Microsoft accidentally wiped some nonprofit customers' M365 data before their retention period expired – and now says it cannot tell them what disappeared, or even whether they lost anything.
Microsoft announced in May 2025 that the grant would not renew after July 1 that year.
In an email to one affected customer seen by The Register, Microsoft said that, "due to an error," it had deleted remaining data before the retention and export window closed.
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Grant retirement went off the rails, so Redmond is offering affected organizations help starting over.
Microsoft accidentally wiped some nonprofit customers' M365 data before their retention period expired – and now says it cannot tell them what disappeared, or even whether they lost anything.
The cockup followed Microsoft's retirement of its Microsoft 365 Business Premium grant, which gave eligible nonprofits ten free licenses for the productivity suite.
Microsoft announced in May 2025 that the grant would not renew after July 1 that year.
The company urged customers to move users onto another nonprofit plan before cancellation to avoid disruption or data loss. Organizations could also export anything they did not intend to retain in Microsoft 365.
In an email to one affected customer seen by The Register, Microsoft said that, "due to an error," it had deleted remaining data before the retention and export window closed.
Microsoft confirmed the premature deletion to The Register.
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