Manage data retention policies for your team

How to create a data retention policy

To create a data retention policy:

1. Log in to dropbox.com with your admin credentials.
2. Click Admin console.
3. Click the More dropdown in the left sidebar.
4. Click Data retention.
5. Click New policy.
6. Fill out the name and details of the policy.
7. Choose a policy type.
8. Add a retention period or disposition time.
9. Click Add team folders to add the folders you’d like to include in the policy.
10. Click Create.
11. Click Create again to confirm.

You’ll receive an email within 24 hours confirming that the new policy is in place.

How to download content included in the data retention policy

To download the content of a data retention policy:

1. Log in to dropbox.com with your admin credentials.
2. Click Admin console.
3. Click the More dropdown in the left sidebar.
4. Click Data retention.
5. Click the “…” (ellipsis) next to the policy you’d like to export.
6. Click Download content.
7. Add a name and note to your download.
8. Click Prepare.

You'll receive an email with a link to download.

How to create a data retention report

If you set up a disposition policy, you will receive an email report before any content is deleted. You can also manually create a report at any time.

To create a data retention report:

1. Log in to dropbox.com with your admin credentials.
2. Click Admin console.
3. Click the More dropdown in the left sidebar.
4. Click Data retention.
5. Click the “…” (ellipses) next to the policy you’d like to create a report for.
6. Click Create report. A report will automatically be saved to your “Dropbox Business Reports” folder.

How to edit a data retention policy

To edit a data retention policy:

1. Log in to dropbox.com with your admin credentials.
2. Click Admin console.
3. Click the More dropdown in the left sidebar.
4. Click Data retention.
5. Click the “…” (ellipses) next to the policy you’d like to edit.
6. Click Edit policy.
7. Edit the policy details you’d like to change.
8. Click Save, then click Save again in the window that appears.

How to delete a data retention policy

To delete a data retention policy:

1. Log in to dropbox.com with your admin credentials.
2. Click Admin console.
3. Click the More dropdown in the left sidebar.
4. Click Data retention.
5. Click the “…” (ellipses) next to the policy you’d like to delete.
6. Click Delete policy.
7. Click Delete in the window that appears.