Tutorial / Cram Notes
Retention labels allow you to classify data across your organization for governance, and enforce retention rules based on that classification. Labels can be applied automatically by administrators who define rules and conditions, manually by users, or a combination where users are given recommendations.
Understanding Retention Labels
Before creating retention labels, it’s important to understand their purpose and capabilities:
- Retention: Determines how long content is kept before it’s permanently deleted.
- Record: Marks content as a record, which means it cannot be edited or deleted.
- Regulatory Record: Imposes stricter restrictions than standard records.
Steps to Create Retention Labels
To create retention labels, follow these steps:
- Navigate to Compliance Center: Go to the Microsoft 365 compliance center at https://compliance.microsoft.com.
- Access the Solutions: On the left navigation pane, select ‘Solutions’ and then click on ‘Information governance’ or ‘Records management’.
- Create a Label: Under ‘Labels’, select ‘Retention labels’ and then click on ‘Create a label’.
- Define Label Settings: Choose a name for the label and provide a description that helps users understand when to apply it. Click ‘Next’.
- Set Retention Period: Decide if the content should be retained indefinitely, for a specific period, or if you want to let users decide when the content gets labeled. You can also set whether content should be reviewed before deletion.
- Decide Deletion Actions: Specify what happens after the retention period expires. Options include automatically deleting the content or reviewing it before deletion.
- Apply Label to Record Classification: Choose if this label should classify content as a standard record, a regulatory record, or if it should not mark content as a record.
- Review and Create: Review your settings and click ‘Create this label’.
Once you’ve created your labels, you can then publish them to users and locations across Microsoft 365.
Publishing Retention Labels
Publishing retention labels involve these steps:
- Create a Label Policy: Go back to ‘Information governance’ or ‘Records management’, then under ‘Label policies’, select ‘Publish labels’.
- Select Labels: Choose the labels you want to publish and click ‘Next’.
- Choose Locations: Select which locations to apply the labels—such as Exchange email, SharePoint sites, OneDrive accounts, and so on.
- Specify Policy Settings: Name your policy and set additional settings, then click ‘Publish’.
- Inform Users: It’s good practice to educate your users on how to apply labels if they will be doing so manually.
Retention Label Policies Comparison
| Feature | Label Only | Label with Policy |
|---|---|---|
| Automated Protection | By creating rules | By policy application |
| Manual Application | Not possible | Users apply labels manually |
| Scope of Application | Limited locations | Broader location selection |
| User Notifications | Not configurable | Can configure notifications |
It’s essential to note that retention labels, once published and applied to content, enforce the retention settings even if the labels are later modified or deleted. Therefore, planning your label strategy before deployment is crucial.
Use Case Examples
- Financial Documents: Set a label to retain tax records for 7 years before deletion.
- Legal Hold: Preserve information that’s involved in litigation indefinitely until the hold is removed.
- Contract Management: Apply a label to retain signed contracts for the life of the contract plus 5 additional years.
In conclusion, creating retention labels effectively manages your organization’s data lifecycle, ensures compliance, and reduces risks. As an aspiring Microsoft Information Protection Administrator preparing for the SC-400 exam, mastering retention labels is imperative for protecting valuable information assets and meeting regulatory requirements.
Practice Test with Explanation
True or False: Retention labels in Microsoft 365 can be applied automatically based on specific conditions or manually by users.
- True)
Correct Answer: True
Explanation: Retention labels in Microsoft 365 can indeed be applied automatically using conditions or can be applied manually by users to classify and retain content.
Multiple Select: Which of the following are options for the retention settings when creating a retention label?
- A) Retain items for a specific period.
- B) Delete items after a specified time.
- C) Start the retention period based on when the item was created.
- D) Retain items forever.
Correct Answer: A, B, C
Explanation: When creating a retention label, you can configure it to retain items for a specific period, delete items after a specified time, and start the retention period based on when the item was created. The option to retain items forever would be achieved by setting a retention period but not defining a deletion.
True or False: You can create retention labels without specifying retention settings.
- False)
Correct Answer: False
Explanation: When creating retention labels, you need to specify retention settings to define what the label does, such as retaining content for a certain period or deleting it after some time.
Single Select: What is the maximum number of retention labels that can be published in a single label policy?
- A) 10
- B) 50
- C) 100
- D) There is no limit.
Correct Answer: D
Explanation: Microsoft does not impose a limit on the number of retention labels that can be published in a single label policy.
True or False: Retention labels can only be applied to content within SharePoint and OneDrive for Business.
- False)
Correct Answer: False
Explanation: Retention labels can be applied to content across various Office 365 services, including SharePoint, OneDrive for Business, Exchange email, and more.
