How to Apply Retention Policies to Emails Saved in OneNote
Question details
Users need to enforce data retention policies on emails that have been exported or saved directly into Microsoft OneNote.
- Product
- Microsoft OneNote, Exchange, SharePoint
- Device & OS
- not provided
- Scenario
- Administrators or users are trying to manage lifecycle and compliance for emails that have been moved from an Exchange mailbox into a OneNote notebook.
- Observed behavior
- Standard Exchange email retention policies do not automatically delete or manage emails once they are saved as pages within OneNote notebooks.
Ensure you have Microsoft 365 compliance administrator or global administrator permissions to access and configure retention policies in the Microsoft Purview compliance portal.
Configure Retention Policies for SharePoint or OneDrive Storage Locations
Apply retention policies to the underlying SharePoint or OneDrive locations where OneNote notebooks are stored, rather than relying on Exchange email policies.
When an email is sent to OneNote, it is converted into a OneNote page and stored as .one and .onetoc2 files. Because it is no longer an Exchange mailbox message, Exchange policies do not apply.
To manage this data, you must configure a retention policy for the SharePoint site or OneDrive account hosting the notebook. Note that OneNote retention is based on the last modified date of the notebook files and applies to the entire notebook package rather than individual sections or pages.
Sign in to the Microsoft Purview compliance portal using your global or compliance administrator credentials.
Select 'Data lifecycle management' from the left navigation pane, click on 'Microsoft 365', and then switch to the 'Retention policies' tab.
Click 'New retention policy', enter a descriptive name for your policy (e.g., 'OneNote Notebook Retention'), and click 'Next'.
On the locations page, toggle the status to 'On' for 'SharePoint sites' and 'OneDrive accounts'. You can include all sites or specify the exact URLs where your organization's OneNote notebooks are saved.
Specify the retention period (e.g., retain for 7 years, then delete) based on the last modified date, review your configurations, and click 'Submit' to apply the policy.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Why doesn't my Exchange email retention policy delete emails saved in OneNote?
Once an email is sent to OneNote, it is converted into a OneNote page (.one file) and stored in SharePoint or OneDrive. It is no longer recognized as an Exchange mailbox item, so Exchange-specific policies no longer apply.
Can I apply a retention policy to a single OneNote page?
No. Retention policies for OneNote are applied at the notebook package level based on the last modified date of the .one and .onetoc2 files. They cannot be applied to individual pages or sections independently.
Where are OneNote notebooks actually stored in Microsoft 365?
Depending on how they were created, enterprise OneNote notebooks are typically stored in a SharePoint Online document library (for team notebooks) or the creator's individual OneDrive for Business account.
How is the retention period calculated for OneNote files?
For OneNote content stored in SharePoint or OneDrive, the retention period is calculated based on the file's last modified date. Whenever the notebook is synced or updated, this modified date changes, which resets the retention timer.
