Microsoft Purview - Policies for Archive inbox

Question

Microsoft Purview - Policies for Archive inbox

Guilherme Fuzil 25 Microsoft Employee

Hello,

I'm having an issue where i want to create and apply a retention policy to my outlook inbox. My main goals are to apply certain retention policies to my normal inbox and move the emails to the Archive Online inbox I already have on my Outlook.
The problem i'm facing is that every time i create a policy for my account on Purview that policy also applies to the Archive Online inbox. I want to be able to automatically apply retention policies without affecting the Archive Online email.
Is that even possible?

Thanks

Venkat Reddy Navari 5,835 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-03-17T14:54:38.7566667+00:00
Hi @Guilherme Fuzil
In Microsoft Purview, retention policies are set up to manage content across your entire mailbox, including both your primary Inbox and your Archive mailbox. The issue here is that when you create a retention policy for your main Inbox, it also ends up applying to your Archive mailbox.

To resolve this, follow the steps below:

Create Separate Retention Policies: For Your Inbox: Set up a retention policy that applies specifically to your primary Inbox. This policy can be configured to move emails to the Archive after a specified period (e.g., after 3 years). For Your Archive: Create a separate retention policy for your Archive mailbox. This policy should be configured to retain emails without deleting or moving them, ensuring that the content in your Archive remains intact.

Assign the Policies Appropriately: Assign the first policy to your primary Inbox and the second policy to your Archive mailbox. This separation ensures that each mailbox adheres to its own retention rules without interfering with the other.

Consider Policy Scope: When creating retention policies, be mindful of the scope you select. Ensure that the policy for your Archive mailbox is set to apply only to that mailbox and not to the entire organization or other mailboxes.

For more details go through Microsoft’s official guide: Microsoft Purview Retention Policies.

I hope this helps. Please let us know if you have any further questions.

Kindly consider upvoting the comment if the information provided is helpful. This can assist other community members in resolving similar issues.
Venkat Reddy Navari 5,835 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-03-18T09:43:41.28+00:00

@Guilherme Fuzil Just checking in to see if the below answer helped. If this answers your query, do click Accept Answer and Yes for was this answer helpful. And, if you have any further query do let us know.

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Venkat Reddy Navari 5,835 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-03-17T14:54:38.7566667+00:00

Hi @Guilherme Fuzil
In Microsoft Purview, retention policies are set up to manage content across your entire mailbox, including both your primary Inbox and your Archive mailbox. The issue here is that when you create a retention policy for your main Inbox, it also ends up applying to your Archive mailbox.

To resolve this, follow the steps below:

Create Separate Retention Policies: For Your Inbox: Set up a retention policy that applies specifically to your primary Inbox. This policy can be configured to move emails to the Archive after a specified period (e.g., after 3 years). For Your Archive: Create a separate retention policy for your Archive mailbox. This policy should be configured to retain emails without deleting or moving them, ensuring that the content in your Archive remains intact.

Assign the Policies Appropriately: Assign the first policy to your primary Inbox and the second policy to your Archive mailbox. This separation ensures that each mailbox adheres to its own retention rules without interfering with the other.

Consider Policy Scope: When creating retention policies, be mindful of the scope you select. Ensure that the policy for your Archive mailbox is set to apply only to that mailbox and not to the entire organization or other mailboxes.

For more details go through Microsoft’s official guide: Microsoft Purview Retention Policies.

I hope this helps. Please let us know if you have any further questions.

Kindly consider upvoting the comment if the information provided is helpful. This can assist other community members in resolving similar issues.
Venkat Reddy Navari 5,835 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-03-18T09:43:41.28+00:00

@Guilherme Fuzil Just checking in to see if the below answer helped. If this answers your query, do click Accept Answer and Yes for was this answer helpful. And, if you have any further query do let us know.

Answer 1

Vasil Michev 124.8K MVP Volunteer Moderator

No, that's not possible. Every policy/tag that applies to a folder in your primary mailbox will also apply to the corresponding folder in the Online Archive. This is mentioned for example here: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/exchange/security-and-compliance/messaging-records-management/retention-tags-and-policies#retention-policies

From a retention perspective, the primary mailbox and online archive should not be looked at as separate entities. Retention settings are applied to the primary mailbox, and by design, extend to the online archive. The online archive is an extension of the primary mailbox.

Venkat Reddy Navari 5,835 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-03-19T09:23:13.3933333+00:00

Guilherme Fuzil Following up to see if the above answer was helpful. If this answers your query, do click Accept Answer and Yes for was this answer helpful. And, if you have any further query do let us know.

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Microsoft Purview - Policies for Archive inbox

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