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I'm doing some research into email servers and how they work.

There is a function in Outlook 365 where an admin can perform several traces on emails for the past 90 days. For example, an 'enhanced report', etc.

I am wondering if, for example, an email was sent with information the admin wanted to dispose of, could something be done from the admin's side to remove all traces of that email, despite it being delivered and logged?

I understand normal deletion won't get rid of the traces, that much is obvious. But if an unscrupulous admin wanted to, could they do something to permanently purge the traces of the email?

For the purpose of this question, we are assuming Outlook and its default configurations are all that is being used.

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  • Are you talking about Microsoft admins or the admins of a business account that uses Microsoft 365?
    – schroeder ♦
    Commented Dec 2, 2023 at 10:26
  • @schroeder I'm pretty sure OP means the latter.
    – Luke Sawczak
    Commented Dec 2, 2023 at 13:00
  • One thing an admin can never do is remove local copies of email (if you own the device running the client) or delete copies forwarded outside the domain — i.e., into another system, as Serge said. Of course such emails can be fabricated, so they're not an airtight proof the email was sent. But if a non-tech-savvy person presented them as evidence of some communication, it might be reasonable to think it happened after verifying the headers and so forth.
    – Luke Sawczak
    Commented Dec 2, 2023 at 13:05
  • @LukeSawczak if they mean the latter then the answer below is wrong - that's why I'm asking for clarification
    – schroeder ♦
    Commented Dec 2, 2023 at 15:39
  • @schroeder Well let's imagine a business using it's own domain based on microsofts server, with a Microsoft 365 set up. An email was sent to one of the staff in the past 90 days. You are the admin. Are you able to delete this email and it's traces such that running a 'message trace' for the past 90 days won't show anything?
    – Elizabeth Vogue
    Commented Dec 3, 2023 at 1:15

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