Total retention time for OneDrive files after user deletion

Hi @Chris LeMay 

Thank you for posting your question in the Microsoft Q&A forum.        

Regarding your question about how OneDrive handles retention for deleted users, when a user is deleted from Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure AD), their OneDrive retention period begins immediately. This 30-day retention is not sequential to the Azure AD deletion grace period, the two run concurrently. 

The OneDrive deletion process works as follows: 

1. User deletion 

• A user is deleted via Microsoft 365 admin center or through Active Directory sync. 
• This deletion is synchronized to SharePoint. 

2. OneDrive cleanup and retention 

• The OneDrive Clean Up Job marks the user's OneDrive for deletion. 
• The user remains in the admin center for 30 days. 
• The default OneDrive retention is also 30 daysYou can change this in the SharePoint admin center. 
• See Set the OneDrive retention for deleted users or by using the PowerShell cmdlet:  
  Set-SPOTenant -OrphanedPersonalSitesRetentionPeriod <int32>.  
• For more information about using this cmdlet, see Set-SPOTenant. 
• Learn more about retention and deletion: The OneDrive deletion process 

3. Access notification 

• If a manager is assigned, they receive an email with access and deletion notice. 
• If no manager is set but a secondary owner is defined, they receive the same notification. 
• Learn more about unlicensed OneDrive accounts and access delegation: Timeline for unlicensed accounts 

4. Reminder before deletion 

• A second email is sent to the manager or secondary owner 7 days before the OneDrive is deleted. 

5. Post-retention handling 

• After the retention period, the OneDrive is moved to the site collection recycle bin for 93 days. 
• Shared content becomes inaccessible. 
• Restoration is only possible via PowerShell. 

So in total, the retention period is 123 days: 

30 days (Azure AD + OneDrive, overlapping) + 93 days (site collection level) = 123 days total 

I hope the information shared helps clarify your question. While it may not resolve the issue directly, I’m here to support you further if anything remains unclear or if you'd like to explore additional options. 

Thank you again for your patience and understanding. If you have any other questions or need further assistance, feel free to reach out anytime. 

Looking forward to hearing from you. 

Best regards,  

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