Managing data sent to an observability platform like New Relic requires careful consideration of compliance with laws such as PCI or GDPR, particularly regarding sensitive information like personally identifiable information (PII). New Relic, an open platform, can ingest extensive metrics, events, logs, and traces from both its agents and third-party sources, but it is crucial to manage the data appropriately to avoid unnecessary costs and compliance issues. Dropping data at ingest, a feature New Relic offers, allows users to control what data is stored in the New Relic Database (NRDB), thus minimizing costs and managing sensitive data by dropping low-value data and specific event attributes. This is achieved by creating drop rules using NerdGraph format and NRQL queries, which specify the data types or attributes to be dropped. The article emphasizes the importance of understanding these processes to effectively utilize New Relic's platform while managing data volume and compliance, and it directs users to additional resources for configuring data drop rules and exploring the capabilities of NRDB.