An information retaining apparatus of the present invention has a storage unit which retains a plurality of information, an input unit which receives an input from a user, and a determination processing unit which extracts at least some of the plurality of information stored in the storage unit so as to display it according to the input from the input unit or the determination information transmitted from an information processing apparatus connected to the information retaining apparatus via a communication medium and process the information based on the expiration dates of the extracted information and attribute information of the information.