Implement retention using retention policies, retention labels, and eDiscovery holds
Retention settings and holds that you create with an eDiscovery case can both prevent the system from permanently deleting data. However, Microsoft designed these two forms of retention for different scenarios. To help you understand the differences and decide which to use, use the following guidance:
- Retention settings. In retention policies and retention labels, you specify settings designed for a long-term data lifecycle management strategy. The purpose of these settings is to retain or delete data for compliance requirements. Usually, the scope is broad, with the main focus being the location and content rather than individual users. The start and end of the retention period is configurable. The system can also automatically delete content without administrator intervention.
- Holds for eDiscovery. Organizations can create eDiscovery holds for eDiscovery (Standard) and eDiscovery (Premium) cases. In both instances, organizations design these cases for a limited duration to preserve data for a legal investigation. The scope is specific with the focus being content owned by identified users. The start and end of the preservation period isn't configurable. Instead, it's dependent on individual administrator actions, without an option to automatically delete content when an administrator releases the hold.
The following table provides a summarized comparison of retention settings versus eDiscovery holds.
| Consideration | Retention | eDiscovery holds |
|---|---|---|
| Business need: | Compliance | Legal |
| Time scope: | Long-term | Short-term |
| Focus: | Broad, content-based | Specific, user-based |
| Start and end date configurable: | Yes | No |
| Content deletion: | Yes (optional) | No |
| Administrative overheads: | Low | High |
Important
If content is subject to both retention settings and an eDiscovery hold, preserving content for the eDiscovery hold always takes precedence. In this way, the principles of retention expand to eDiscovery holds because they preserve data until an administrator manually releases the hold. However, despite this precedence, organizations shouldn't use eDiscovery holds for long-term data lifecycle management. For administrators concerned about automatic deletion of data, you can configure retention settings to retain items forever, or use disposition review with retention labels.
Additional reading. If your organization uses older eDiscovery tools to preserve data, see the following resources:
- Exchange:
- SharePoint and OneDrive:
- Retirement of legacy eDiscovery tools.
Use retention policies and retention labels instead of older features
Many organizations must proactively retain or delete content in Microsoft 365 for data lifecycle management. For these organizations, Microsoft recommends they use retention policies and retention labels instead of the following older features.
Older features from Exchange Online:
- Retention tags and retention policies, also known as messaging records management (MRM) (deletion only). However, organizations should note that Microsoft 365 retention policies don't currently support the following MRM features:
- An archive policy for archive mailboxes to automatically move emails from a user's primary mailbox to their archive mailbox after a specified period of time. You can use an archive policy (with any settings) with a Microsoft 365 retention policy that applies to a user's primary and archive mailbox.
- Retention policies applied by an admin to specific folders within a mailbox. A Microsoft 365 retention policy applies to all folders in the mailbox. However, an admin can configure different retention settings by using retention labels that a user can apply to folders in Outlook as a default retention label.
- Litigation holds (retention only). Although Microsoft 365 still supports litigation holds, Microsoft recommends that organizations use Microsoft 365 retention or eDiscovery holds, as appropriate.
Older features from SharePoint and OneDrive:
- Document deletion policies (deletion only)
- Configuring in place records management (retention only)
- Use policies for site closure and deletion (deletion only)
- Information management policies (deletion only)
Some organizations configured SharePoint sites for content type policies or information management policies to retain content for a list or library. In this scenario, the system ignored those policies while a retention policy is in effect.
Important
If your organization currently uses these older features, they continue to work side by side with Microsoft 365 retention policies and retention labels. However, Microsoft recommends that going forward, all organizations should use Microsoft 365 retention policies and retention labels. This best practice enables organizations to benefit from a single solution to manage both retention and deletion of content across multiple workloads in Microsoft 365.