Introduction of secure workflow to bypass retention/legal holds on OneDrive and SharePoint

Microsoft is introducing a feature in Microsoft Purview Data Lifecycle Management allowing admins to bypass retention policies and delete content from OneDrive and SharePoint before retention periods expire. This feature, available from August 2025, requires specific admin roles and supports managing Copilot-related artifacts independently. Compliance and role configuration updates are necessary. What and Why: We’re introducing a new capability in Microsoft Purview Data Lifecycle Management that allows admins to bypass existing retention policies and delete content from OneDrive and SharePoint Online before the retention or 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 496151 Rollout Schedule: Public Preview (Worldwide): Mid August 2025 – End August 2025 General Availability (Worldwide): Mid September 2025 – End September 2025 Impact on Your Organization: Who is affected: Admins managing OneDrive and SharePoint Online retention policies Organizations using Microsoft Purview for data lifecycle management What will happen: Admins can create Priority Cleanup policies to delete content before retention or hold periods expire Feature includes simulation mode, audit logging, and disposition reviews New admin policy authoring flows are introduced, governed by Microsoft Purview role groups Feature is not enabled by default; requires explicit policy creation and enforcement Requires at least two admins to author and enforce a Priority Cleanup policy Action Required/Recommendations: Ensure at least two admins are assigned the Priority Cleanup Admin and Retention Management roles Review and configure role assignments in Microsoft Purview portal Communicate this change to your compliance and records management teams Update internal documentation to reflect new policy authoring and enforcement capabilities Compliance considerations Question Explanation Does the change alter how existing customer data is processed, stored, or accessed? Yes – It allows deletion of content before the expiration of retention or hold policies, changing how data is retained and disposed. Does the change modify, interrupt, or disable any of the following capabilities (Purview)? Yes – It introduces a new way to override retention policies and holds, impacting deletion workflows. […]

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