

Even if the message is permanently deleted, it might be retained indefinitely because a legal hold has been placed on the mailbox. For example, a user might unknowingly send or forward an email message that contains sensitive information or information that may have serious business consequences. However, in some situations organizations might have data that's been unintentionally retained in the Recoverable Items folder that they must delete. It's also used to store items that are retained and accessed by compliance features, such as holds and eDiscovery searches.

The Recoverable Items folder for an Exchange Online mailbox exists to protect from accidental or malicious deletions. Delete items in the Recoverable Items folder of cloud-based mailboxes on hold
