💡 Our Technical Review in summary
- Microsoft is officially retiring legacy SharePoint Online data governance features in favor of modern Microsoft Purview Data Lifecycle Management (DLM) and Purview Records Management.
- Support for these legacy features will end in April 2026.
- While the features may continue to function after the deadline, they will no longer receive updates, bug fixes, or technical support from Microsoft.
#### Impact
- Affected Features: The retirement impacts Information Management Policies, In-Place Records Management, and Document deletion policies (deletion only).
- No Automatic Migration: Microsoft will not automatically transition existing legacy policies to Purview. Manual migration and configuration are required to maintain a supported compliance posture.
- Administrative Overhead: IT Admins and Compliance Officers must re-evaluate their current retention and records strategy to align with the unified Purview platform.
- Support Status: Post-April 2026, any issues arising from the use of these legacy tools will not be addressed by Microsoft support services.
#### Action Required
- Audit Existing Policies: Identify all SharePoint sites currently utilizing Information Management Policies or In-Place Records Management.
- Review Licensing: Verify that your organization has the appropriate licenses for Microsoft Purview DLM and Records Management (e.g., Microsoft 365 E3/E5).
- Map Retention Schedules: Map current legacy retention and deletion rules to Purview Retention Labels and Retention Policies to ensure no gap in compliance.
- Execute Migration: Manually implement the modern Purview features. Use tools like Policy Lookup to verify that the new configurations are applied correctly to the intended sites.
- Clean Up Duplicates: Audit and decommission legacy policies once the Purview equivalents are active to avoid conflicting retention instructions.
- Stakeholder Communication: Inform Data Lifecycle and Records Management teams of the transition timeline and the shift to the Purview compliance portal.
Microsoft Official Update
Service: N/A
Category: planForChange
Severity: normal
Updated February 2, 2026: We have updated the content. Thank you for your patience.
[Introduction]
We’re retiring several legacy SharePoint Online features to streamline compliance and data lifecycle management. Starting April 2026, support for the following features will no longer be provided even though the feature will continue to work.
- Information Management Policies
- In-Place Records Management
- Document deletion policies (deletion only)
We recommend using Microsoft Purview Data Lifecycle Management and Purview Records Management, where we continue to invest in modern, flexible compliance solutions.
For details on the retirement plan and migration guidance, refer to: Use Microsoft Purview risk and compliance solutions instead of older SharePoint features.
[When this will happen:]
Support for the features will no longer be provided starting April 2026
[How this affects your organization:]
Who is affected: Organizations using Information Management Policies, In-Place Records Management, or related deletion policies in SharePoint Online.
What will happen:
- These features will no longer be supported by Microsoft.
[What you can do to prepare:]
Microsoft won’t automatically migrate your older information management and SharePoint records management features in SharePoint Online. If you choose not to migrate to supported features, the older features will no longer be supported.
Between now and April 2026, you have the flexibility to migrate your scenarios on your own schedule. To prepare:
- Review current use of legacy features and confirm compliance goals.
- Plan migration to Microsoft Purview Data Lifecycle Management and Purview Records Management.
- Audit retention schedules for duplicates or outdated policies.
- Confirm applicable licenses for Purview features.
- Implement modern features and verify functionality using tools like Policy Lookup.
- Communicate this change to your Data Lifecycle and Records Management teams.
For detailed migration strategies and feature mapping, refer to: Migration strategies for moving to Microsoft Purview solutions.
[Compliance considerations:]
No compliance considerations identified, review as appropriate for your organization.
