Microsoft will delete unlicensed OneDrive for Business accounts that aren’t paid for (to be archived) after July 2026. Up to now, it’s been possible to leave unpaid-for accounts linger in Microsoft 365 archive until retention policies and holds expire. Now, tenants must decide which accounts they wish to keep and pay for. Unpaid accounts will be removed, even if retention policies or eDiscovery holds apply to their content.
Microsoft announced their plan to charge for unlicensed OneDrive for Business accounts in July. Now we have an unlicensed OneDrive accounts report in the SharePoint Online admin center. The report divides unlicensed OneDrive accounts into four categories and it’s up to Microsoft 365 tenant administrators to figure out whether to retain or remove unlicensed accounts before automatic archival comes into force in January 2025.
Microsoft plans to archive unlicensed OneDrive sites starting in January 2025. The obsolete sites will end up in Microsoft 365 archive, from where the sites can be reactivated for a small per-gigabyte fee. Archived sites are indexed and discoverable. However, the message is clear: remove unlicensed OneDrive sites now. They’re only cluttering up your digital landscape and might give Copilot for Microsoft 365 a headache.
