Vault retention FAQ

If I am an existing Google Workspace customer and I enable Vault, will my retention rules apply to existing content?

Yes. Retention rules affect all supported data types, existing and newly created.

Are retention periods in Vault static, or can they be extended or shortened?

Retention periods can be changed by adjusting the period of the retention rule. If data is subject to multiple rules with different retention periods, it will be retained based on the rule with the longest duration.

If I create retention rules in Vault, should I also use email and chat auto-deletion in the Google Admin console?

We recommend you don’t use both. If you create retention rules with Vault, a Google Workspace administrator should disable email and chat auto-deletion in the Google Admin console.

Email and chat auto-deletion rules apply to messages visible in users’ mailboxes only and don’t affect message availability to Vault or Vault retention rules. Auto-deletion rules can’t preserve messages longer than Vault retention rules. They can remove email and chat messages from users’ mailboxes sooner than Vault retention rules, but those messages are retained and remain available to Vault until both Gmail’s 30-day preservation policy and any Vault retention rules expire. Learn more