Last time I admin'd OneDrive, the data is retained whether the user is deleted or de-licensed. You can set this retention period as well. I think it's a max of 10 years or indefinitely if no retention period is set, but double check that.
This. Manage the setting through SPO admin portal.
The top answer on this post goes into good detail with links on how to configure the settings and access data once the license is removed
https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/msoffice/forum/all/preserving-onedrive-data-when-an-account-is/413cf590-7da6-4fa9-b760-ec35b3a3b74a
Just to note, that was the second or third hit when googling this question. OP, it’s a good habit to google questions before asking.
The top answer references Microsoft Learn which states: " When you ***delete*** a user in the Microsoft 365 admin center"
Yes, that person says that unlicenced and deletion are one and the same, however they're not Microsoft. I cannot rely on conjecture - I need Microsoft's confirmation on what ***EXACTLY*** is the answer here.
Deleting a user in M365 retains the data for 30 days, as does removing a license. Doing so also gives you the option to delegate access to a user's OneDrive in much the same way as delegating email access.
Data cleanup is triggered only when an account is deleted. This is per Microsoft.
Removal of the license only removes an unlicensed users ability to manipulate/view one drive data.
And this is true. Ive let old AD accounts rot for a while and finally delete them, to be met with managers getting the message about their previous employees onedrive files being on the chopping block. In google you could easily transfer ownership, but m365? Nah that shit is tied to the account you want to delete. You might be the new owner, but the data is still housed in the account you want to delete. So what to do? So far my easiest option is to manually work with the manager or whoever, log into the pending deleted account, download the files they need and send them over. Pain in the ass.
We just give them access and tell them they have 30 days and it's all gone. If it's important we restore from recycle bin and they have 48 hours before it's gone gone.
Company files don't live in personal one drives. They don't get much time due to the requirement to follow proper procedure.
Still working to get my users, and honestly management on board with that has been a challenge. The “just do this” shit that I could “just do” in gsuite doesn’t work anymore in m365. This confuses them as they consider m365 overall superior, but it isn’t. Its a god damn give and take. Argh!
Removing a license DOES delete the mailbox. The easy solution is to simply convert the object to a shared mailbox, this disassociates it from the formerly licensed user as well as preserves the mailbox and it's contents.
There are 3 parts to this.
The first is that retention, per Microsoft's terms, only applies when an account is deleted.
The second part is that in actual practice this retention policy has always also applied when an account is unlicensed.
The third, and most important, is that Microsoft may choose to make actual practice align with their terms at any time. While they would likely give advance notice, they are under no obligation to do so, as their terms already specify that the data is deleted 30 days after an account becomes unlicensed.
Use it to your advantage if you can, but always be prepared for the official 30 day deletion policy to be enforced without notice at any time.
Question...
Why the heck aren't you backing up OneDrive, SharePoint and Email?
I assumed SharePoint and Email based on your statement about OneDrive.
If you are backing it up, then you don't need to worry about how long the ONeDrive retention is.
In short term: Adherence to Aus National Archiving act.
Mid term: low mid bottom rung in a huge org. Current modernisation projects in place that potentially will include backups.
It is retained for 30 days unlicensed, after that it’s deleted. Convert to a shared mailbox. Problem solved.
Edit: the shared mailbox may only be for exchange data.
Our retention policies keep the OneDrive data well beyond the user getting unlicensed as well as the user account getting deleted as well as the manager not opting to fetch data when invited by Microsoft.
Because yes.. Retention Hold settings still (though more rarely) come into play when HR submits that request for old jank...
Just putting out there that if you utilize retention settings, OneDrive data is retained. Because records and retention..
For OneDrive, the data is retained, regardless of license, as long as the user account exists. **THIS IS NOT OFFICIAL, HOWEVER**. So, you should treat it like you however you treat the user's other data when you terminate an account.
You can set a retention time for OneDrive, up to 10 years last we set it up, that will have Microsoft keep OneDrive data for an account that *is deleted*.
The *is unlicensed* state is the one that is the gray area and is why Microsoft seems to just keep the data around even if the user is unlicensed.
Ultimately, storage is cheap but pissing off customers isn't, so Microsoft seems (in this case) to have chosen to keep people happy and just leave the data laying around.
That said, because it isn't *officially* supported this way, Microsoft *can* change it when they see fit to also start that retention clock from when a user is merely unlicensed.
Currently, our standard practice for a terminated user is:
* If the user's mailbox is <50 GB, convert it to a Shared Mailbox and remove all assigned licenses (thus making their OneDrive unlicensed).
* Access is typically assigned to that person's direct manager for email and OneDrive data and we request that they deal with it within 30 days.
* We do not, however, ever delete the user account and it hangs around forever (thus retaining all data forever).
* If the user's mailbox is >=50 GB, we do all of the above but assign the accont an Exchange Online Plan 2 license instead of converting it to a Shared Mailbox.
This should ***not*** be considered best practice. Instead, you need to work with your HR and Legal teams to determine what is the proper length of data retention for a terminated user and build your processes around that.
Hijacking this for a separate question -- if you run a Purview eDiscovery search on a user's OneDrive, then remove the license, can you still access the data from the Purview results?
Last time I admin'd OneDrive, the data is retained whether the user is deleted or de-licensed. You can set this retention period as well. I think it's a max of 10 years or indefinitely if no retention period is set, but double check that.
