Retention Policy

A retention policy in Microsoft Purview keeps content for a defined period and, optionally, deletes it at the end. Policies apply across Microsoft 365 workloads — Exchange mailboxes, SharePoint sites, OneDrive accounts, Teams chats and channel messages, Yammer/Viva Engage — and can be adaptive (auto-scoped by Entra ID attributes) or static (manually scoped). They override user delete actions: content stays in a hidden preservation hold and is recoverable until the retention period expires. Retention policies are the foundation of records management, regulatory compliance, and resilience against accidental or malicious deletion in Microsoft 365.