Content Search using different Modified date than SharePoint - which date do retention policies respect?

Question

When we upload documents into SharePoint (or OneDrive), it displays both the Created and Modified dates as today, regardless of when the file itself was actually last modified- as seen in the screenshot below.

However, when we run a Content Search against this SharePoint site and filter by Last Modified Date, it is using a different metadata value to determine this.

For instance, we uploaded a file into SharePoint and it displays both a Created and Modified date of this past Monday. 

When a Content Search is run on this site, filtered by Last Modified >5 Years, it returns this file, and shows the "Received or Created" date displayed in SharePoint, but the "Modified Date" as in 2012.

If we were to turn on a Retention policy against this site to delete content older than 5 years since last modified, would this file be deleted? 

If yes, Is there any way to surface this metadata value in SharePoint in order to communicate to users the actual life span of documents they upload? If not, this is extremely confusing to end users who are being told the retention period is, say, 5 years since last modified, but the Modified Date they see in the repository does not relate to the retention period.

Thanks for your help,

Dave

Answer 1

Hi Dave,

Sorry for the delayed reply.

Based on our test, the retention policy “when it was last modified” is the “Modified” time shows in SharePoint library not the metadata modified date for a file.

Regards,

Neo

Answer 2

Hi Dave,

We still test about retention policy, we will update our test as soon as possible. Thanks for your understanding.

Regards,

Neo

Answer 3

Hi Dave,

To give you a further support, I need more time to test this issue in other versions of Office. I will update this thread once I get more info within 3 days.

Thanks for your patience.

Regards,

Neo

Answer 4

Thanks Neo, I understand how Created and Modified dates work.

The issue is that when I move a document into SharePoint, as documented in my screen shots, SharePoint displays a Modified Date that is different than the date picked up by the Content Search.

Uploading the document to SharePoint resets the modified date to the time you upload it, but the Content Search is still picking up on the date the file was last modified prior to being uploaded to SharePoint, even when searching content stored in SharePoint.

This conflict creates great concern about how retention policies will be applied - to the date displayed in SharePoint, or to the previous date being picked up by Content Search? Please help to clarify this discrepancy.

Answer 5

Hi Dave,

Retention policy:

And here is the explanation about Created and Modified:

Based on my test, I notice that I file I created a few hours ago displayed as a few seconds ago(Created and Modified) when I upload it into SharePoint document library:

That means your filter roles may display the real last modify time of your file. To have a better understanding of your scenario, please check the last modified time of the file you mentioned above.

Thanks,

Neo