New storage limits and chat expiration policies: What you need to know

McMaster University is implementing two key changes to Microsoft storage limits that will impact all students, faculty, staff, and retirees, effective Jan. 15, 2025.

Earlier this year, Microsoft introduced new global storage limits for universities and colleges. In response to this decision, and to promote ongoing responsible storage practices, our changes are as follows:

Changes to Microsoft storage limits at McMaster

Starting Jan. 15, 2025, new Microsoft storage limits will be implemented at McMaster University:

Microsoft Apps	Employee	Student	Retiree
OneDrive	100GB	20GB	N/A
Outlook (Email)	25GB	25GB	25GB
Teams	1TB	1TB	N/A
SharePoint	5TB	N/A	N/A

Approximately 95 per cent of employees, faculty and students are well below these limits and will not see any immediate impact from this change.

Individuals currently over the storage limits will be contacted by University Technology Services with options and next steps.

Learn more and see FAQs about new storage limits at McMaster.

Teams chat retention at McMaster

Beginning Jan. 15, 2025, Microsoft Teams chat messages will be saved for 120 days after being sent. This change will not affect files shared within a Teams chat — these documents will be retained.

Learn about Teams chat expiration at McMaster.

Why McMaster is implementing new storage limits and chat expiration policies

Microsoft implemented global storage limits on higher education institutions to improve security and minimize the environmental impact of unused data. McMaster is implementing these changes to align with Microsoft’s policies and avoid additional costs.

Preparing for These Changes

Learn how to prepare for the upcoming Microsoft storage limits at McMaster.

Get ready for the Microsoft Teams chat expiration policy at McMaster.

For assistance

For questions or assistance, contact the UTS Service Desk.

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<span data-contrast="auto">McMaster University is implementing two key changes to Microsoft storage limits that will impact all students, faculty, staff, and retirees, effective Jan. 15, 2025.</span><span data-ccp-props="{}"> </span>

<span data-contrast="auto">Earlier this year, </span><a href="https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/education/products/microsoft-365-storage-options" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span data-contrast="none">Microsoft introduced</span></a><span data-contrast="auto"> new global storage limits for universities and colleges. In response to this decision, and to promote ongoing responsible storage practices, our changes are as follows:</span><span data-ccp-props="{}"> </span>
<p><b><span data-contrast="none">Changes to Microsoft storage limits at McMaster</span></b><span data-ccp-props="{&quot;134245418&quot;:true,&quot;134245529&quot;:true,&quot;335559738&quot;:281,&quot;335559739&quot;:281}"> </span></p>
<span data-contrast="auto">Starting Jan. 15, 2025, new Microsoft storage limits will be implemented at McMaster University:</span><span data-ccp-props="{&quot;335559738&quot;:240,&quot;335559739&quot;:240}"> </span>
<table style="font-weight: 400" data-tablestyle="MsoTableGrid" data-tablelook="1696">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td data-celllook="65536"><b><span data-contrast="auto">Microsoft Apps</span></b><span data-ccp-props="{}"> </span></td>
<td data-celllook="65536"><b><span data-contrast="auto">Employee</span></b><span data-ccp-props="{&quot;335551550&quot;:2,&quot;335551620&quot;:2}"> </span></td>
<td data-celllook="65536"><b><span data-contrast="auto">Student</span></b><span data-ccp-props="{&quot;335551550&quot;:2,&quot;335551620&quot;:2}"> </span></td>
<td data-celllook="65536"><b><span data-contrast="auto">Retiree</span></b><span data-ccp-props="{&quot;335551550&quot;:2,&quot;335551620&quot;:2}"> </span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td data-celllook="0"><b><span data-contrast="auto">OneDrive</span></b><span data-ccp-props="{}"> </span></td>
<td data-celllook="0"><span data-contrast="auto">100GB</span><span data-ccp-props="{&quot;335551550&quot;:2,&quot;335551620&quot;:2}"> </span></td>
<td data-celllook="0"><span data-contrast="auto">20GB</span><span data-ccp-props="{&quot;335551550&quot;:2,&quot;335551620&quot;:2}"> </span></td>
<td data-celllook="0"><span data-contrast="auto">N/A</span><span data-ccp-props="{&quot;335551550&quot;:2,&quot;335551620&quot;:2}"> </span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td data-celllook="0"><b><span data-contrast="auto">Outlook (Email)</span></b><span data-ccp-props="{}"> </span></td>
<td data-celllook="0"><span data-contrast="auto">25GB</span><span data-ccp-props="{&quot;335551550&quot;:2,&quot;335551620&quot;:2}"> </span></td>
<td data-celllook="0"><span data-contrast="auto">25GB</span><span data-ccp-props="{&quot;335551550&quot;:2,&quot;335551620&quot;:2}"> </span></td>
<td data-celllook="0"><span data-contrast="auto">25GB</span><span data-ccp-props="{&quot;335551550&quot;:2,&quot;335551620&quot;:2}"> </span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td data-celllook="0"><b><span data-contrast="auto">Teams</span></b><span data-ccp-props="{}"> </span></td>
<td data-celllook="0"><span data-contrast="auto">1TB</span><span data-ccp-props="{&quot;335551550&quot;:2,&quot;335551620&quot;:2}"> </span></td>
<td data-celllook="0"><span data-contrast="auto">1TB</span><span data-ccp-props="{&quot;335551550&quot;:2,&quot;335551620&quot;:2}"> </span></td>
<td data-celllook="0"><span data-contrast="auto">N/A</span><span data-ccp-props="{&quot;335551550&quot;:2,&quot;335551620&quot;:2}"> </span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td data-celllook="0"><b><span data-contrast="auto">SharePoint</span></b><span data-ccp-props="{}"> </span></td>
<td data-celllook="0"><span data-contrast="auto">5TB</span><span data-ccp-props="{&quot;335551550&quot;:2,&quot;335551620&quot;:2}"> </span></td>
<td data-celllook="0"><span data-contrast="auto">N/A</span><span data-ccp-props="{&quot;335551550&quot;:2,&quot;335551620&quot;:2}"> </span></td>
<td data-celllook="0"><span data-contrast="auto">N/A</span><span data-ccp-props="{&quot;335551550&quot;:2,&quot;335551620&quot;:2}"> </span></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<span data-contrast="none">Approximately 95 per cent of employees, faculty and students are well below these limits and will not see any immediate impact from this change. </span>

