> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.cipp.app/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.cipp.app/user-documentation/security/compliance/retention.md).

# Purview Retention Policies

Microsoft Purview retention policies control how long content is kept and what happens when that period ends. A policy sets the scope of workloads it applies to, and the retention rules attached to it carry the duration and the end of period action. This page lists the retention policies in the selected tenant, shows how many rules each one carries, and lets you enable, disable, delete or capture them as reusable templates.

## Action Buttons

<details>

<summary>Deploy Retention Policy</summary>

Opens a drawer that creates a retention policy in one or more tenants from a template or from parameters you supply yourself.

| Field                        | Description                                                                                                                                                                                                                   |
| ---------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Select Tenants               | The tenants to create the policy in. At least one is required, and you can pick several to deploy the same policy across a group of customers in one go.                                                                      |
| Select a template (optional) | Picks a saved retention policy template. Choosing one fills **Parameters (JSON)** with that template's stored settings, which you can then edit before deploying.                                                             |
| Parameters (JSON)            | The policy settings as JSON. Required. A worked example is shown in the field until you type into it, covering the policy name, workload locations and a nested `RuleParams` block holding the retention duration and action. |

</details>

## Table Details

| Column                | Description                                                                                            |
| --------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| Name                  | The policy name.                                                                                       |
| Enabled               | Whether the policy is currently switched on.                                                           |
| Workload              | The Microsoft 365 workloads the policy covers, such as Exchange, SharePoint, OneDrive or Teams.        |
| Rule Count            | How many retention rules belong to this policy. Counted by CIPP, so a policy with no rules shows zero. |
| Restrictive Retention | Whether Preservation Lock is set on the policy.                                                        |
| Created By            | The account that created the policy.                                                                   |
| When Created UTC      | When the policy was created, in UTC.                                                                   |
| When Changed UTC      | When the policy was last modified, in UTC.                                                             |

{% hint style="danger" %}
Preservation Lock cannot be undone. Once it is set on a policy, nobody, including a Global Administrator, can disable or delete that policy, remove locations from it, or shorten its retention period. Locations can still be added and the retention period extended, but nothing can be taken back. **Disable Policy** and **Delete Policy** will fail against a locked policy.

Microsoft does not offer this setting in the Purview portal at all, specifically to guard against it being applied by accident. In CIPP it is reachable through the deploy drawer, and a template carrying it applies it to every tenant you deploy to without a confirmation step. Check what a template sets before deploying it. See [Preservation Lock](https://learn.microsoft.com/purview/retention-preservation-lock) for Microsoft's guidance.
{% endhint %}

{% hint style="warning" %}
Microsoft returns the individual location lists on a retention policy empty, with the real scope carried in **Workload** instead. Read **Workload** to see what a policy covers, rather than the per workload location fields in the Extended Info flyout. Saving the policy as a template rebuilds the locations from **Workload**, so templates stay deployable.
{% endhint %}

## Table Actions

<table><thead><tr><th>Action</th><th>Description</th><th data-type="checkbox">Bulk Action Available</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Create template based on policy</td><td>Saves the selected policy, and the first retention rule attached to it, as a retention policy template so it can be redeployed to other tenants.</td><td>false</td></tr><tr><td>Enable Policy</td><td>Switches the selected policy on. Greyed out when the policy is already enabled.</td><td>true</td></tr><tr><td>Disable Policy</td><td>Switches the selected policy off, leaving it in place but not retaining. Greyed out when the policy is already disabled.</td><td>true</td></tr><tr><td>Delete Policy</td><td>Permanently removes the selected policy and the rules belonging to it.</td><td>true</td></tr><tr><td>More Info</td><td>Opens the Extended Info flyout with the full details for the selected row.</td><td>false</td></tr></tbody></table>

***

## Feature Requests / Ideas

We value your feedback and ideas. Please raise any [feature requests](https://github.com/CyberDrain/CIPP/issues/new?template=feature.yml) on GitHub.


---

# Agent Instructions
This documentation is published with GitBook. GitBook is the documentation platform designed so that both humans and AI agents can read, navigate, and reason over technical content effectively. Learn more at gitbook.com.

## Querying This Documentation
If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter, and the optional `goal` query parameter:

```
GET https://docs.cipp.app/user-documentation/security/compliance/retention.md?ask=<question>&goal=<endgoal>
```

`ask` is the immediate question: it should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
`goal` is optional and describes the broader end goal you are ultimately trying to accomplish on behalf of the user. GitBook uses it to tailor the answer towards what is most useful for that goal.

The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.