Retain Gmail messages with Vault

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This article describes how to retain Gmail messages in Google Vault. 

As part of your organization's information governance plan, you can control how long Gmail messages are retained in Google Vault. Use retention rules to set how long to keep messages and when to delete them, if ever.

To keep data that matches specific conditions for a set time, create a custom retention rule. To keep all service data for all licensed accounts for a set time, create a default retention rule.

Important information about Gmail retention

Before you set retention rules, we strongly recommend you read about how retention works and review the Gmail messages supported in Vault.

Key Gmail retention behavior

  • When a message is included in a hold, Gmail can’t purge the message even after all applicable retention periods end.
  • Custom Gmail retention rules always supersede the default Gmail retention rule.
  • When multiple custom retention rules apply to a message, Gmail keeps the message as required by the rule with the retention period that ends last.
  • Gmail's 30-day preservation policy can delay when messages are purged.

Additional Gmail retention behavior

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Example Gmail retention rules and their effect

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Set a custom retention rule for Gmail

  1. Sign in to vault.google.com.
  2. Click Retentionand thenCustom Rulesand thenCreate.
  3. For the service, select Gmail and then click Continue.
  4. Choose which organizational unit the rule applies to. Click the field to open a chooser, then click the organizational unit.
  5. Click Continue.
  6. (Optional) Choose the conditions that must be met for messages to be covered by this rule:
    • Enter Date sent values. If you specify only a start date, the rule applies to all messages sent after that date. If you specify only an end date, the rule applies to all messages sent before that date.
    • Enter any terms that messages must match. Note:
      • You can use all supported search operators except wildcards (*).
      • If your keyphrase or value starts with a hyphen, such as -1000%, put it in quotation marks to ensure it’s not interpreted as a NOT operator.
      • You can't use is:chat to apply a Gmail retention rule to chat messages in Google Chat. To set retention rules for chat messages, set a Chat retention rule.

      We recommend you test your terms in a Vault search to make sure they match data as you expect.

  7. Click Continue.
  8. Choose how long to keep messages:
    • To permanently retain messages covered by this rule, choose Indefinitely.
    • To discard messages after a set time, choose Retention period and enter the number of days, from 1 to 36,500.
  9. If you set a retention period, choose what to do with messages when the retention period ends:
    • To purge only messages that are already emptied from the users' Trash, choose the first option.
    • To purge all messages, including messages that aren't deleted but excluding drafts and email templates, choose the second option.
    • To purge all messages, including messages that aren't deleted, drafts, and email templates, choose the third option.
  10. Click Create. If you set a retention period, check the confirmation box and click Accept.

Set the default retention rule for Gmail

The default retention rule applies to Gmail messages that aren't covered by a custom rule or a hold.

  1. Sign in to vault.google.com.
  2. Click Retention. The list of default rules opens.
  3. Click Gmail .
  4. Choose how long to keep messages:
    • To permanently retain messages covered by this rule, select Indefinitely.
    • To discard messages after a set time, select Retention period and enter the number of days, from 1 to 36,500.
  5. If you set a retention period, choose what to do with messages when the retention period ends:
    • To purge only messages that are already deleted, choose the first option.
    • To purge all messages, including messages that aren't deleted, drafts, and templates, choose the second option.
  6. Click Save. Vault asks you to confirm you understand the rule's effects. Check the boxes and click Accept to save the rule.

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