Want to learn more about Legal Holds? Read on to find answers to frequently asked questions.
What is a legal hold?
A Legal Hold retains files so that they cannot be purged from Egnyte for the duration of the hold. It does not prevent files from being moved, edited, or deleted. Read this article to learn more about legal holds and how to create and maintain policies in Secure & Govern.
What happens if a file under Legal Hold is moved?
For classification or custodian based holds, the file will remain under the hold.
For folder based holds:
- In Egnyte sources, the moved file will be released from the hold.
- In M365 sources, the Legal Hold must be modified (and still exclude the file’s new location) or reset (which triggers the hold to review all already matched files) for the moved file to be released from the hold.
Can I view all the documents that are related to a legal hold?
Yes, it is possible to review all of the files covered by a specific hold. Refer to the View Files Under A Legal Hold section of the Legal Hold article.
How is a file under Legal Hold indicated in the Trash?
If a file is covered by a hold, it will have a retention tag on the file or folder.
Can I delete active legal holds?
Yes, Admins and other S&G users with the Legal Hold role assigned can delete both an active and a closed legal hold. But remember, when an active legal hold is deleted, all the files covered by it are removed from retention following the 7-day retention grace period.
Can I add more custodians to a legal hold after it's created?
Yes, you can add more custodians to a legal hold after it is created by editing the legal hold.
Can I download all the files held under legal hold?
Yes, you can download or share the files under a hold. Refer to the Legal Hold article’s downloading and sharing sections for more information.
Does Legal Hold Prevent Files From Being Deleted?
A Legal Hold policy protects against deleting files from the trash. However, it does not prevent files from being moved to the trash. Users can move files to the trash even if they are under a legal hold policy.
Are Shared and Private folders treated the same for Legal Hold?
Yes, both Shared and Private folders are handled the same way for Legal Hold.
How do Connected Folders affect files under Legal Hold?
For connected folders, we don't prevent the user from deleting the file locally and even emptying their trash, but the file is still retained in the system and is under retention in the Egnyte trash.
What is the Retention Period Applied to Files Under Legal Hold?
Files under Legal Hold are under indefinite retention until they are no longer part of the hold.
Does the Retention Grace Period Apply to Files Under Legal Hold?
Yes, the 7-day retention grace period applies to files that are deleted under the legal hold.