Microsoft Purview Data Lifecycle Management now lets admins create Priority Cleanup policies to delete OneDrive and SharePoint content before retention or legal hold expires, with simulation, audit, and review features. Requires two admins with specific roles and explicit policy enforcement. Rolling out late 2025 to early 2026.
Introduction
We're introducing a new capability in Microsoft Purview Data Lifecycle Management that allows admins to override existing retention policies and delete content from OneDrive and SharePoint Online before the retention or legal hold duration expires. This feature supports organizations managing Copilot-related artifacts—such as Teams recordings and transcripts—independently of OneDrive retention policies, giving admins greater control over how long this content is retained.
This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 489454.
When this will happen:
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Learn more: Override holds to clean up files for Copilot and reclaim storage
Compliance considerations:
| Question | Explanation |
|---|---|
| Does the change alter how existing customer data is processed, stored, or accessed? | It allows deletion of content before the expiration of retention or hold policies, changing how data is retained and disposed based on compliance admin decision. |
| Does the change modify, interrupt, or disable any of the following capabilities (Purview)? | It introduces a new way to override retention policies and holds, impacting deletion workflows with the approval of an admin with special Purview roles. |
| Does the change include an admin control and, can it be controlled through Entra ID group membership? | Admin access is governed by Microsoft Purview role groups, which can be managed via Microsoft Purview portal settings. |