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Note If you're seeing messages about retention policies in Teams or have questions about retention labels in your apps, contact your IT department for information about how they have been configured for you. In the meantime, you might find the following articles helpful: The information on this page is for IT administrators who can create retention policies and retention labels for compliance reasons. For most organizations, the volume and complexity of their data is increasing daily—email, documents, instant messages, and more. Effectively managing or governing this information is important because you need to:
Retention settings that you configure can help you achieve these goals. Managing content commonly requires two actions:
With these two retention actions, you can configure retention settings for the following outcomes:
These retention settings work with content in place that saves you the additional overheads of creating and configuring additional storage when you need to retain content for compliance reasons. In addition, you don't need to implement customized processes to copy and synchronize this data. Use the following sections to learn more about how retention policies and retention labels work, when to use them, and how they supplement each other. But if you're ready to get started and deploy retention settings for some common scenarios, see Get started with data lifecycle management. How retention settings work with content in placeWhen content has retention settings assigned to it, that content remains in its original location. Most of the time, people continue to work with their documents or mail as if nothing's changed. But if they edit or delete content that's included in the retention policy, a copy of the content is automatically retained.
Note Because the Preservation Hold library is included in the site's storage quota, you might need to increase your storage when you use retention settings for SharePoint and Microsoft 365 groups. These secure locations and the retained content are not visible to most people. In most cases, people do not even need to know that their content is subject to retention settings. For more detailed information about how retention settings work for different workloads, see the following articles: Retention policies and retention labelsTo assign your retention settings to content, use retention policies and retention labels with label policies. You can use just one of these methods, or combine them. Use a retention policy to assign the same retention settings for content at a site or mailbox level, and use a retention label to assign retention settings at an item level (folder, document, email). For example, if all documents in a SharePoint site should be retained for 5 years, it's more efficient to do this with a retention policy than apply the same retention label to all documents in that site. However, if some documents in that site should be retained for 5 years and others retained for 10 years, a retention policy wouldn't be able to do this. When you need to specify retention settings at the item level, use retention labels. Unlike retention policies, retention settings from retention labels travel with the content if it's moved to a different location within your Microsoft 365 tenant. In addition, retention labels have the following capabilities that retention policies don't support:
Retention policiesRetention policies can be applied to the following locations:
Note Teams channel messages now include shared channels (currently in preview) as well as standard channels. You can very efficiently apply a single policy to multiple locations, or to specific locations or users. For the start of the retention period, you can choose when the content was created or, supported only for files and the SharePoint, OneDrive, and Microsoft 365 Groups locations, when the content was last modified. Items inherit the retention settings from their container specified in the retention policy. If they are then moved outside that container when the policy is configured to retain content, a copy of that item is retained in the workload's secured location. However, the retention settings don't travel with the content in its new location. If that's required, use retention labels instead of retention policies. Retention labelsUse retention labels for different types of content that require different retention settings. For example:
In all these cases, retention labels let you apply retention settings for governance control at the item level (document or email). With retention labels, you can:
Retention labels, unlike sensitivity labels, do not persist if the content is moved outside Microsoft 365. Classifying content without applying any actionsAlthough the main purpose of retention labels is to retain or delete content, you can also use retention labels without turning on any retention or other actions. In this case, you can use a retention label simply as a text label, without enforcing any actions. For example, you can create and apply a retention label named "Review later" with no actions, and then use that label to find that content later. Using a retention label as a condition in a DLP policyYou can specify a retention label as a condition in a Microsoft Purview Data Loss Prevention (DLP) policy for documents in SharePoint. For example, configure a DLP policy to prevent documents from being shared outside the organization if they have a specified retention label applied to it. For more information, see Using a retention label as a condition in a DLP policy. Retention labels and policies that apply themWhen you publish retention labels, they're included in a retention label policy that makes them available for admins and users to apply to content. As the following diagram shows:
You can also create one or more auto-apply retention label policies, each with a single retention label. With this policy, a retention label is automatically applied when conditions that you specify in the policy are met. Retention label policies and locationsRetention labels can be published to different locations, depending on what the retention label does.
Exchange public folders, Skype, Teams and Yammer messages do not support retention labels. To retain and delete content from these locations, use retention policies instead. Only one retention label at a timeAn email or document can have only a single retention label applied to it at a time. A retention label can be applied manually by an end user or admin, or automatically by using any of the following methods: For standard retention labels (they don't mark items as a record or regulatory record):
When retention labels mark items as a record or a regulatory record, these labels are never automatically changed during their configured retention period. Only admins for the container can manually change or remove retention labels that mark items as a record, but not regulatory records. For more information, see Compare restrictions for what actions are allowed or blocked. Monitoring retention labelsFrom the Microsoft Purview compliance portal, select Data classification and the Overview page to monitor how your retention labels are being used in your tenant, and identify where your labeled items are located. For more information, including important prerequisites, see Learn about data classification. You can then drill down into details by using content explorer and activity explorer.
