A Complete Guide to Microsoft SharePoint Data Retention

29 Nov 2024

8 min read

SharePoint is a web-based collaboration and document management solution with over 190 million users across 200,000 organizations, including 78% of Fortune 500 companies. SharePoint primarily serves as a data storage location for other Microsoft 365 apps and a means to share information across an organization

Businesses' widespread adoption of SharePoint also means that there is an increased risk of data loss for various reasons. Since Microsoft is not responsible for backing up your data, IT administrators are responsible for retaining SharePoint Online data so that business data is always available.

This article explores all the different ways in which IT admins can retain SharePoint Online data.

What are the apps that use SharePoint as their data storage location?

OneDrive and SharePoint have the same design and functions. OneDrive is meant for personal storage while SharePoint is used for collaborating with others and for publishing files for everyone in the organization to see. Both SharePoint and OneDrive support the same features like - editing Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote, file sizes up to 100GB, co-authoring, version history, file sharing (both internal and external), mobile device access, and syncing files to your computers and phones. OneDrive can be considered as a SharePoint document library that is just for you. Since OneDrive is contained within SharePoint, the retention policies for both applications are the same. Hence all the methods mentioned in this article are applicable to OneDrive as well.

Learn more about the differences between OneDrive and SharePoint.

Microsoft 365 cloud applications like Excel, Word, PowerPoint, OneNote, Sway, Planner, Visio, Whiteboards, and Yammer use SharePoint as their data storage location. Data from third-party applications that are integrated with SharePoint are also stored in SharePoint. In addition, Teams data such as Sites, Wiki, files shared within Teams, and meeting recordings are stored in SharePoint Online.

The below diagram shows the native retention steps in SharePoint and how data can be restored by users and administrators within specific timeframes.

Default Microsoft 365 retention in SharePoint

When an item is deleted from a SharePoint Online site, it is sent to the site Recycle Bin (also called the first-stage Recycle Bin). It stays in the site Recycle Bin for 93 days from the time it was originally deleted, unless it's deleted from there. If you delete the item from the site Recycle Bin, it moves to the site collection Recycle Bin (or second-stage Recycle Bin) and remains there for the remainder of the 93 days since its original deletion. The item is permanently deleted (unless additional retention settings are applied) if it is either deleted from the site collection Recycle Bin or if it exceeds the default retention period (ie, 93 days).

Note: The standard retention period (93 days) begins when something is first deleted and does not change if the deleted item moves from the first-stage to second-stage Recycle Bins.

After data is permanently deleted from the SharePoint Online site collection Recycle Bin, it is retained for an additional 14 days, providing a brief window during which administrators can reach out to Microsoft Support to request a restore. However, this is intended for disaster recovery scenarios and recovery is not guaranteed.

Restorations from Microsoft backups during this 14-day window can only be completed for site collections, not for specific files, lists, or libraries.

Methods to retain SharePoint Online data

Retention policies and retention labels

Files stored in SharePoint and OneDrive can be retained beyond the default Microsoft retention period if a retention policy or retention label is applied to them. They can be used together or separately according to the data type and your business requirements.

A retention policy is used to assign retention settings to content at a site or mailbox level whereas a retention label is used to assign retention settings at an item level (to a particular document, file, or email).

Retention policies and labels can preserve content even if users attempt to delete it, ensuring compliance with organizational or legal requirements. Deleted items subject to retention are moved to the Preservation Hold library and remain there until the retention period expires.

Admins can manage retention policies and labels via the Microsoft Purview compliance portal.

To know when to use retention policies and labels, how to create them, and how they differ from each other, read our in-depth article: Microsoft 365 Retention Policy and Retention Label: A Complete Guide

Records management

By applying retention labels that mark content as records, organizations can enforce restrictions that prevent editing or deletion, supporting compliance with regulatory mandates. When content is declared as a record:

It cannot be edited or deleted by users.

Additional restrictions are placed to ensure compliance.

For more information on records management, refer to Microsoft's documentation on Records Management.

Principles of retention

When multiple retention settings apply to the same content, it's important to know what takes precedence. Below are the four principles of retention:

Retention always takes precedence over permanent deletion.
The longest retention period wins.
Delete actions from a retention label take precedence over delete actions from a retention policy.
The shortest deletion period wins.

