Forum Discussion
shared mailbox email retention
I have a question regarding conversions of user mailboxes to shared mailboxes. once you convert a user mail box to a shared mailbox and remove the license how long will the email data be retained? I have been told different things.
- Indefinitely, as shared mailboxes do not require archives. There are some caveats depending on the size and functionality required, but generally speaking - forever. Disregarding any retention policies you might have in place, etc.
Keep in mind that converting a mailbox to shared does not meet any of the compliance requirements you might have to preserve data. If this is needed, best look into using Inactive mailboxes instead: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/compliance/inactive-mailboxes-in-office-365?view=o365-worldwide
