Microsoft Teams Retention Policy Configuration in Microsoft Purview

Field	Details
Document Type	Microsoft Teams Retention Policy Configuration in Microsoft Purview
Applies To	Microsoft Purview &  Microsoft Teams
Audience	MS Teams Administrator / IT Engineer
Author	AK. Udofeh
Last Updated	June 2026

Overview

This configuration implements a Microsoft Teams retention policy using Microsoft Purview Data Lifecycle Management to automatically retain and delete Teams chat and channel messages after a defined retention period.

The policy helps organisations:

• Align with data governance and retention requirements
• Reduce unnecessary long-term data storage
• Support GDPR data minimisation principles

This implementation applies retention to:

• Teams 1:1 chats
• Teams group chats
• Teams meeting chats
• Teams channel messages

Once the retention period expires, messages are automatically deleted and are no longer recoverable through standard user access or Data Subject Access Requests (DSARs).

Prerequisites

Required licensing:

• Microsoft 365 A3/A5 or E3/E5 equivalent licensing
• Microsoft Purview Data Lifecycle Management access

Required roles and permissions:

• Compliance Administrator
or
• Purview Data Lifecycle Management Administrator

Dependencies:

• Microsoft Teams enabled in tenant
• Microsoft Exchange Online enabled
• Microsoft Purview portal access

Preparation tasks:

• Review existing retention and eDiscovery policies
• Confirm no conflicting legal hold requirements exist
• Prepare user communications prior to go-live

Step 1: Access Microsoft Purview

1. Open the Microsoft Purview portal:

https://purview.microsoft.com

2. Sign in using an administrative account with appropriate permissions.

3. From the left-hand navigation pane, select:

Solutions > Data lifecycle management > Retention policies

4. Select:

• New retention policy

Step 2: Configure Policy Scope

1. Enter a policy name.

Recommended naming convention:

Teams Chat Retention – 2 Years (enter the number of years that Teams messages will be retained before deletion.)

2. Optionally provide a description including:

• Business justification
• Approval reference
• RFC number
• Implementation date

Example:

Retains Teams chat and channel messages for 2 years in alignment with institutional data retention policy.

3. Select:

Static

4. Continue to location configuration.

Step 3: Target Resources / Components

Select the following Microsoft 365 locations:

✅ Teams chats
✅ Teams channel messages

Recommended scope:

• All users (enterprise-wide deployment)

Optional phased rollout:

• Select specific pilot users or groups during testing phase

Important:

This configuration targets:

• Teams 1:1 chats
• Group chats
• Meeting chats
• Channel conversations

This policy does NOT apply to:

• Teams meeting recordings
• SharePoint files
• OneDrive files
• Email retention

These workloads require separate retention policies.

Step 4: Configure Retention Settings

1. Choose:

Retain items for a specific period

2. Configure retention duration:

2 Years

3. Start retention based on:

When items were created

Recommended rationale:

Using creation date ensures predictable and consistent lifecycle management and prevents indefinite retention caused by message edits.

4. After the retention period:

Delete items automatically

5. Review the policy summary carefully before proceeding.

Recommended configuration:

• Retain content for 2 years
• Automatically delete after expiry

Step 5: Access Control / Enforcement

Policy enforcement is handled automatically by Microsoft Purview once deployed.

Important operational notes:

• Users cannot bypass centrally managed retention settings
• Messages deleted after expiry are permanently removed from standard access
• eDiscovery or Litigation Hold policies override deletion where applicable

Why this matters:

This ensures:

• Consistent organisational retention enforcement
• Reduced data sprawl
• Improved compliance posture
• Controlled information lifecycle management

Step 6: Testing / Report Mode

Recommended safe rollout approach:

Phase 1:  Pilot Deployment

1. Deploy policy to:

• IT administrators
• Small pilot group
• Test accounts

2. Validate:

• Messages remain accessible during retention period
• Older content is identified correctly
• No unexpected user impact occurs

3. Perform test exports using Microsoft Purview eDiscovery.

Validate:

• Teams chats can be searched
• Export formats are usable
• Retention scope behaves as expected

Suggested test scenarios:

• 1:1 chat retention
• Group chat retention
• Meeting chat retention
• eDiscovery export validation

Important:

Retention processing may take several days to fully apply due to Microsoft background processing.

Step 7:  Monitoring & Validation

Monitoring locations:

Microsoft Purview Portal:

Solutions > Data lifecycle management > Retention policies

Validation checks:

• Policy status shows enabled
• Locations are correctly assigned
• No policy errors present

Additional monitoring:

• Review Purview audit logs
• Validate Teams message lifecycle behaviour
• Confirm retention processing completion

Expected behaviour:

• Messages older than retention threshold become unavailable
• Users lose access to expired messages
• Content becomes unavailable through standard retrieval methods

Troubleshooting indicators:

• Policy not applying after several days
• Users outside expected scope
• Retention conflicts with existing compliance policies

 Step 8: Enforcement / Go-Live

1. Expand policy scope to all required users.

2. Confirm organisational communications have been issued.

Important Considerations

• Teams chat retention does not automatically apply to Teams meeting recordings
• Recordings stored in OneDrive or SharePoint require separate retention configuration
• Deleted messages cannot be recovered once permanently removed
• Data Subject Access Requests cannot retrieve deleted content after retention expiry
• Litigation Hold or eDiscovery Hold overrides retention deletion
• Retention processing is not immediate and may take several days

Potential operational impact:

• Users may lose access to historical conversations
• Teams should not be used as a long-term records repository

Operational recommendations:

• Store important records in SharePoint or approved document systems
• Avoid relying on Teams chat for permanent record keeping
• Validate eDiscovery export functionality periodically

Summary

This implementation deploys a Microsoft Teams retention policy through Microsoft Purview to retain Teams chat and channel messages for a defined period before automatic deletion.

The policy supports:

• Data minimisation
• Compliance requirements
• Reduced long-term data exposure
• Consistent lifecycle management across collaboration platforms

Once enforced, Teams chat content exceeding the retention period is automatically and permanently deleted in accordance with organisational policy.