Certainly there's a difference, in say, NetFlow data containing just IPs and protocols/ports and the full contents of a message? Similarly, storing the request line of an HTTP request is far different than the entire request header and response. Same for email headers, EXIF data, etc.
I think it's rather reasonable for someone collecting information to delineate and make it clear they aren't keeping the full contents. Sure, it's also part of the spin, but it's hardly making up a new term.
It is different from "everything" but it's still "the complete records of who electronically contacted whom and what, including when, how and from where, including the search words and visited web pages."
I think it's rather reasonable for someone collecting information to delineate and make it clear they aren't keeping the full contents. Sure, it's also part of the spin, but it's hardly making up a new term.