Do user licenses affect application of Retention Policy?

Brass Contributor

I'm really confused on this. Example scenario:

  • Let's say AAD end user John owns a file in OneDrive named "reports".
  • A retention policy is defined for OneDrive to retain everything for x days (the timespan is not important to this question).
  • Do the licenses assigned to John's user (like AAD PP1, 365 A1, etc) affect whether or not the retention policy applies to John's "reports" file?
5 Replies

While Microsoft doesn't enforce licensing requirements in code for many of their features, you still need to follow the licensing guidelines and assign a qualifying license for any user under the scope of a retention policy.

@Vasil Michev Thank you for your response. What licenses specifically would be relevant to users for this purpose?

@Vasil Michev Please let me check that I understand this correctly. Essentially, when I create a Retention Policy, I'd select a location, then subselect only a group of users that has one of these licenses = "Microsoft 365 E5/A5, Microsoft 365 E5/A5 Compliance, Microsoft 365 Information Protection and Governance, Office 365 E5/A5, and Office 365 Advanced Compliance" (as listed on the URL)?

You can select any location, including those corresponding to unlicensed users. Again, Microsoft doesn't enforce licensing requirements in code, so many features will just work. It's up to you to make sure you are aligned with the EULAs.