Recycle Bin
The SharePoint Recycle Bin provides a safety net for deleted content with a 93-day retention period before items are permanently deleted.
Common Use Cases
- Accidental file recovery: restore a document deleted by a team member; original content, metadata, and version history are fully preserved
- Folder recovery: restore an accidentally deleted folder and all its contents in a single operation from the Recycle Bin
- Library recovery: recover an entire document library deleted during a site cleanup, including all files, metadata, and version history
- Admin-level recovery after user empties bin: a Site Collection Admin can recover items from a second-stage Recycle Bin that an end user permanently deleted by emptying their Recycle Bin
- Retention policy gap coverage: for organizations without a formal backup, the 93-day Recycle Bin window provides a recovery buffer for accidental deletions
- List item recovery: restore accidentally deleted list items with all field values intact; no need to recreate data manually
Benefits
- Two-stage safety net: Stage 1 (site member) and Stage 2 (site admin) provide two opportunities to recover deleted content before it is permanently gone
- Full fidelity restore: restored items recover with complete content, metadata, version history, and original permissions — not just file content
- 93-day retention window: a generous default gives organizations ample time to identify and recover accidentally deleted content
- Library-level recovery: entire document libraries can be restored from the Recycle Bin, not just individual files, making large-scale accidental deletion recovery practical
- Audit trail for deletions: the Recycle Bin records who deleted each item and when, supporting accountability and investigation of unexpected deletions
Key Considerations
- 93 days is combined across both stages: items do not restart the clock when moved to the second-stage Recycle Bin. The total window is 93 days from the original deletion
- Permanent deletion is irreversible: once an item is permanently deleted after 93 days or by admin purge, it cannot be recovered through the Recycle Bin
- Recycle Bin counts toward the storage quota: deleted files in the Recycle Bin still count toward your tenant’s overall storage allocation.
- Recycle Bin is not a backup: It’s a temporary safety net for deleted files, not a long-term backup or recovery solution.
- Retention policies may override Recycle Bin: if a Purview retention policy holds deleted content, it is preserved in the Preservation Hold Library rather than being permanently deleted