What feature dictates that the requester pays for the retrieval of data from an S3 bucket?

The requester pays feature in Amazon S3 allows the bucket owner to configure their buckets in such a way that the cost of data retrieval is passed on to the requester rather than the bucket owner. This setup is particularly useful in scenarios where a public dataset is stored, and the owner wants to make the data readily available without incurring the costs associated with data access. When using this feature, the requester must be aware that they will be responsible for any charges incurred when they access or retrieve data from the bucket.

This feature encourages the sharing of large datasets because it reduces the financial burden on the bucket owner. By leveraging the requester pays functionality, organizations can increase access to their data while managing costs effectively, particularly for datasets accessed by numerous external users or different departments within a large organization.

In contrast, other options do not specifically relate to the dynamic of who pays for data retrieval. For instance, the bucket owner pays relates more to a different billing model and does not apply here, while the data transfer and storage cost features refer to general aspects of cost management in AWS and do not directly dictate payment responsibility during data retrieval in relation to S3 bucket policy.