Tip Consider using some of the other data classification insights, such as trainable classifiers and sensitive info types, to help you identify content that you might need to retain or delete, or manage as records. Using Content Search to find all content with a specific retention labelAfter retention labels are applied to content, either by users or auto-applied, you can use content search to find all items that have a specific retention label applied. When you create a content search, choose the Retention label condition, and then enter the complete retention label name or part of the label name and use a wildcard. For more information, see Keyword queries and search conditions for Content Search. Compare capabilities for retention policies and retention labelsUse the following table to help you identify whether to use a retention policy or retention label, based on capabilities.
Footnote: * For retention labels that don't mark the content as a record or regulatory record, auditing events are limited to when an item in SharePoint or OneDrive has a label applied, changed, or removed. For auditing details for retention labels, see the Auditing retention actions section on this page. Combining retention policies and retention labelsYou don't have to choose between using retention policies only or retention labels only. Both methods can be used together and in fact, complementary each other for a more comprehensive solution. The following examples are just some of the ways in which you can combine retention policies and retention labels for the same location. For more information about how retention policies and retention labels work together and how to determine their combined outcome, see the section on this page that explains the principles of retention and what takes precedence. Example for users to override automatic deletionScenario: By default, content in users' OneDrive accounts is automatically deleted after five years but users must have the option to override this for specific documents.
Example to retain items for longerScenario: By default, SharePoint items are automatically retained and then deleted after five years, but documents in specific libraries must be retained for ten years.
Example to delete items in a shorter time periodScenario: By default, emails aren't retained but are automatically deleted after ten years. However, emails related to a specific project that has a prerelease code name must be automatically deleted after one year.
How long it takes for retention settings to applyWhen you submit retention policies for workloads and label policies to automatically apply a retention label, allow up to 7 days for the retention settings to be applied to content: Similarly, allow up to 7 days for retention labels to be visible in apps after you publish the labels:
Often, the policies will take effect and labels will be visible quicker than 7 days. But with many potential variables that can impact this process, it's best to plan for the maximum of 7 days. Adaptive or static policy scopes for retentionWhen you create a retention policy or retention label policy, you must choose between adaptive and static to define the scope of the policy.
Advantages of using adaptive scopes:
Advantages of using static scopes:
For configuration information, see Configuring adaptive scopes. To watch a recorded webinar (requires registration), visit Deep Dive on Adaptive Scopes. Policy lookupYou can configure multiple retention policies for Microsoft 365 locations, as well as multiple retention label policies that you publish or auto-apply. To find the policies for retention that are assigned to specific users, sites, and Microsoft 365 groups, use Policy lookup from the Data lifecycle management or Records management solutions in the Microsoft Purview compliance portal. For example: You must specify the exact email address for a user, exact URL for a site, or exact email address for a Microsoft 365 group. You can't use wildcards, or partial matches, for example. The option for sites includes OneDrive accounts. For information how to specify the URL for a user's OneDrive account, see Get a list of all user OneDrive URLs in your organization. The principles of retention, or what takes precedence?Unlike retention labels, you can apply more than one retention policy to the same content. Each retention policy can result in a retain action and a delete action. Additionally, that item could also be subject to these actions from a retention label. In this scenario, when items can be subject to multiple retention settings that could conflict with one another, what takes precedence to determine the outcome? The outcome isn't which single retention policy or single retention label wins, but how long an item is retained (if applicable) and when an item is deleted (if applicable). These two actions are calculated independently from each other, from all the retention settings applied to an item. For example, an item might be subject to one retention policy that is configured for a delete-only action, and another retention policy that is configured to retain and then delete. Consequently, this item has just one retain action but two delete actions. The retention and deletion actions could be in conflict with one another and the two deletion actions might have a conflicting date. The principles of retention explain the outcome. At a high level, you can be assured that retention always takes precedence over permanent deletion, and the longest retention period wins. These two simple rules always decide how long an item will be retained. There are a few more factors that determine when an item will be permanently deleted, which include the delete action from a retention label always takes precedence over the delete action from a retention policy. Use the following flow to understand the retention and deletion outcomes for a single item, where each level acts as a tie-breaker for conflicts, from top to bottom. If the outcome is determined by the first level because there are no further conflicts, there's no need to progress to the next level, and so on.
