Forum Discussion
If you set a retention policy to retain and delete, how will an existing file be affected?
Hello, I asked to separate forums and Support people but received a different response so I just wanted to come here for some sanity check.
Let's say you set up a new retention policy for SharePoint Online sites and site A already has a file that's created/uploaded 4 years ago. For the retention configuration, you chose Retain for 5 years, Based on Created, and Delete after the retention policy expires. Once this policy is applied today, will the existing file be deleted after 1 year or 5 years?
Once this retention policy is applied, will that file be deleted after 1 years or 5 years? I just wanted to use the community who seemed to have users with real experience with Microsoft tools.
3 Replies
The file in question was created 4 years ago, and the policy is applied today. Because the retention is based on the Created date, the system calculates retention from when the file was originally created, not from when the policy was applied. That means the file has already “served” 4 years of its retention period. So, it will be deleted after 1 more year, not 5 years from today.
The file will be deleted 1 year from now, assuming no other policies or labels override this one.
Hi,
In your case, all files that were created 5 years ago will be deleted after the policy is assigned. Not instantly, but after some time, because the backend processing can take up to 7 days.
So to summarize, the policy will apply to files that were saved both before and after it was assigned.Microsoft informs you about this when you create a new retention policy, on the final "Summary" screen
Brgd,
Mateusz
To put it simply: Files will be automatically deleted after the retention period ends, and during the retention period, they can be edited but their versions are locked.
