How to Change Retention Settings in Outlook

To change a retention policy in classic Outlook, right-click a mail folder, open Properties > Policy, and choose an available policy under Folder Policy. For an individual message, select it, open Assign Policy on the ribbon, and choose a policy. These controls require an eligible Exchange or Microsoft 365 work or school mailbox, the appropriate license, and policies enabled by your administrator.

The classic Outlook for Windows steps below apply to Outlook for Microsoft 365 and Outlook 2024. Organizational policies, published retention labels, AutoArchive, and deleted-message cleanup control different things, so choose the setting that matches what you want to change.

Assign a policy to folders or messages

In classic Outlook, right-click the mail folder and select Properties > Policy. Under Folder Policy, choose an available policy. Otherwise, the folder inherits its parent’s policy.

To change an individual message’s policy, select the message, select Assign Policy on the ribbon, and choose an available policy. To select multiple messages, hold Ctrl while selecting them. If Assign Policy is hidden, open the three-dot ribbon overflow menu.

To remove a message-specific assignment, select the message and choose Assign Policy > Retention Policy > Use Folder Policy. This restores the folder’s policy and does not disable organizational retention. If your account lacks the required license or administrator-enabled policies, your administrator must handle the organizational configuration.

Apply published retention labels

For an eligible organizational mailbox with published Microsoft Purview labels, select a message in classic Outlook and open Home > Assign Policy. Choose the published label you want to apply. Alternatively, right-click selected messages, select Assign Policy, and choose the label.

In Microsoft 365 Outlook on the web, right-click a message and select Advanced actions > Assign policy. Choose a published label. You can also select multiple messages and apply the same label to them.

To set a folder’s default label in classic Outlook, right-click the folder and open Properties > Policy. Replace Use parent folder policy with a published label. In Microsoft 365 Outlook on the web, right-click the folder, select Assign policy, and replace Use parent folder policy with the label.

To apply labels automatically in classic Outlook, right-click a message and select Rules > Create Rule > Advanced Options. In Rules Wizard, specify the conditions, then select apply retention policy. Choose the published label and complete the wizard.

Set automatic archiving in classic Outlook

Open File > Options > Advanced, then select AutoArchive Settings. Check Run AutoArchive every n days and set the interval. This controls how often AutoArchive runs; the age of the messages it processes is a separate setting.

Select Archive or delete old items, then set Clean out items older than to the age threshold you want. To archive older emails in Outlook, select Move old items to and specify the archive location.

The permanent deletion option permanently deletes the older items AutoArchive processes. If that is your intended action, select Permanently delete items instead of the move option. To propagate your chosen settings, select Apply these settings to all folders now.

To stop AutoArchive, return to File > Options > Advanced > AutoArchive Settings. Uncheck Run AutoArchive every n days.

To customize one folder, right-click it in classic Outlook’s navigation pane and select Properties > AutoArchive. Change that folder’s archiving options. These settings remain subject to account and organizational restrictions.

AutoArchive is unavailable in new Outlook, and managed Exchange profiles can make it unavailable or override it. In new Outlook, use the deleted-message cleanup control below if your aim is to empty deleted messages when closing the app. For organizational retention requirements, have your administrator manage the mailbox policy.

Control automatic deleted message cleanup

In new Outlook for Windows, open View > View Settings > Mail > Message handling. Under When closing Outlook, find Empty deleted items folder. Uncheck it to stop Outlook from automatically emptying that folder when you close the app.

Turning on this setting empties the Deleted Items folder when Outlook closes. To enable that behavior, check Empty deleted items folder. This controls cleanup when closing Outlook, rather than a retention period measured in days.

In classic Outlook for Windows, open File > Options > Advanced. Under Outlook Start and Exit, find Empty the Deleted Items folder upon exiting. Uncheck this option to stop automatic emptying when you exit Outlook.

Enabling this option empties the Deleted Items folder when you exit Outlook. To turn it on, check Empty the Deleted Items folder upon exiting. This setting is separate from the AutoArchive schedule.

For a personal Outlook.com account in a browser, open Settings > Mail > Message handling. Under Message options, uncheck Empty my deleted items folder to stop automatic cleanup when you sign out. Select Save to apply the change.

