{"id":333,"date":"2026-11-13T11:40:54","date_gmt":"2026-11-13T10:40:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mspbusiness.com\/en\/it-news\/microsoft-releases-hard-deletion-protection-preview-in-entra\/"},"modified":"2026-11-13T11:41:43","modified_gmt":"2026-11-13T10:41:43","slug":"microsoft-releases-hard-deletion-protection-preview-in-entra","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mspbusiness.com\/en\/technology-and-architecture\/microsoft-releases-hard-deletion-protection-preview-in-entra\/","title":{"rendered":"Microsoft releases Hard Deletion Protection preview in Entra"},"content":{"rendered":"

Microsoft has added Hard Deletion Protection to Microsoft Entra as a preview. Protected objects can still be soft-deleted and restored, but the system blocks permanent deletion for the first seven days after removal. No additional licence is required for the feature.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The feature is part of the Backup and recovery component of Microsoft Entra. Microsoft’s aim is to give identity administrators extra time to investigate and reverse incidents, human errors or malicious actions before objects disappear for good. Configuration is described in Microsoft’s documentation on Hard Deletion Protection<\/a>.<\/p>\n

How the blocking period works<\/h3>\n

As soon as you soft-delete a protected object, a seven-day period begins. According to Microsoft, the system blocks every attempt to permanently delete the object during that window. This also applies if the object is part of a larger selection that you delete in a single action.<\/p>\n

If you restore the object within that period, the protection remains active. If you then delete it again, a new seven-day waiting period begins.<\/p>\n

Four object types supported<\/h3>\n

In this preview, Hard Deletion Protection works for four types of cloud object: users, cloud-only groups, applications and service principals. User accounts synchronised from an on-premises environment are not covered. If you manage a hybrid environment, the feature therefore only applies to accounts that exist solely in the cloud.<\/p>\n

Microsoft states that Microsoft Entra Agent ID objects are also covered, via their underlying user, application or service principal structure.<\/p>\n

No additional licence is required to use the feature. However, you do need the Microsoft Entra Backup Administrator role to configure the protection.<\/p>\n

Protection cannot be reversed<\/h3>\n

Microsoft warns administrators that the setting is irreversible. Once you have enabled Hard Deletion Protection for an object, you can no longer disable or undo that protection.<\/p>\n

If you accidentally enable the feature on an object that does need to be removed, Microsoft says only one option remains: soft-delete the object and wait seven days until permanent deletion is possible again. During clean-up operations, such as removing test accounts or decommissioning applications, you will need to factor in that delay.<\/p>\n

Enabling it in the admin center<\/h3>\n

You activate the protection in the Microsoft Entra admin center under Backup and recovery. You can select up to twenty objects of the same type at once per action. If you want to protect a larger set of objects, you will therefore need to do so in several rounds.<\/p>\n

All changes relating to activating the protection are recorded in the Microsoft Entra audit logs. This allows you to check afterwards when, and by whom, objects were placed under protection.<\/p>\n

The full report can be read in Microsoft’s documentation on Hard Deletion Protection<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Microsoft has added Hard Deletion Protection to Microsoft Entra in preview. Protected objects cannot be permanently deleted for seven days after soft deletion, with no extra licence needed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"mspb_bron_id":1169673,"mspb_url_nl":"https:\/\/mspbusiness.com\/technologie-en-architectuur\/microsoft-brengt-preview-van-hard-deletion-protection-uit-in-entra\/","mspb_url_de":"https:\/\/mspbusiness.com\/de\/technologie-und-architektur\/microsoft-veroeffentlicht-preview-von-hard-deletion-protection-in-entra\/","mspb_url_en":"","mspb_beeld_url":"https:\/\/mspbusiness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/hero-1794566439432.png","mspb_beeld_klein":"https:\/\/mspbusiness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/hero-1794566439432-768x432.png","mspb_auteur":"Redactie","mspb_beeld_alt":"","mspb_video":"","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"Microsoft Entra gets Hard Deletion Protection in preview, blocking permanent deletion of users, groups and apps for seven days.","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"layout":[6],"class_list":["post-333","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-technology-and-architecture","layout-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mspbusiness.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/333","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mspbusiness.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mspbusiness.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mspbusiness.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mspbusiness.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=333"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mspbusiness.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/333\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":334,"href":"https:\/\/mspbusiness.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/333\/revisions\/334"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mspbusiness.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=333"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mspbusiness.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=333"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mspbusiness.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=333"},{"taxonomy":"layout","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mspbusiness.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/layout?post=333"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}