communicate content status information. An indication is received that a new content item will be generated. A record is generated that is immutably associated with the new content item. The record is updated with information received from the application associated with the content item, the information pertaining to a changed status of the content item. In response to a command to delete the content item, it is determined whether to confirm deletion of the content item based on one or more data retention policies. The record is updated to indicate a reason for granting or denying the deletion and a source of the delete command.