Important If you are using retention labels: Before applying the principles to determine the outcome of multiple retention settings on the same item, make sure you know which retention label is applied. Before explaining each principle in more detail, it's important to understand the difference between the retention period for the item vs. the specified retention period in the retention policy or retention label. That's because although the default configuration is to start the retention period when an item is created, so that the end of the retention period is fixed for the item, files also support the configuration to start the retention period from when the file is last modified. With this alternative configuration, every time the file is modified, the start of the retention period is reset, which extends the end of the retention period for the item. Retention labels also support starting the retention period when labeled and at the start of an event. To apply the principles in action with a series of Yes and No questions, you can also use the retention flowchart. Explanation for the four different principles:
Items subject to eDiscovery hold also fall under the first principle of retention; they cannot be permanently deleted by any retention policy or retention label. When that hold is released, the principles of retention continue to apply to them. For example, they could then be subject to an unexpired retention period or a delete action. Principles of retention examples that combine retain and delete actionsThe following examples are more complex to illustrate the principles of retention when different retain and delete actions are combined. To make the examples easier to follow, all retention policies and labels use the default setting of starting the retention period when the item is created so the end of the retention period is the same for the item.
Use Preservation Lock to restrict changes to policiesSome organizations might need to comply with rules defined by regulatory bodies such as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Rule 17a-4, which requires that after a policy for retention is turned on, it cannot be turned off or made less restrictive. Preservation Lock ensures your organization can meet such regulatory requirements because it locks a retention policy or retention label policy so that no one—including an administrator—can turn off the policy, delete the policy, or make it less restrictive. You apply Preservation Lock after the retention policy or retention label policy is created. For more information and instructions, see Use Preservation Lock to restrict changes to retention policies and retention label policies. Releasing a policy for retentionProviding your policies for retention don't have a Preservation Lock, you can delete your policies at any time, which effectively turns off the retention settings for a retention policy, and retention labels can no longer be applied from retention label policies. Any previously applied retention labels remain with their configured retention settings and for these labels, you can still update the retention period when it's not based on when items were labeled. You can also keep a policy, but change the location status to off, or disable the policy. Another option is to reconfigure the policy so it no longer includes specific users, sites, groups, and so on. Additional information for specific locations:
Auditing retention configuration and actionsWhen auditing is enabled, auditing events for retention are supported for both administration configuration (retention policies and retention labels) and retention actions (retention labels only). Auditing retention configurationAdministrator configuration for retention policies and retention labels is logged as auditing events when a retention policy or label is created, reconfigured, or deleted. For the full list of auditing events, see Retention policy and retention label activities. Auditing retention actionsRetention actions that are logged as auditing events are available only for retention labels and not for retention policies:
PowerShell cmdlets for retention policies and retention labelsUse Office 365 Security & Compliance Center PowerShell for Purview retention cmdlets that support configuration at scale, scripting for automation, or might be necessary for advanced configuration scenarios. For a list of available cmdlets, and to identify which ones are supported for the different locations, see PowerShell cmdlets for retention policies and retention labels. When to use retention policies and retention labels or eDiscovery holdsAlthough retention settings and holds that you create with an eDiscovery case can both prevent data from being permanently deleted, they are designed for different scenarios. To help you understand the differences and decide which to use, use the following guidance:
Summary to compare retention with holds:
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, don't use eDiscovery holds for long-term data lifecycle management. If you are concerned about automatic deletion of data, you can configure retention settings to retain items forever, or use disposition review with retention labels. If you are using older eDiscovery tools to preserve data, see the following resources: Use retention policies and retention labels instead of older featuresIf you need to proactively retain or delete content in Microsoft 365 for data lifecycle management, we recommend that you use Microsoft 365 retention policies and retention labels instead of the following older features. If you currently use these older features, they will continue to work side by side with Microsoft 365 retention policies and retention labels. However, we recommend that going forward, you use Microsoft 365 retention policies and retention labels to benefit from a single solution to manage both retention and deletion of content across multiple workloads in Microsoft 365. Older features from Exchange Online:
Older features from SharePoint and OneDrive: If you have configured SharePoint sites for content type policies or information management policies to retain content for a list or library, those policies are ignored while a retention policy is in effect. Configuration guidanceSee Get started with data lifecycle management. This article has information about subscriptions, permissions, and links to end-to-end configuration guidance for retention scenarios. |