How Long Does Office 365 Keep Deleted Emails as Per Retention Policy
There are times when some of us deleted some important emails at one point. But, after some time we realize that we shouldn’t have deleted it. There comes a question in our mind how long does Office 365 keep deleted emails? Here comes the concept of the retention policy. You can set a retention policy as per your needs on the folders created by you. Whereas, there are some default folders at the system level with retention policies that you cannot change.
Therefore, this article is all about Office 365 Deleted Items Retention Policy and how long does office 365 keeps deleted items.
Office 365 Retention Policy Period
Recently, Microsoft shifted its Exchange Server’s hosting under Office 365. This change now allows users to keep the deleted items forever if they want to. Now, users can also configure the retention policy period for default MRM i.e. Messaging Records Management. It also enables users to increase their retention period from 30 days to 24855 days.
What Happens When You Delete Office 365 Emails?
Whenever you delete an email message in Office 365, it goes directly into Deleted Items folder. Now, there are two settings available in Office 365, either you can keep those items in Deleted Items folder or OWA will delete the emails and other items in the folder when you sign out. When you delete the email messages stored in Deleted Items folder, they are transferred to Hidden Deleted Items.
The messages stored in Hidden Deleted Items storage can be recovered within 30 days of deletion. All the emails and other items will be permanently lost if they are not recovered within the retention period. This answers many users’ query that how long does Office 365 keep deleted emails.
What are Retention Policies & How to Make Alterations in it?
Retention policies can help you to retain an item until it is permanently deleted from the mailbox. The maximum amount of time the item is retained is known as the retention policy. There are two types of policies:
Retention Policy: Default
Retention policies and tags are available for each account in Microsoft Office 365. However, there are some folders such as Inbox, Sent Items, Drafts, etc. which have default retention tags. It means that users cannot alter or control retention tags in these folders.
Retention Policy: Manage
OWA i.e. Outlook Web Access allows users to access retention policies and change the retention policies of folders to Never Delete. Though, users can only modify the retention policies that are developed earlier.
Retention Policies – Points to Remember
- The default Retention Policy in Exchange Online has the option that transfers emails to the archive mailbox if it is enabled.
- If you have applied a retention policy to a mailbox, it will be applied to the archive mailbox (if enabled) as well.
- Retention policies are processed by a scheduled task which runs every 7 days. It means that you can get your emails up to 7 days after the expiry period.
This was a basic introduction to what retention policies are all about. However, Microsoft also states that they are not responsible for your data if any data loss situation occurs. So, after keeping all these points in mind, we would suggest the users keep a backup copy of their sensitive emails on your local system as well.
Users are suggested to use Office 365 PST Export Tool and have all their mailbox items of Office 365 saved to local system. It offers you to download your data in 3 different file formats so that you can access your data in any suitable email application. You can download the tool for free and try the demo version to check all the features in it.
Also Read: How to Back up your Office 365 Email Database to Your Local Computer
Final Words
In this article, we have explained all the basic information about retention policies and how long does Office 365 keep deleted emails. We also discussed what happens when someone deletes a message and how it goes through a complete cycle. However, all Office 365 users might know that there is no guarantee of your data, so we recommend users store a backup copy of their data on the system.