For more detailed information on these principles, refer to Microsoft's documentation on Retention Policies and Retention Labels.

Preservation lock for retention labels and policies

A preservation lock is used to restrict anyone-including the global administrator - from either deleting or disabling a retention policy or retention label. Preservation lock is used due to regulatory requirements and can help safeguard against rogue administrators.

Note: A Preservation Lock is irreversible and should be used cautiously.

When a retention policy is locked:

No one can disable or delete it
Locations can be added but not removed
You can extend the retention period but not decrease it

When a retention label is locked:

No one can disable or delete it
Locations can be added but not removed
Labels can be added but not removed

In summary, a locked policy can be increased or extended, but it can't be reduced or turned off.

For guidance on how to lock a retention policy, refer to Microsoft's documentation on Preservation Lock.

eDiscovery holds

Electronic discovery or eDiscovery tools in Microsoft 365 are used to place holds on data across Microsoft 365 services to retain them for legal and litigation compliance.

To learn how to create an eDiscovery hold, refer to this article A Primer to Microsoft 365 eDiscovery Solutions

Learn more about Microsoft Purview eDiscovery solutions.

Versioning

With versioning, SharePoint List items and Library documents can be restored to their previous state or to how they were before being edited by a user. Versioning creates a historical record of all changes with date, time, and user details of who made the changes. The end-user with relevant permissions can view, delete, or restore a version of the document if they want to.

Note: Be aware that SharePoint Online has a default limit of 500 versions for documents (which can be adjusted). Retention policies can preserve versions in the Preservation Hold library, impacting storage.

How to enable versioning in SharePoint?

Step 1: Navigate to the library you want to enable versioning
Step 2: Click on the Settings icon and select Library settings -> More library settings

sharepoint retention - Navigate to libarary settings

Step 3: In the window that opens, click on Versioning settings.

sharepoint retention - Versioning settings

Step 4: Configure the settings and click OK.

configure sharepoint versioning settings

Versioning allows restoration to previous states, but it's important to understand version limits and how versioning interacts with retention policies.

Learn how retention works with document versions

Third-party cloud backup solutions

While the native settings offered by Microsoft are helpful in retaining your data for legal compliance, they do not serve as a backup solution. Microsoft is not responsible for backing up your data and they recommend using third-party apps for backup. Here is what Microsoft says in their Services Agreement (Section 6.b).

We strive to keep the Services up and running; however, all online services suffer occasional disruptions and outages, and Microsoft is not liable for any disruption or loss you may suffer as a result. In the event of an outage, you may not be able to retrieve Your Content or Data that you’ve stored. We recommend that you regularly backup Your Content and Data that you store on the Services or store using Third-Party Apps and Services.

Why should you have a third-party cloud backup solution?

Limitations of Native Retention Settings: The native retention settings offered by Microsoft do not serve as an effective data backup and recovery option. Having a third-party cloud backup solution will shield your data during data loss incidents.
Granular Restoration: Third-party cloud backup tools such as SysCloud help you easily restore specific or all files in just a few clicks.
Save License Costs: Having a backup allows you to retain safe copies of organizational data even after employee exits and account deletions, thus saving license costs.
Protection Against Ransomware and Other Cyberattacks: Third-party backup tools can secure your data during ransomware attacks by automatically identifying a safe backup snapshot to restore the affected file(s).

How SysCloud offers advanced data retention and recovery options for SharePoint Online

SysCloud’s advanced data retention and recovery options let you:

Restore specific or all sites back to the user account in just a few clicks without the trouble of importing and exporting
Directly restore data back to its previous location with all sharing permissions and folder structure still intact
Restore data to another user’s account
Permit employees to restore their files to facilitate faster recovery.
Receive regular reports on the status of your backup, restore, and export reports.
Define retention rules for an unlimited period.
Locate and recover SharePoint data within the backup archives using advanced search options.

Check our comparison table for a detailed look at how SysCloud measures up against SharePoint Online's native retention features: SysCloud vs. Microsoft 365 Native Retention

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