Managing retention policy for Zoom Docs

Retention policy allows account owners and admins to define how long Zoom Docs must be kept before they are deleted automatically. After the specified retention period, docs are moved to Trash so users still have an opportunity to recover them. By default, this setting is disabled but can be enabled at the account, group, or user level.

Notes:

• Once a doc is moved to trash, users can recover it from the trash view within the standard trash period (currently 30 days). After that, the doc is permanently deleted.
• This setting is not related to the retention period of the Team Chat setting. Both settings are independent of each other.

Requirements for managing retention policy for Zoom Docs

• Basic, Pro, Pro Plus, Business, Business Plus, Education, or Enterprise account
• Account owner or admin privileges on the Zoom web portal
• Zoom Docs enabled by admin

How to change the retention policy for Zoom Docs

Account

To enable or disable Docs-specific deletion policies for all users in the account:

1. Sign in to the Zoom web portal as an admin with the privilege to edit account settings.
2. In the navigation menu, click Account Management then Account Settings.
3. Click the Docs tab.
4. Under Docs Retention, click the Docs-specific deletion policies toggle to enable or disable it.
   Note: If the Auto-delete specific docs toggle is disabled, docs are not automatically deleted. Users must delete them manually.
5. If a verification dialog appears, click Enable or Disable to verify the change.
6. Choose to delete docs based on their creation date or last modified date.
7. Select the retention period for docs. By default, the retention period is set to 90 days, but you can select retention periods ranging from 30 days to 10 years.
   Note: Docs that already meet the criteria are automatically moved to trash without notification within 24 hours of enabling docs-specific deletion policies (for example, docs not modified for 365 days would be moved to trash).
8. (Optional) Select the Starred docs check box to exclude a user’s starred docs from automatic deletion.
9. (Optional) Set how many days before docs are moved to trash that doc owners receive email and desktop app notifications. You can choose from options of 5, 10, 15, or 30 days before deletion.
10. Click Save.
    The Docs retention settings will be applied at the account level.
11. (Optional) To prevent all users in your account from changing this setting, click the lock  icon, and then click Lock to confirm the setting.

Group

To enable or disable Docs-specific deletion policies for a group of users:

1. Sign in to the Zoom web portal as an admin with the privilege to edit groups.
2. In the navigation menu, click User Management then Groups.
3. Click the applicable group name from the list.
4. Click the Docs tab.
5. Under Docs Retention, click the Docs-specific deletion policies toggle to enable or disable it.
   Note: If the Auto-delete specific docs toggle is disabled, docs are not automatically deleted. Users must delete them manually.
6. If a verification dialog appears, click Enable or Disable to verify the change.
7. Choose to delete docs based on their creation date or last modified date.
8. Select the retention period for docs. By default, the retention period is set to 90 days, but you can select retention periods ranging from 30 days to 10 years.
   Note: Docs that already meet the criteria are automatically moved to trash without notification within 24 hours of enabling docs-specific deletion policies (for example, docs not modified for 365 days would be moved to trash).
9. (Optional) Select the Starred docs check box to exclude a user’s starred docs from automatic deletion.
10. (Optional) Set how many days before docs are moved to trash that doc owners receive email and desktop app notifications. You can choose from options of 5, 10, 15, or 30 days before deletion.
11. Click Save.
    The Docs retention settings will be applied to members of the selected group.
12. (Optional) To prevent all users in the group from changing this setting, click the lock  icon, and then click Lock to confirm the setting.
    Note: If the options are grayed out, they have been locked at the account level and need to be changed at that level.

User

To enable or disable Docs-specific deletion policies for your own use:

1. Sign in to the Zoom web portal.
2. In the navigation menu, click Settings.
3. Click the Docs tab.
4. Under Docs Retention, click the Auto-delete specific docs. toggle to enable or disable it.
   Note: If the Auto-delete specific docs toggle is disabled, docs are not automatically deleted. You will need to delete them manually.
5. If a verification dialog appears, click Enable or Disable to verify the change.
6. Choose to delete docs based on their creation date or last modified date.
7. Select the retention period for docs. By default, the retention period is set to 90 days, but you can select retention periods ranging from 30 days to 10 years.
   Note: Docs that already meet the criteria are automatically moved to trash without notification within 24 hours of enabling docs-specific deletion policies (for example, docs not modified for 365 days would be moved to trash).
8. (Optional) Select the Starred docs check box to exclude starred docs from automatic deletion.
9. Set a reminder for when the doc will be automatically deleted. You can choose from options of 5, 10, 15, or 30 days before deletion.
10. Click Save.
    The Docs retention settings will be applied to your docs.
    Note: If the options are grayed out, it has been locked at either the group or account level. You need to contact your Zoom admin.