Enable Outlook and To Do Clients to Surface Archived Items

Description:

Exchange Online’s retention architecture currently forces the archiving of calendar items, tasks, and notes when default folder tags are applied with MessageClass = '*'. However, Microsoft Outlook (on the web, Mac, and PC) and the Microsoft To Do app do not surface these archived items, resulting in a broken user experience and loss of access to critical data.
 

Problem:
 

• Calendar items, tasks, and notes that are archived via retention policies become invisible to users in Outlook and To Do.
• Users are unaware that these items have been archived, leading to confusion and support requests.
• The Microsoft To Do app, which replaces legacy task workflows, does not integrate with the Exchange Online Archive, making archived tasks inaccessible.
• Outlook clients do not provide visibility or searchability for archived calendar and note items, even though they remain stored in the archive.

Impact:
 

• User Experience Breakdown:  Users lose access to important calendar and task data without warning.
• Support Overhead: IT teams must explain and troubleshoot why items “disappear” from view.
• Compliance Confusion: Organizations applying retention policies for email only are forced to archive unrelated item types due to Exchange Online limitations.
• Feature Inconsistency: Microsoft’s own apps (Outlook, To Do) do not fully support the data lifecycle created by Exchange Online’s retention engine.

Proposed Change:

Update Microsoft Outlook (Web, Mac, PC, iOS, Android) and Microsoft To Do to:
 

• Surface archived calendar, task, and note items from the Exchange Online Archive.
• Provide clear indicators and search capabilities for archived items.
• Ensure that retention policies do not result in silent data loss from the user’s perspective.

Justification:
 

• This change would restore visibility and trust in Microsoft’s compliance and archiving tools.
• It aligns client behavior with backend retention logic.
• It reduces support burden and improves usability across Microsoft 36