Create, view, and edit backup policies in Microsoft 365 Backup

Follow these steps to set up a backup policy for SharePoint sites using Microsoft 365 Backup.

1. Go to the Microsoft 365 admin center.

2. Select Settings.

3. Select Microsoft 365 Backup from the list of products.

4. On the Microsoft 365 Backup page, in the SharePoint section, select Set up policy.

   

5. On the Overview page, review the backup features for SharePoint, and then select Next.

   

6. On the Choose selection method page, you can set up SharePoint sites using any of the available methods. A protection scope is the scope of SharePoint sites that you want to protect with Microsoft 365 Backup.

   

   a. Under Upload a list of sites in a CSV file, you can upload a list of accounts to back up via a CSV file.

   The CSV upload feature for bulk addition of sites or user accounts in the backup policy creation workflow can accommodate a maximum of 50,000 entries per CSV file.

   b. Under Back up sites that match specific filters, you can select Site name or URL contains or Site last modified, or both.

   The rule-based feature for bulk addition of sites in the backup policy creation workflow allows you to add up to 10 site names or URLs at a time. Each keyword can have a minimum of three characters and maximum of 255 characters.

   Note

   The site filters are in preview.

   c. Under Select sites individually, you can search and select sites you want to add to a backup policy.

   Note

   Some legacy SharePoint site templates are not supported by Microsoft 365 Backup. Please view the FAQ page to learn more.

   d. Under Back up all SharePoint sites, you can create the full workload backup policy for SharePoint to automatically protect all SharePoint sites not already included in other backup policies.

   Note

   The full workload backup feature is in preview.

7. Select Next to move to the Backup Settings page, where you can provide a name for your policy.

8. On the Review SharePoint backup policy page, review the information to make sure it's how you want it, and then select Create policy (or Update policy if it's an update).

   

9. The backup policy for SharePoint is created.

   

   Once the sites are added to a backup policy, it might take up to 15 minutes per 1,000 sites for restore points to become available for restore.

Follow these steps to set up a backup policy for Exchange mailboxes sites using Microsoft 365 Backup.

1. Go to the Microsoft 365 admin center.

2. Select Settings.

3. Select Microsoft 365 Backup from the list of products.

4. On the Microsoft 365 Backup page, in the Exchange section, select Set up policy.

   

5. On the Overview page, review the backup policy attributes for Exchange, and then select Next.

   

6. On the Choose selection method page, you can select shared or user mailboxes using any of the available methods. Other Exchange recipient types, such as room and group mailboxes, are not supported at this time. A protection scope is the scope of mailboxes within Exchange that you want to protect with Microsoft 365 Backup.

   Note

   Adding a mailbox to the backup policy backs up the primary and archive mailboxes. Adding a mailbox might temporarily fail if the mailbox setup isn't yet complete. For example, if you recently created the user, licensed the user, or migrated the mailbox from on premises, you might see a transient failure while the mailbox is still being set up.

   

   a. Under Upload a list of mailboxes in a CSV file, you can upload a list of accounts to back up via a CSV file.

   The CSV upload feature for bulk addition of mailboxes in the backup policy creation workflow can accommodate a maximum of 50,000 entries per CSV file.

   b. Under Using a dynamic rule, you can select Distribution lists or Security groups, or both. With dynamic rules, any changes to membership in the selected distribution lists and security groups are automatically reevaluated daily, ensuring the backup policy reflects those membership changes regularly.

   For example, if a user is added to a distribution list included in the dynamic rule, that user is included in the backup policy within a day. After that, Microsoft 365 Backup will create restore points for that user. If a user that was previously in the included distribution list is removed from that list, then they're removed from the backup policy within 24 hours. The user's existing backups remain restorable until they expire based on their retention period. However, new backups aren't taken until the user is re-added to the included distribution list or manually re-added through a static addition.

   Note

   The dynamic rule feature is in preview.

   c. Under Using filters, you can select Distribution lists or Security groups, or both. The distribution list and security group are flattened when added, meaning the policy doesn't update dynamically if the groups or distribution list are updated later.

