What is default Retention policy period for M365 data like EXO and other workloads like SOP, ODB & Teams?

Vinod Survase 4,756

Aaron Tomas Hernandez 5 Reputation points

2023-08-24T19:28:39.4166667+00:00
The default retention policy period for M365 data can vary depending on the specific workload. Here are the default retention policy periods for some common M365 workloads:

Exchange Online (EXO): The default retention policy period for mailbox items in Exchange Online is 14 days. After this period, items are moved to the user's Recoverable Items folder, where they can be recovered for an additional 30 days (total of 44 days). Keep in mind that organizations can customize these retention policies to meet their specific requirements.

SharePoint Online (SPO) and OneDrive for Business (ODB): By default, SharePoint Online and OneDrive for Business do not have a retention policy enabled. However, organizations can implement retention policies and configure the retention period based on their needs. It's important to note that once a retention policy is applied, it may override the default retention period.

Microsoft Teams: The retention policy for Microsoft Teams varies depending on the type of data. For chat and channel messages, the default retention period is 30 days. However, organizations can create custom retention policies to retain Teams data for longer periods if required.

It's important to note that these default retention policy periods are subject to change, and organizations should always review and configure their specific retention policies based on their compliance and data retention requirements.

Accepted answer

Vasil Michev 112.8K Reputation points MVP

2023-08-24T17:24:17.7433333+00:00

There is none, by default all data is kept indefinitely, or until a user (or admin) decided to delete it. There is no automatic deletion of any kind, unless you manually configure such.
Please sign in to rate this answer.

1 person found this answer helpful.

0 comments No comments
Sign in to comment

Use comments to ask for clarification, additional information, or improvements to the question.

1 additional answer

Ling Zhou_MSFT 21,165 Reputation points Microsoft Vendor

2023-08-25T02:41:21.38+00:00

Hi @Vinod Survase,

Thank you for posting in this community.

Thanks to Aaron Tomas Hernandez for his answer, which was very detailed. I am attaching the official documentation to his answer here so you can learn more.

1.Default Retention policy period for Exchange Online:

Reference: Exchange Online data deletion in Microsoft 365.

2.Default Retention policy period for SharePoint Online:

Reference: SharePoint Online data deletion in Microsoft 365.

3.Default Retention policy period for OneDrive for Business.

Reference: OneDrive retention and deletion.

4.Default Retention policy period for Teams.

Teams' retention strategy is complex, you can refer to this article for an overview: Learn about retention for Microsoft Teams.

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

Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread.
Please sign in to rate this answer.

1 person found this answer helpful.
Vinod Survase 4,756 Reputation points

2023-08-28T15:43:11.1633333+00:00

Thanks for reply on this
Ling Zhou_MSFT

paritosh mishra 0 Reputation points

2025-01-20T19:16:20.33+00:00

don't you think after recycle bin period of 93 days there is a second stage recycle bin that will keep the item for remainder of 93 Days, after it is deleted from The recycle bin b4 93 days , and it is the first stage and second stage recycle bin's.
Sign in to comment

Use comments to ask for clarification, additional information, or improvements to the question.