"Are you still storing data in an unlicensed Microsoft OneDrive? Take action now or you could lose it forever."

Starting this month, Microsoft will implement a significant change for unlicensed OneDrive accounts. After a period of 93 days of inactivity, the data stored in these accounts will be archived, and after another 93 days, it will be permanently deleted. This measure aims to improve security and will apply to those accounts that have not been used, particularly when a user leaves an organization, is removed from the SharePoint admin center, or has their license revoked by an administrator.

Previously, organizations could retain data from these accounts at no cost by disabling profiles and removing licenses. However, Microsoft has determined that this practice poses risks to security and compliance, which is why the new policy will be enforced. After 93 days, the affected information will be moved to the recycle bin, where it will remain for another 93 days before being permanently deleted.

It is important to note that if there are retention policies or legal holds on the data in unlicensed accounts, this data will be archived instead of being permanently deleted. However, organizations wishing to recover this archived data will need to pay a fee of $0.60 per GB, as well as a monthly charge of $0.05 per GB after recovery. To facilitate this process, a help article has been provided explaining how to set up an Azure subscription in the pay-as-you-go Syntex system, noting that access to the data may take up to 24 hours to be restored. Reactivated accounts will remain active for 30 days before being archived again.

Microsoft has confirmed that archived OneDrive accounts will fully comply with retention policies, settings, and legal holds, and that any changes to retention policies will also be reflected in these archived accounts.