Forum Discussion
Archive-online
Could you please advise if there is any way to delete the mailbox data that is currently stored in the online archive? Thank you.
Option A: End User (Outlook / OWA)
✅ Suitable for small‑scale cleanups
❌ Not practical for large volumes
Option B: Admin – PowerShell (Targeted Cleanup)
- Create a compliance search scoped to the archive,
- Preview results,
- Purge (SoftDelete or HardDelete)
✅ Works for bulk deletion
⚠️ Will fail if retention or holds apply
Example:
New-ComplianceSearch -Name "ArchiveCleanup" `
-ExchangeLocation email address removed for privacy reasons `
-ContentMatchQuery 'kind:email AND received<01/01/2022'
Start-ComplianceSearch "ArchiveCleanup"
New-ComplianceSearchAction -SearchName "ArchiveCleanup" `
-Purge -PurgeType HardDelete