What’s new: Automated content retention policy for inactive users in Adobe Admin Console
We’re excited to announce the Content Retention Policy for Inactive Users in the Admin Console. This feature allows administrators to set automated retention timelines for inactive user content, after which it is permanently deleted. This helps improve storage management and supports compliance across enterprise and education environments.
Why this matters
This feature helps enterprise and education organizations manage digital assets responsibly, control storage growth, and maintain compliance with legal and regulatory requirements. By automating retention timelines, IT teams can reduce manual oversight while ensuring consistent policy enforcement across the organization.
Where to Find It
Go to Admin Console > Storage > Individual User Folders > Retention policy setting
To configure the policy:
- Navigate to Individual User Folders and select Retention policy setting.
- Choose to retain inactive user folders permanently or set a custom retention period between 30 days and 10 years.
- Select Save and then Confirm to apply the changes.
All updates are recorded in audit logs, and system administrators and storage administrators receive email notifications when changes are made.
When the retention period is updated, the system recalculates deletion dates based on the user's removal date. If any folders have already exceeded the revised retention period, they will be deleted after a 30-day buffer period.
Reclaim content from Inactive User folders
For users who are no longer active in your organization, you can reclaim their assets at any time. To search for a specific user, enter their email address in the search field.
Note: Search results only appear if inactive storage exists for that email address. If an error message appears, it may be because the user was never part of your organization, was a directory user, or has no inactive storage.
Before You Enable: Inactive User Cleanup Impact Review
For large enterprise customers with high volumes of inactive users, Adobe recommends requesting an Inactive User Cleanup Impact Review before enabling the Content Retention Policy.
Upon request through Customer Support, Adobe provides a list of deactivated users and their deactivation dates. This gives administrators a clear picture of who would be affected and when their content would be scheduled for deletion, before the policy is activated.
Why this matters: Once the retention policy is enabled and the retention window passes, deletion is permanent. Reviewing the impacted user list in advance helps prevent unintended deletions, especially in organizations with large numbers of historical inactive accounts.
To request a review: Contact Adobe Customer Support and ask for an Inactive User Cleanup Impact Review for your organization.
For a step-by-step guide, visit our documentation: Manage Adobe storage
Have feedback or encountering issues? Let us know by posting in the thread below — we'd love to hear from you!
Quick Links
- Reclaim assets from a user
- Adobe storage for business
- Use audit log to track user assignments and events
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*For queries, feedback, and suggestions, please feel free to start a conversation.
*Please visit our ICYMI page for all the other updates & releases.
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