💡 Our Technical Review in summary
Summary
- Update Overview: Microsoft is introducing a new capability within Microsoft Defender and Exchange Online quarantine portals that allows for the visibility and restoration of “temporarily deleted” items.
- Key Feature: Users and admins will be able to view messages removed from the standard quarantine view but not yet permanently purged from the system.
- Current Status: As of August 22, 2025, Microsoft has delayed the rollout of this feature. New General Availability dates for Worldwide, GCC, GCC High, and DoD environments will be announced in a future update.
Impact
- Enhanced Visibility: A new filter labeled “Temporarily deleted” will be added under the Release Status category in the quarantine portal.
- Recovery Capabilities: A new action, “Restore temporarily deleted,” will allow users to move these items back into the active quarantine view for further assessment or release.
- Scope of Access: This feature only applies to items in a temporary deletion state; items that have reached the end of their retention period and have been permanently deleted remain inaccessible.
- Configuration: The feature is enabled by default. No administrative configuration is required to activate the UI changes once they are deployed.
Action Required
- Monitor for New Dates: Since the feature is currently delayed, admins should monitor the Microsoft 365 Message Center for updated deployment timelines.
- Update Documentation: Review and update internal IT support documentation and user training materials regarding quarantine management to include the new “Temporarily deleted” filter and restore process.
- Internal Awareness: Inform Help Desk and Security Operations (SecOps) teams about this upcoming change to ensure they can guide users who may mistakenly delete items from their quarantine view.
- No Technical Changes: No backend configuration changes are necessary; however, admins should verify their existing quarantine retention policies to understand how long items remain in the “temporarily deleted” state before permanent purging.
Microsoft Official Update
Service: N/A
Category: stayInformed
Severity: normal
Updated August 22, 2025: After further review, this has been delayed to a later date. We apologize for any inconvenience.
Introduction
We’re enhancing the quarantine experience in Microsoft Defender and Exchange Online to improve visibility and control over items that have been temporarily deleted. With this update, users will be able to view and restore messages that were previously removed from the quarantine view but still exist in the system.
When this will happen
- General Availability (Worldwide): We will communicate via Message center when we are ready to proceed.
- General Availability (GCC, GCC High, DoD): We will communicate via Message center when we are ready to proceed.
How this affects your organization
Users in both Microsoft Defender and Exchange Online quarantine portals will gain the ability to:
- View messages that were temporarily deleted from quarantine using the new Temporarily deleted filter under Release Status.
- Restore these messages back to the quarantine view using the new Restore temporarily deleted option.
Messages that have been permanently deleted will remain inaccessible. This feature is on by default and applies only to temporarily deleted items.
What you can do to prepare
- Inform users about the new filter and restore option to reduce confusion and potential help desk calls.
- Update internal documentation or training materials to reflect the new functionality.
- Monitor user feedback and usage to determine if additional guidance or support is needed.
No configuration changes are required to enable this feature.
Compliance considerations
No compliance considerations identified, review as appropriate for your organization.
