Microsoft Confirms to Delay Rollout of Exchange Online's Auto-Archiving Feature

Microsoft announced to roll out automatic, threshold-based archiving in Exchange Online, a proactive system designed to prevent email disruptions caused by bloated inboxes. That isn’t happening anymore.

Microsoft has changed its course and announced that it will delay the rollout of Auto-Archiving due to massive backlash. In an update from yesterday, Microsoft said, “We heard your feedback and are working on a revised plan for this feature.”

If rolled out, the new feature would automatically shift older emails into archive mailboxes when storage nears capacity, ensuring seamless mail delivery across organizations. Previously, Exchange relied on time-based archiving policies, like two-year MRM rules, to manage storage.

However, those often failed when users received large volumes of emails or massive attachments before the timer triggered. With the new threshold-based model, archiving kicks in when mailbox usage reaches around 90%, automatically clearing space by moving older messages to the archive mailbox.

Users can still retain control over critical items; anything marked with the “Never Move to Archive” flag will remain untouched even when automatic archiving engages. The new system aims to make mail management smarter, faster, and virtually interruption-free.

Microsoft previously said that the rollout would begin this month for public cloud users, with government cloud deployment scheduled for November. Once active, the feature will be enabled by default across Exchange Online tenants.

via: Neowin | Bleeping Computer