Enabling this setting empties your deleted items folder when you sign out. To turn on that cleanup, check Empty my deleted items folder, then select Save. The setting changes sign-out cleanup, not the service’s recovery-retention period.

Use Sweep for a sender’s messages

In Outlook.com or Outlook on the web, Sweep provides sender-specific cleanup choices. You can keep only the latest message from a sender or delete messages older than 10 days. This is a cleanup rule rather than an organizational retention policy.

These choices delete messages that match the cleanup behavior you select. Select a message from the sender, then select Sweep. Choose the behavior for keeping only the latest message or deleting messages older than 10 days, then select Sweep again.

Keep POP email copies on the server

For a POP3 account in classic Outlook for Windows, open File > Account Settings > Account Settings, then select the E-mail tab. Select the POP3 account and choose Change. Open More Settings > Advanced, then find Delivery and check Leave a copy of messages on the server.

This controls downloaded POP messages’ server copies rather than Exchange retention. The same area also provides server-removal options based on message age or deletion.

Configure mailbox retention as an administrator

Mailbox-wide Microsoft Purview retention requires an eligible Microsoft 365 organizational mailbox and appropriate administrator permissions. Ordinary Outlook users cannot select or edit these policies. If you need a mailbox-wide retention period changed, your administrator must configure it.

As an administrator, open the Microsoft Purview portal and select Solutions > Data Lifecycle Management > Policies > Retention policies > New retention policy. Name the policy and choose Static or Adaptive. An adaptive policy requires at least one adaptive scope created beforehand; in the wizard, select Add scopes and choose that scope. Include Exchange mailboxes in the policy’s locations.

A deletion action deletes content under the policy’s configured retention settings. On Decide if you want to retain content, delete it, or both, configure the retention period and action. Complete the configuration and save.

To change the recovery period for permanently deleted items in Exchange Online, connect to Exchange Online PowerShell with appropriate permissions. Run the following command, replacing the identity with the mailbox identity and choosing the required number of days, up to 30.

Set-Mailbox -Identity "user identity" -RetainDeletedItemsFor 30

Assign Exchange archive and deletion policies

For Exchange Online administration, Microsoft continues to support MRM for online archiving and folder-specific processing. Microsoft recommends Purview retention for other retention and deletion scenarios. The MRM controls remain under Exchange (legacy) in the Purview portal.

Open Purview and select Solutions > Data Lifecycle Management > Exchange (legacy) > MRM Retention tags > + New tag. A deletion action deletes items past the configured age when the Managed Folder Assistant processes the mailbox, which happens at least once every 7 days in Exchange Online. Configure the tag’s scope, age, and action.

Next, open MRM Retention policies > New policy > + Add tag. Add the tags and complete the policy. In Exchange admin center, open Recipients > Mailboxes, select the target mailboxes, then open Mailbox policies > Retention Policy, choose the policy, and select Save.

For on-premises Exchange Server Subscription Edition, open Exchange admin center and select Recipients > Mailboxes. Select the mailbox, choose Edit > Mailbox features > Retention policy, choose a policy, and select Save. Alternatively, run the following command in Exchange Management Shell, replacing both placeholders.

Set-Mailbox "mailbox identity" -RetentionPolicy "policy name"

Frequently Asked Questions

Does turning off AutoArchive stop server retention?

No. Turning it off disables client AutoArchive, but server-side retention and online archive policies remain in effect.

Can classic Outlook ask before permanently deleting items?

Yes. In classic Outlook for Microsoft 365 or Outlook 2024 on Windows, open File > Options > Advanced. Under Other, select Prompt for confirmation before permanently deleting items.

How often does Sweep run, and why is it missing from some folders?

Sweep runs daily in Outlook.com and Outlook on the web. It is unavailable in Junk Email, Drafts, Sent Items, and Deleted Items.

What is the normal recovery period for permanently deleted Exchange Online items?

The normal default is 14 days for Exchange Online organizational mailboxes. This is separate from how long messages remain in Deleted Items, and holds can override normal deletion.