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Governance settings let you configure Box to manage your content governance needs.

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Retention Tab

The Retention tab is where you configure content retention policies. Retention defines how long content is kept even if it has been put in Trash. Content cannot be permanently deleted, even if it is in Trash, if it is under retention policy and the retention time has not expired. This section lists the settings for retention policies and describes each setting.
ImportantBecause retention policies are designed to meet regulatory requirements such as FINRA, this setting cannot be changed for a non-modifiable policy once it is enabled. The exception is that folders and metadata can be added to retention policies.
Select from:
  • Content within specific folders to retain content within specific folders. When you select this option, you will select one or more folders in the next step of retention policy creation. Once the policy is enabled, it applies to, or is cascaded to, all content in the selected folder(s), all files and everything in every sub-folder.
NoteOnce a retention policy is applied to a folder, if any file or sub-folder is moved out of that folder, the retention policy still applies, and that holds true no matter where the move or how often the move. The one exception is that if a file or folder is moved into a folder where a retention policy with longer retention is defined, that that policy is then applied to the moved file or folder.
  • Content with specific metadata to retain content based on content metadata. When you select this option, you will select one or more metadata options in the next step. If you select multiple metadata options, the retention policy will be applied to content that matches any of the selected metadata.
  • Content with specific classifications to retain content based on classification labels applied to that content. When you select this option, you will select one or more classification labels in the next step. If you select multiple classification labels, the retention policy will be applied to content that has any of the classification labels applied.
NoteOnce a retention policy is applied to a file based on that file having a classification label, if the classification label is changed (or removed), the retention policy still applies to the file.
  • All new content to apply the retention policy to all future content added or uploaded to Box while the retention policy is active.
ImportantThis setting cannot be changed once the policy is started.
Select from:
  • 30, 60, or 90 days
  • 1, 3, 6, or 10 years
  • A custom number of days or years
  • An indefinite period of time
NoteThe Permanently delete content option is not available if the People who can permanently delete content in Trash setting in Enterprise Settings > Content & Sharing > Trash is set to Nobody (No user or policy can delete content).
NoteSome email clients truncate large messages. In those cases, recipients of these notifications may need to click a “View all” or “View entire message” in their email client to see the entire list of files if the list is long.
The Legal Holds tab tab is where you configure content legal hold policies. Legal holds define what content is kept and (optionally) for how long even if it has been put in Trash. This section lists the settings for legal hold policies and describes each setting. This section lists the settings for legal hold exports and describes each setting.
NoteWhile the date range determines which files get included in the export, it is the latest version of those files that are exported.