License requirements for retention policy OneDrive for Business

[Pooya Obbohat]

Can't seem to find the answer anywhere online. Does anyone know if there are any license requirements for retention policies for OneDrive for Business? Link to source would help. Thanks. 

[#2]

Since this is a feature that relies on the preservation hold functionality, you need E3 or above. You can refer to the service description here: https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/sharepoint-online-service-description.aspx

[#3]

Thanks. Just found this thread where they mention that E1 is covered as well. The same question surfaces here and someone confirms that after an employee leaves the company, their license is made available and their OneDrive for Business folders/files can still be accessed because the retention policy is still working. 

Looks like more people are not aware of the license requirement and MSFT isn't automatically preventing you from using the feature. On this page they only mention the Exchange Online Plan 2 license requirement in the note below the screenshot and when I click on the Preservation hold library link in the service description, I eventually end up here where they describe the eDiscovery center. The license I have for my own tenant is Office 365 Premium Business. This license doesn't meet the requirement, but I'm assuming that a retention policy for OneDrive works. I'm not supposed to make use of it, but this can also happen when someone is simply trying out the features in the Security & Compliance Center. 

Do you know if they require the user to have the license or if they simply look at how often you're using the feature and how many E3+ licenses you have? 

[#4 · Accepted solution]

That's the issue - they don't enforce licensing requirements, so some functionalities will work even though you might not be properly licensed for them. In general, all the compliance features have traditionally required E3 or the equivalent ExO/SPO Plan 2, and I don't believe this has changed. It's very hard to find any document that actually mentions this however, so I guess if you want an official answer you should open a support case.

[#5]

@Pooya Obbohat : The "modern" Retention Framework is part of the Security and Compliance Center.

See the service description: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/office365/servicedescriptions/office-365-platform-service-descripti...

According to the service description retention policies are licensed in most plans.