system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
How stable are USB thumbdrives for long-term storage?

If I get a high-quality USB thumbdrive and put some files on it, will they still be there if I don't touch the drive for 5-10 years?  Does the memory lose charge over time and eventually corrupt data?  Should I plug it in to refresh the data every few months?
gpt
Not very.  FLASH memory works by essentially placing some electrons on an insulated island of material through quantum tunnelling and then "trapping" them there.  However, there is some probability that they can tunnel off, and thus the stored charge does leak out over time.  How long it takes for enough charge to leak off that a "read" can't tell the difference (signal to noise wise) depend on the manufacturer and specifications but 10 years is definitely in the danger zone.   There's also a stress degradation issue but that probably doesn't apply here.