How to Find or Remove an Invalid Microsoft 365 Retention Policy
Question details
Users are unable to delete Teams or SharePoint folders due to a retention policy or eDiscovery hold that is not visible in the current Data Lifecycle Management interface.
- Product
- Microsoft 365
- Device & OS
- not provided
- Scenario
- Attempting to clean up or delete non-empty folders within Microsoft Teams or SharePoint sites.
- Observed behavior
- Folder deletion is blocked by diagnostics citing an invalid, legacy, or hidden retention policy (such as ModernGroup) that cannot be found normally in the admin interface.
Verify that you have Microsoft 365 compliance administrator privileges, as standard user accounts do not have the required permissions to view or modify tenant-level retention policies or eDiscovery holds.
Review Policies and Holds in Microsoft Purview
Check for any active retention policies, retention labels, and eDiscovery cases that might be applying a hold on the SharePoint site or Teams group.
Often, a folder cannot be deleted because an active compliance policy is preserving the data. A compliance administrator must manually inspect the Microsoft Purview portal to identify any active holds.
Log in to the Microsoft Purview compliance portal using your compliance administrator credentials.
Navigate to the Data Lifecycle Management section and review all active retention policies and labels applied to the affected SharePoint site or Teams group.
Go to the eDiscovery section and check both Standard and Premium cases to ensure the site is not currently placed under an active eDiscovery hold.
Open a Microsoft 365 Support Ticket for Hidden Policies
Escalate the issue to Microsoft Support if the diagnostic tool identifies a policy that does not appear in the Purview interface.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Why does a retention policy prevent folder deletion in SharePoint or Teams?
Retention policies are designed to preserve specific data for legal or compliance reasons over a set period. If a folder contains files governed by these rules, the system will block deletion to prevent unauthorized data loss.
What is the 'ModernGroup' retention policy?
The 'ModernGroup' policy is often a legacy or system-level configuration associated with Microsoft 365 Groups and Teams. It may remain active in the backend of the tenant even if it is no longer visible in the modern Microsoft Purview interface.
Can a standard user remove an eDiscovery hold?
No. Only users assigned the Microsoft 365 compliance administrator or eDiscovery manager roles have the necessary permissions to view, modify, or release eDiscovery holds in the tenant.