Multiple Select: Which applications can be used to manually apply retention labels to emails?
- A) Outlook on the web
- B) Outlook desktop client
- C) Mobile Outlook app
- D) Exchange admin center
Correct Answer: A, B
Explanation: Retention labels can be manually applied to emails using Outlook on the web and the Outlook desktop client. They cannot be directly applied through the Mobile Outlook app or the Exchange admin center.
Single Select: How are retention labels published to users and administrators?
- A) Through retention policies
- B) Directly to specific users
- C) By using label policies
- D) Through email notifications
Correct Answer: C
Explanation: Retention labels are published to users and administrators by using label policies which determine the locations and users to which the labels apply.
True or False: A retention label can start the retention period based on the last modification date of content.
- True)
Correct Answer: True
Explanation: A retention label can be configured to start the retention period based on the last modification date of the content.
Single Select: Which of the following retention options allows content to be both retained and then deleted after a certain period?
- A) Retain only
- B) Delete only
- C) Retain and then delete
- D) Do not retain or delete
Correct Answer: C
Explanation: The “Retain and then delete” option allows content to be retained for a specified period before being automatically deleted.
True or False: Once a retention label is applied to a document, the label’s settings cannot be changed.
- False)
Correct Answer: False
Explanation: The settings of a retention label can be changed, but the changes will only apply to content labeled after the change, not to content that was already labeled.
Multiple Select: For what types of content can retention labels be used?
- A) Emails and calendar items
- B) Microsoft Teams chat messages
- C) SharePoint Online documents
- D) Physical documents stored offsite
Correct Answer: A, B, C
Explanation: Retention labels can be used for emails and calendar items, Microsoft Teams chat messages, and SharePoint Online documents. They do not apply to physical documents stored offsite.
True or False: To automatically apply a retention label based on keyword matching, you must use the Content Search feature in the Security & Compliance Center.
- False)
Correct Answer: False
Explanation: To automatically apply retention labels based on keyword matching, you should use retention label policies that can automatically apply labels based on conditions such as keywords, sensitive information, or specific content types. Content Search is used for searching content within your organization.
Interview Questions
What is a retention label?
A retention label is a way to classify content based on its value to an organization and specify how long it should be retained.
How can you create a retention label?
You can create a retention label in the Microsoft 365 compliance center.
What are some ways that retention labels can be applied to content?
Retention labels can be manually applied by a user, automatically applied by a policy, or inherited from a parent location.
What is the difference between a retention label and a retention policy?
A retention label specifies how long content should be retained, while a retention policy is a set of retention settings that apply to a group of content.
Can retention labels be applied to different types of content?
Yes, retention labels can be applied to email, documents, and other types of content within Microsoft 365.
What are some of the retention settings that can be configured with a retention label?
Retention settings can include a retention period, a review period, and a disposition action.
Can retention labels be customized to meet the needs of a specific organization?
Yes, retention labels can be customized with specific retention periods, review periods, and disposition actions to meet the needs of an organization.
How can you apply a retention label to content in Microsoft 365?
You can apply a retention label to content by selecting the label from a drop-down menu or by using a retention policy.
What is the process for creating a retention policy?
To create a retention policy, you must create a retention label, create a retention policy that includes the label, and then apply the policy to content.
How can you monitor the status of content that has a retention label applied?
You can use the compliance center to monitor the status of content with retention labels, including when the retention period has expired and when the content has been deleted.
What are some of the benefits of using retention labels?
Retention labels can help ensure that content is retained for the appropriate amount of time, reduce the risk of data loss or leakage, and improve compliance with regulatory requirements.
Can retention labels be applied to content in third-party applications?
Yes, retention labels can be applied to content in third-party applications through the use of APIs and connectors.
What is the difference between a retention label and a sensitivity label?
A retention label specifies how long content should be retained, while a sensitivity label specifies the level of sensitivity of the content and controls access to it.
Can retention labels be used to delete content?
Yes, retention labels can be used to specify a disposition action, such as deleting content after a specified retention period has expired.
What is the process for removing a retention label from content?
To remove a retention label from content, you must apply a new retention label or policy that supersedes the existing label.
This blog post really helped me understand how to create retention labels. Thanks!
Can someone explain how retention labels differ from sensitivity labels?
I found the step-by-step guide on creating a retention label quite clear.
Is there a limit to the number of retention labels one can create?
I appreciate the detailed instructions on retention labels!
Does anyone know if retention labels apply retroactively to existing content?
Thank you for this helpful post!
Not a fan of the layout of this guide. The content is good but it’s hard to follow.