Retention & compliance
Keep mail for as long as your organisation needs, preserve it when required, and let the right people access another person's mailbox — all from the dashboard.
Retention policies
A retention policy controls how long mail is kept before it's automatically cleaned up. Set policies under Retention policies — for example, keep everything for a fixed number of years. This runs on a schedule so mailboxes don't grow forever.
Legal holds
A legal hold preserves a mailbox's mail so nothing can be deleted while an investigation or dispute is ongoing — it overrides retention. Apply and lift holds under Legal holds. While a mailbox is on hold, its mail is retained regardless of other settings.
Holds take priorityA legal hold prevents deletion even if a retention policy would otherwise remove the mail. Remember to lift the hold when it's no longer needed.
Delegated access
Delegation lets one person access another's mailbox — for example an assistant managing an executive's mail, or covering someone on leave. Grant and revoke access under Delegation; it's logged in the audit trail.
Audit & reports
Admin actions are recorded. Use the audit views and delivery reports to see who did what, and to export mail-delivery logs for a domain when you need a record.
Troubleshooting
| Problem | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Old mail is disappearing | A retention policy is removing it on schedule. | Review the policy's period; apply a legal hold to preserve a specific mailbox. |
| Can't delete a mailbox's mail | It's under a legal hold. | Lift the hold first (if appropriate), then delete. |
| A delegate can't open the mailbox | Access wasn't granted, or was revoked. | Re-grant delegation for that user under Delegation. |
What's next?