   Note

   Members of security groups that are shared mailboxes are currently not added. You'll need to add shared mailboxes manually.

   The rule-based feature for bulk addition of mailboxes via security groups or distribution lists can accommodate a maximum of three groups at a time. These rules are static and applied one time only. That is, the security groups or distribution lists are flattened at the time of adding to the backup configuration policy. For example, groups or lists don't dynamically update in the system if users are added or removed from the original security group.

   Note

   The site last modified feature is in preview.

   d. Under Select mailboxes individually, you can search and select mailboxes you want to add to a backup policy.

   Note

   Hybrid deployments are not supported. Only mailboxes fully hosted in Exchange Online can be protected.

   e. Under Back up all Exchange mailboxes, you can create the full workload backup policy for Exchange to automatically protect all mailboxes not already included in other backup policies.

   Note

   The full workload backup feature is in preview.

7. Select Next to move to the Backup Settings page, where you can provide a name for your policy.

8. On the Review Exchange backup policy page, review the information to make sure it's how you want it, and then select Create policy (or Update policy if it's an update).

9. The backup policy for Exchange is created.

   

   Once the mailboxes are added to a backup policy, it might take up to 15 minutes per 1,000 mailboxes for restore points to become available for restore.

Follow these steps to set up a backup policy for OneDrive accounts using Microsoft 365 Backup.

1. Go to the Microsoft 365 admin center.

2. Select Settings.

3. Select Microsoft 365 Backup from the list of products.

4. On the Microsoft 365 Backup page, in the OneDrive section, select Set up policy.

   

5. On the Overview page, review the backup policy attributes for OneDrive, and then select Next.

   

6. On the Choose selection method page, you can select OneDrive user accounts using any of the available methods. A protection scope is the scope of user accounts within OneDrive that you want to protect with Microsoft 365 Backup.

   

   a. Under Upload a list of accounts in a CSV file, you can upload a list of accounts to back up via a CSV file.

   The CSV upload feature for bulk addition of sites or user accounts in the backup policy creation workflow can accommodate a maximum of 50,000 entries per CSV file.

   b. Under Using a dynamic rule, you can select Distribution lists or Security groups, or both. With dynamic rules, any changes to membership in the selected distribution lists and security groups are automatically reevaluated daily, ensuring the backup policy reflects those membership changes regularly.

   For example, if a user is added to a distribution list included in the dynamic rule, that user is included in the backup policy within a day. After that, Microsoft 365 Backup will create restore points for that user. If a user that was previously in the included distribution list is removed from that list, then they're removed from the backup policy within 24 hours. The user's existing backups remain restorable until they expire based on their retention period. However, new backups aren't taken until the user is re-added to the included distribution list or manually re-added through a static addition.

   Note

   The dynamic rule feature is in preview.

   c. Under Using filters, you can select Distribution lists or Security groups, or both. The distribution list and security group are flattened when added, meaning the policy doesn't update dynamically if the groups or distribution list members are updated later.

   The rule-based feature for bulk addition of user accounts via security groups or distribution lists can accommodate a maximum of three groups at a time. These rules are static and applied one time only. That is, the security groups or distribution lists are flattened at the time of adding to the backup configuration policy. For example, groups or lists aren't dynamically updated in the system if users are added or removed from the original security group.

   d. Under Select accounts individually, you can search and select accounts you want to add to a backup policy.

   e. Under Back up all OneDrive accounts, you can create the full workload backup policy for OneDrive to automatically protect all OneDrive accounts not already included in other backup policies.

   Note

   The full workload backup feature is in preview.

7. Select Next to move to the Backup Settings page, where you can provide a name for your policy.

8. On the Review OneDrive backup policy page, review the information to make sure it's how you want it, and then select Create policy (or Update policy if it's an update).

9. The backup policy for OneDrive is created.

   

   Once the sites are added to a backup policy, it might take 15 to 25 minutes per 1,000 sites for restore points to become available for restore.

Follow these steps to view and edit backup policies in SharePoint.

