M365 Records Management, Information Governance & eDiscovery– Optimized behavior of file versions preserved in SPO & ODB

To improve the consistency of experience and improve performance, any file with multiple versions that is deleted from SharePoint or OneDrive which is preserved to the Preservation Hold Library (due to its applicable retention label, retention policies or eDiscovery holds) will now be retained as a single file containing its full version history, rather than each version being retained as individual files as has been the case until now.  

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 82062

When this will happen:

Rollout will begin in early November, and complete by late November.

How this will affect your organization:

This update changes the behavior of deleted files that are set to be retained, and that have multiple versions of the file. They will be retained in the Preservation Hold Library as a single file with all versions as part of its version history just like they exist before being deleted. Previously, each version was retained individually as a separate file.

This change affects your ability to search those versions in eDiscovery. It provides consistency for eDiscovery searches regardless of whether the file has been deleted or not, searching only the last version of it by default rather than getting multiple matches for versions in between them.

If you have query-based holds configured in eDiscovery, there will be a change to how retained files are searched and retained as outlined above. For more information on query-based holds, please visit: Create eDiscovery holds in a Core eDiscovery case – Microsoft 365 Compliance | Microsoft Docs 

Note: These changes do not impact the retention or deletion of your content or cause any changes to your retention labels or policies, all versions are still being kept, just as part of the version history of the file.

What you need to do to prepare:

No action is needed to enable this change; however you may want to communicate this change to your users or team responsible for eDiscovery, Information Governance and Records Management at your organization.

Message ID: MC288633


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I've been working with Microsoft Technologies over the last ten years, mainly focused on creating collaboration and productivity solutions that drive the adoption of Microsoft Modern Workplace.

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