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To keep costs for Microsoft storage down, we have an automatic expiration policy for Microsoft Teams groups that have been inactive for 400 consecutive days.
Key Details
- Inactivity Period: Teams with no activity (chats, channel visits, or file edits) for 400 days will be flagged for deletion.
- Auto-Renewal: Any member activity—such as posting a message, uploading a file, or reacting to a post—automatically resets the 400-day timer.
- Owner Notifications: Team owners will receive email and activity feed alerts at 30 days, 15 days, and 1 day before the scheduled deletion.
- Recovery Window: Once a team is deleted, owners have a 30-day "soft-delete" period to restore the group and all its contents. After this window, all data is permanently removed.
What You Need to Do
- Review Your Teams: Check any groups you own that may no longer be in use.
- Take Action on Alerts: If you receive an expiration notice for a team you still need, simply click "Renew Group" in the notification email or perform any activity within the team.
- Ensure Active Ownership: Verify that your important teams have at least two active owners to ensure someone always receives these vital notifications.
To request deletion of a Microsoft Teams group before its expiration due to inactivity, submit a File Storage & Recovery request.