A system and method for data management according to the content of the data. The present invention enables data to be stored in one of a plurality of different storage options according to at least one characteristic of the data, in which the at least one characteristic is related to the content of the data. The present invention comprises a rule-based storage management mechanism for the processes of archiving and/or retrieving data. It should be noted that at least one storage option according to the present invention is optionally deletion and/or destruction of the data, such that the data may optionally be removed from storage media or may optionally not be stored initially on the storage media. Optionally and more preferably, the data is stored for a time interval according to the at least one characteristic of the data. Most preferably, the data is moved to a different type of storage option after an event occurs, for example the time interval has elapsed.