Outlook Local Archiving Emails to Local PC as PST – Do Items Get Removed from M365 Mailbox?

Question

Hi everyone,

I'm currently using the Archive feature in Outlook to move older emails to a local PST file based on a specific date range. After archiving, I see that these emails are now only visible in the local archive (PST) form outlook desktop.

However, I noticed that the same emails still appear in the Inbox from Outlook on the web (M365).

My question is:

When I archive emails to a PST file on my PC, are the emails actually removed from the M365 mailbox on the server, or are they just removed from the local Outlook cache?

My Goal:

After local archive mail item from outlook, this mail item and size will reduce from M365. Is it possible from outlook?

Thanks in advance for your insights!

Answer 1

HI @Dipto ,

Thank you for posting question to Microsoft Q&A.

According to your question - Yes. The AutoArchive function moved your emails based on your condition into a *.pst file and those files are only available via the output *.pst.

This also means that your inbox is having more space after this process. It depends on your internet connection that this will also update on Outlook on the web (OWA) - you will need to keep your Outlook Desktop Application open during the time so it could finish the synchronization between it and OWA. Unless some emails are affected by possible retention policy, some emails might remain the same in OWA.

Please review this function via article: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/autoarchive-settings-explained-444bd6aa-06d0-4d8f-9d84-903163439114

Let me know once you have waited for at least one day and double-checked again everything.

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