Summary
- Microsoft is correcting the Microsoft 365 Backup UI so deleted SharePoint sites and OneDrive accounts with no remaining restore points no longer appear as if they are still protected.
- This is a display/status correction only; it does not change protection for active sites/accounts or affect any data that remains available for recovery.
- The change applies to administrators managing Microsoft 365 Backup policies for deleted SharePoint and OneDrive resources.
- Microsoft also mentions future enhancements for managing soft-deleted sites/accounts, but those details and timing will be shared separately.
Primary Service: Backup
Admin Impact: Low
User Impact: Low
Release Start: 01 Oct 2026
Release End: 31 Dec 2026
Services: Backup, OneDrive, SharePoint
Category: Stay informed
Tags: Admin Action, Feature Update
History
10/30/2026 Item Added to Message Center
Microsoft Message
We are correcting the Microsoft 365 Backup UI to accurately display the protection and recovery status of deleted SharePoint sites and OneDrive accounts after their recovery lifecycle has ended. Currently, deleted sites and accounts may continue to appear in the policy UI after they no longer have any remaining restore points, which can create confusion about their protection status. This correction applies only to sites and accounts that have already been permanently deleted from SharePoint or OneDrive and have no remaining restore points. It will not affect active protected sites or accounts or any data that is currently available for recovery.
We are also working on enhanced management options in Microsoft 365 Backup for soft-deleted SharePoint sites and OneDrive accounts. The updated experience will provide clearer visibility into their protection status and greater flexibility for administrators managing their lifecycle, including the option to continue protection for soft-deleted sites where supported. Additional details and the rollout timeline for these enhancements will be shared in a future Message center communication.
Rollout schedule
Worldwide: Rollout began in late October 2026 and is expected to complete by late December 2026.
Impact on your organization
Who is affected
Administrators managing Microsoft 365 Backup policies that include deleted SharePoint sites or OneDrive accounts with no remaining restore points.
Platforms and services
- Microsoft 365 Backup
- SharePoint
- OneDrive
What will happen
- When a protected SharePoint site or OneDrive account is soft-deleted outside the Backup tool, backup processing for that site or account stops, and new restore points are no longer created.
- Existing restore points remain available for the applicable Microsoft 365 Backup recovery window.
- Hard deletion is blocked while a restore point exists. After all restore points expire from the Microsoft 365 Backup recovery window, hard deletion automatically proceeds.
- Once the recovery window ends and the SharePoint site or OneDrive account is permanently deleted from the site recycle bin, no recoverable data remains for that site or account, consistent with the Microsoft 365 Backup retention promise.
- Deleted sites and accounts will be removed from the Microsoft 365 Backup policy UI after the deletion date plus recovery window has elapsed, and no active restore points remain.
- Going forward, this behavior will continue, so that sites and accounts with no active restore points do not appear in the policy UI.
- This change corrects the display of deleted sites and accounts and does not affect active protected sites or accounts or data currently available for recovery.
Action required and recommendations
No action is required from administrators for this update.
Compliance considerations
No compliance considerations identified. Review as appropriate for your organization.