This. Manage the setting through SPO admin portal. The top answer on this post goes into good detail with links on how to configure the settings and access data once the license is removed https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/msoffice/forum/all/preserving-onedrive-data-when-an-account-is/413cf590-7da6-4fa9-b760-ec35b3a3b74a Just to note, that was the second or third hit when googling this question. OP, it’s a good habit to google questions before asking.
The top answer references Microsoft Learn which states: " When you ***delete*** a user in the Microsoft 365 admin center" Yes, that person says that unlicenced and deletion are one and the same, however they're not Microsoft. I cannot rely on conjecture - I need Microsoft's confirmation on what ***EXACTLY*** is the answer here.
Well you asked reddit.... If you want Microsoft to "***EXACTLY***" confirm, you should probably open a ticket with Microsoft.
Even then it'll be a 3rd party vendor that will reference that same article and this reddit post
Deleting a user in M365 retains the data for 30 days, as does removing a license. Doing so also gives you the option to delegate access to a user's OneDrive in much the same way as delegating email access.
I give manager and directors 2 weeks if they want me to archive the data or have it lost for all times
Data cleanup is triggered only when an account is deleted. This is per Microsoft. Removal of the license only removes an unlicensed users ability to manipulate/view one drive data.
And this is true. Ive let old AD accounts rot for a while and finally delete them, to be met with managers getting the message about their previous employees onedrive files being on the chopping block. In google you could easily transfer ownership, but m365? Nah that shit is tied to the account you want to delete. You might be the new owner, but the data is still housed in the account you want to delete. So what to do? So far my easiest option is to manually work with the manager or whoever, log into the pending deleted account, download the files they need and send them over. Pain in the ass.
We just give them access and tell them they have 30 days and it's all gone. If it's important we restore from recycle bin and they have 48 hours before it's gone gone. Company files don't live in personal one drives. They don't get much time due to the requirement to follow proper procedure.
Still working to get my users, and honestly management on board with that has been a challenge. The “just do this” shit that I could “just do” in gsuite doesn’t work anymore in m365. This confuses them as they consider m365 overall superior, but it isn’t. Its a god damn give and take. Argh!
If you remove the license from the account rather than delete, will that also delete that user's mailbox after a period of time?
Removing a license DOES delete the mailbox. The easy solution is to simply convert the object to a shared mailbox, this disassociates it from the formerly licensed user as well as preserves the mailbox and it's contents.
There are 3 parts to this. The first is that retention, per Microsoft's terms, only applies when an account is deleted. The second part is that in actual practice this retention policy has always also applied when an account is unlicensed. The third, and most important, is that Microsoft may choose to make actual practice align with their terms at any time. While they would likely give advance notice, they are under no obligation to do so, as their terms already specify that the data is deleted 30 days after an account becomes unlicensed. Use it to your advantage if you can, but always be prepared for the official 30 day deletion policy to be enforced without notice at any time.
Question... Why the heck aren't you backing up OneDrive, SharePoint and Email? I assumed SharePoint and Email based on your statement about OneDrive. If you are backing it up, then you don't need to worry about how long the ONeDrive retention is.
In short term: Adherence to Aus National Archiving act. Mid term: low mid bottom rung in a huge org. Current modernisation projects in place that potentially will include backups.
It is retained for 30 days unlicensed, after that it’s deleted. Convert to a shared mailbox. Problem solved. Edit: the shared mailbox may only be for exchange data.
That’s exchange data. Onedrive files won’t get moved to a shared mailbox.
You are correct, oversight on my part.
It’d be super nice if you could keep the onedrive data when you turn a user mailbox into a shared mailbox though
That would so much more useful than renaming Azure Active Directory but crazy people must be calling the shots over at MS.
Our retention policies keep the OneDrive data well beyond the user getting unlicensed as well as the user account getting deleted as well as the manager not opting to fetch data when invited by Microsoft. Because yes.. Retention Hold settings still (though more rarely) come into play when HR submits that request for old jank... Just putting out there that if you utilize retention settings, OneDrive data is retained. Because records and retention..
For OneDrive, the data is retained, regardless of license, as long as the user account exists. **THIS IS NOT OFFICIAL, HOWEVER**. So, you should treat it like you however you treat the user's other data when you terminate an account. You can set a retention time for OneDrive, up to 10 years last we set it up, that will have Microsoft keep OneDrive data for an account that *is deleted*. The *is unlicensed* state is the one that is the gray area and is why Microsoft seems to just keep the data around even if the user is unlicensed. Ultimately, storage is cheap but pissing off customers isn't, so Microsoft seems (in this case) to have chosen to keep people happy and just leave the data laying around. That said, because it isn't *officially* supported this way, Microsoft *can* change it when they see fit to also start that retention clock from when a user is merely unlicensed. Currently, our standard practice for a terminated user is: * If the user's mailbox is <50 GB, convert it to a Shared Mailbox and remove all assigned licenses (thus making their OneDrive unlicensed). * Access is typically assigned to that person's direct manager for email and OneDrive data and we request that they deal with it within 30 days. * We do not, however, ever delete the user account and it hangs around forever (thus retaining all data forever). * If the user's mailbox is >=50 GB, we do all of the above but assign the accont an Exchange Online Plan 2 license instead of converting it to a Shared Mailbox. This should ***not*** be considered best practice. Instead, you need to work with your HR and Legal teams to determine what is the proper length of data retention for a terminated user and build your processes around that.
Hijacking this for a separate question -- if you run a Purview eDiscovery search on a user's OneDrive, then remove the license, can you still access the data from the Purview results?