1. In the Microsoft 365 admin center, on the Microsoft 365 Backup page, select the Backup policies tab to view the list of all backup policies created in your organization. You can filter the list of policies by SharePoint Service to view the list of all SharePoint backup policies created in your organization. To edit any specific policy, select that policy and then select View details.

   

2. On the policy specific panel, on the Policy details tab, in the Scope area, select Edit.

3. You can either add new sites to or remove sites from an existing SharePoint backup policy.

   a. To add new sites, on the Included sites tab, select + Add sites.

   b. Select sites by any method as discussed in the creation section. Once you add sites to the list, follow the prompts to update the policy.

   

   c. To remove sites from existing SharePoint backup policy, on the Included sites tab, select the relevant sites, and then select Remove. Once you're done with your changes, follow the prompts to remove the sites. The removed sites are moved to the Removed Items tab under the Backup policies tab.

   

4. Once you make your changes, follow the prompts to update the policy.

   

   Note

   Removing sites from backup policy means no future backups are taken for those removed sites. Existing backups for the removed sites aren't deleted and will be charged.

Follow these steps to view and edit backup policies for Exchange.

1. In the Microsoft 365 admin center, on the Microsoft 365 Backup page, select the Backup policies tab to view the list of all backup policies created in your organization. You can filter the list of policies by Exchange Service to view the list of all Exchange Online backup policies created in your organization. To edit any specific policy, select that policy and then select View details.

2. You can either add new mailboxes to or remove mailboxes from the existing Exchange backup policy.

   a. To add new shared or user mailboxes, use the following method:

   • On the policy specific panel, on the Policy details tab, in the Scope area, select Edit.

   • To add new mailboxes, on the Included sites tab, select + Add mailboxes.

   • Select the mailboxes by using any of the four available methods as discussed in the creation section. Once you add mailboxes to the list, follow the prompts to update the policy.

   

   b. To remove user mailboxes from existing backup policy, on the Included mailboxes tab, select the user mailboxes from the list, and select Remove.

   Mailboxes added to a backup policy through a dynamic rule can't be individually removed. To exclude these mailboxes from the backup policy, you must modify the rule conditions. For example, if User A is part of Distribution List P, removing User A from the list excludes them from the policy. Alternatively, removing the entire distribution list from the rule removes all mailboxes that were added through that list from the backup policy.

   

3. The removed mailboxes are moved to the Removed Items tab under the Backup policies tab.

   

   Note

   Removing mailboxes from backup policy means no future backups are taken for those removed mailboxes. Existing backups for those mailboxes aren't deleted and will be charged.

Follow these steps to view and edit backup policies for OneDrive.

1. In the Microsoft 365 admin center, on the Microsoft 365 Backup page, select the Backup policies tab to view the list of all backup policies created in your organization. You can filter the list of policies by OneDrive Service to view the list of all OneDrive backup policies created in your organization. To edit any specific policy, select that policy and then select View details.

2. You can either add new accounts to or remove accounts from an existing OneDrive backup policy.

   a. To add new accounts, use the following method:

   • On the policy specific panel, on the Policy details tab, in the Scope area, select Edit.

   • To add new accounts, on the Included accounts tab, select + Add accounts.

   • Select the accounts by using any of the four available methods as discussed in the creation section. Once you add accounts to the list, follow the prompts to update the policy.

   

   b. To remove accounts from existing backup policy, on the Included accounts tab, select the accounts from the list, and then select Remove. Once you make your changes, follow the prompts to remove the accounts.

   Accounts added to a backup policy through a dynamic rule can't be individually removed. To exclude these accounts from the backup policy, you must modify the rule conditions. For example, if User A is part of Distribution List P, removing User A from the list excludes them from the policy. Alternatively, removing the entire distribution list from the rule removes all accounts that were added through that list from the backup policy.

   

3. The removed accounts are moved to the Removed Items tab under the Backup policies tab.

   

   Note

   Removing accounts from backup policy means no future backups are taken for those removed accounts. Existing backups for those accounts aren't deleted and will be charged.