Share via

Exchange Retention Policies

Peter 280 Reputation points
2025-02-03T22:04:01.6666667+00:00

Hi

I would like to configure a retention policy in the compliance center.
The goal is to retain items for 7 years, even if users choose to permanently delete items.
After the 7 years, all items in the Recoverable Items > Purges folder, that are older than 7 years should be deleted.
Items for example in the inbox, that are older than 7 years should not be deleted.
Is this configuration correct, or will then completely all items older than 7 years be deleted?User's image

Thanks and regards
Peter

Exchange Online
Exchange Online

A cloud-based service included in Microsoft 365, delivering scalable messaging and collaboration features with simplified management and automatic updates.

0 comments

Answer accepted by question author

Vasil Michev 126.8K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
2025-02-04T07:59:22.23+00:00

You should use the "Do nothing" option instead. The Purges folder has its own retention policy and will remove "expired" messages after 14-30 days. So items will be retained for 7 years, either in their original location (Inbox or other folder) or Purges (for items deleted at some point). After the 7 years period has expired, items in Inbox will remain in place, whereas items that made it to the Purges folder will be "released" and deleted after the single item recovery window expires.

Was this answer helpful?

1 person found this answer helpful.

1 additional answer

Sort by: Most helpful
Most helpful Newest Oldest
  1. Anonymous
    2025-02-04T03:16:45.9366667+00:00

    Hi, @Peter

    Based on your description, you want to perform different retention actions for different folders.

    Based on the screenshot you provided, the configuration does enable items to be retained for seven years and then automatically deleted, but this would apply to all folders in the mailbox, rather than performing different retention actions for different folders.

    Given your needs, in Exchange Online, you can use a messaging records management (MRM) retention policy to manage the email lifecycle. You can fulfill specific retention needs by creating retention tags, adding them to retention policies, and then applying the policies to mailbox users.

    You can create retention tags that act on inboxes and deleted items to fulfill this retention requirement.

    More information can be found Create a Retention Policy in Exchange Online | Microsoft Learn

    Similar cases can be found in enable mailbox archival - Microsoft Q&A

    If the answer is helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and kindly upvote it. If you have extra questions about this answer, please click "Comment".

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments

Your answer

Answers can be marked as 'Accepted' by the question author and 'Recommended' by moderators, which helps users know the answer solved the author's problem.