Office 365 Retention Policies for Calendar & Tasks

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All data generated by an organization and its staff holds significance, even though its relevance may vary. Exchange Online Administrators bear the responsibility of overseeing and safeguarding all data, necessitating proactive measures to protect every user’s information. While the main emphasis is typically on safeguarding emails and contacts due to their critical role in business operations, it’s equally vital to protect other data components such as calendars, notes, archives, and tasks.

Administrators safeguard data through the implementation of retention policies, a strategy that preserves content rather than immediately deleting it. These policies incorporate a ‘retention tag,’ outlining whether the content should be archived and the specific timeframe for deletion. Retention policies play a crucial role in managing the lifecycle of all mailbox items.

In addition to mailbox items, retention tags can be applied to various default folders. This includes key folders like Calendar and Tasks, which can benefit from retention policies.

How to Create a Retention Tag?

Follow these steps to create a Retention tag for the Calendar folder-

1. Open the Microsoft 365 Admin Center. Click on Show all and select Compliance.
2. Microsoft Purview compliance portal will open. Expand the Data lifecycle management under Solutions and select Exchange (Legacy).
3. Move to the MRM Retention tag and click on the +New tag.
4. Type the appropriate Name and Description and move on to Next.
5. Check the Automatically to default folder option. Expand the Apply tag to this folder option and select Calendar. Click on Next.
6. Define the retention settings, which include the specific Retention Period and the Retention Action to be taken after the period.
7. Review all the entries and click on Finish.

1. Go to the Outlook application where you have connected the same office 365 account.
2. Choose Calendar and right-click on it. Choose to apply the retention tags.
   

TThe retention policy safeguards the chosen folder from deletion. However, there are some crucial considerations to keep in mind before creating retention tags:

1. In Exchange Online, you can also create retention tags on Calendar and Tasks.
2. You can apply retention tags only on default folders. But, you can use only limited actions on them like –
   • Delete and Allow Recovery
   • Permanently Delete
3. You cannot create a tag to move messages to an archive folder. It would help if you created Default Policy Tag or personal tags to move the messages to the archive mailbox.
4. Retention policy tags will not work on Contacts folders.
5. You can apply only a single tag to the default folder. For example, no other tag will be applicable if you have added a retention tag on Inbox.

Microsoft 365 operates on a shared tenancy model, wherein both users and the platform share responsibility for data security. It adopts a Software as a Service (SaaS) model, with Microsoft and others managing certain components. While Office 365 oversees the physical infrastructure and ensures mailbox availability, data security largely relies on users. It’s essential to recognize that retention policies are not equivalent to backups. Backups create offline copies, whereas retention protects data from deletion. Failure to enable retention policies can leave your data vulnerable to abrupt deletions.

Conclusion

Creating a Retention tag for Calendar and other folders is a straightforward process. However, it’s essential to understand that retention is not synonymous with backup. While retention helps manage data deletion, taking a backup of your Office 365 mailbox is crucial to minimize the risk of data loss. You can achieve this through either manual methods or by using professional Export Office 365 to PST software. While the manual process only saves emails in PST format, professional software can efficiently export entire Office 365 mailboxes to PST, including emails, Contacts, Calendars, notes, and other essential items.

Kernel Office 365 Backup and Restore software are specifically designed to efficiently back up an unlimited number of mailboxes in the PST file format. This powerful tool empowers Exchange Administrators to safeguard entire accounts, effectively protecting them from various threats and ensuring data security.