<span data-contrast="none">Individuals currently over the storage limits will be contacted by University Technology Services with options and next steps.</span><span data-ccp-props="{&quot;335559738&quot;:240,&quot;335559739&quot;:240}"> </span>

<a href="https://mcmu.ca/Microsoft-storage-information" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span data-contrast="none">Learn more and see FAQs about new storage limits at McMaster.</span></a><span data-ccp-props="{}"> </span>
<p><b><span data-contrast="none">Teams chat retention at McMaster</span></b><span data-ccp-props="{&quot;134245418&quot;:true,&quot;134245529&quot;:true,&quot;335559738&quot;:281,&quot;335559739&quot;:281}"> </span></p>
<span data-contrast="auto">Beginning Jan. 15, 2025, Microsoft Teams chat messages will be saved for 120 days after being sent. This change will not affect files shared within a Teams chat — these documents will be retained. </span><span data-ccp-props="{&quot;335559738&quot;:240,&quot;335559739&quot;:240}"> </span>

<a href="https://mcmu.ca/Teams-Chat-Message-Expiration" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span data-contrast="none">Learn about Teams chat expiration at McMaster.</span></a><span data-contrast="auto"> </span><span data-ccp-props="{&quot;335559738&quot;:240,&quot;335559739&quot;:240}"> </span>
<p><b><span data-contrast="none">Why McMaster is implementing new storage limits and chat expiration policies</span></b><span data-ccp-props="{&quot;134245418&quot;:true,&quot;134245529&quot;:true,&quot;335559738&quot;:281,&quot;335559739&quot;:281}"> </span></p>
<span data-contrast="auto">Microsoft implemented global storage limits on higher education institutions to improve security and minimize the environmental impact of unused data. McMaster is implementing these changes to align with Microsoft's policies and avoid additional costs.</span><span data-ccp-props="{&quot;335559738&quot;:240,&quot;335559739&quot;:240}"> </span>
<p><b><span data-contrast="none">Preparing for These Changes</span></b><span data-ccp-props="{&quot;134245418&quot;:true,&quot;134245529&quot;:true,&quot;335559738&quot;:281,&quot;335559739&quot;:281}"> </span></p>

<ul>
 	<li data-leveltext="" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="2" data-list-defn-props="{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}" data-aria-posinset="1" data-aria-level="1"><a href="https://mcmu.ca/Microsoft-storage-information" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span data-contrast="none">Learn how to prepare for the upcoming Microsoft storage limits at McMaster.</span></a><span data-ccp-props="{&quot;335559739&quot;:0}"> </span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
 	<li data-leveltext="" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="2" data-list-defn-props="{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}" data-aria-posinset="2" data-aria-level="1"><a href="https://mcmu.ca/Teams-Chat-Message-Expiration" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span data-contrast="none">Get ready for the Microsoft Teams chat expiration policy at McMaster.</span></a><span data-ccp-props="{&quot;335559739&quot;:0}"> </span></li>
</ul>
<p><b><span data-contrast="none">For assistance</span></b><span data-ccp-props="{&quot;134245418&quot;:true,&quot;134245529&quot;:true,&quot;335559738&quot;:281,&quot;335559739&quot;:281}"> </span></p>
<span data-contrast="auto">For questions or assistance, </span><a href="https://uts.mcmaster.ca/contact-us/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span data-contrast="none">contact the UTS Service Desk</span></a><span data-contrast="auto">.</span><span data-ccp-props="{&quot;335559738&quot;:240,&quot;335559739&quot;:240}"> </span>

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