If you’ve ever had someone delete the wrong item by accident, this update is for you. Starting August 16, 2026, Fabric will be rolling out enabling Item Recovery by default for all tenants that have not set it explicitly. That means supported item types get a built-in recovery window without extra setup.
The goal is simple: make accidental deletion less painful while keeping tenant admins in control. You can still disable Item Recovery or choose a different retention value based on your policy. Nothing in this change removes admin choice.
Brief summary
Changes on August 16, 2026 include:
- Tenants with no explicit Item Recovery setting move to enabled by default.
- The default retention window for supported item types is three days.
- Existing explicit settings are preserved.
- New tenants created on or after the date start with Item Recovery enabled.
The following does not change:
- If you already enabled Item Recovery, your current retention value stays the same.
- If you explicitly disabled Item Recovery, it stays disabled.
- You can still set retention between 3 and 90 days or disable the feature.
Why this helps in real operations
Accidental deletes happen in normal work, especially in environments with automation, shared workspaces, and fast release cycles. Without a recovery window, a simple mistake can become a support escalation. With default enablement, teams have a predictable way to restore supported deleted items quickly.
This is most useful when speed matters. Support teams can follow a known restore path, and admins do not need to scramble to enable protection after an incident. It also gives tenants a consistent baseline instead of relying on whether someone remembered to turn the setting on.
What users will experience after deletion
When a user deletes a supported item, it goes into a soft-deleted state. During retention, authorized users can restore it through existing product surfaces. The restore flow is familiar and does not require a new tool.
The following animation shows a supported deleted item appearing in Workspace Recycle bin and then being restored. This is the most common recovery path teams will use in day-to-day incidents.
After retention expires, the item is hard-deleted and can no longer be restored through Item Recovery. This is the key boundary support teams should document in incident runbooks.
For full product behavior, refer to Retention and recovery in Microsoft Fabric documentation.
What admins should do before rollout
The default applies automatically for tenants without an explicit setting, but a short prep pass helps avoid confusion later. Focus on policy fit, support readiness, and billing expectations.
Checklist:
- Open Fabric admin portal and review Tenant settings > Item Recovery.
- Confirm whether the 3-day default fits your policy.
- If needed, set a different retention value or disable Item Recovery.
- Update support and on-call runbooks with restore steps for supported item types.
- Confirm who in each workspace can restore and who should escalate.
- Share a short rollout note with admins and support teams.
Impact on billing
Item Recovery does not introduce a new meter. Soft-deleted supported items are billed through standard OneLake storage while they remain retained. For storage details, refer to OneLake consumption documentation.
Common scenarios this prevents from becoming incidents
Default enablement is helpful in common situations where people move fast and mistakes happen:
- A contributor removes the wrong item during cleanup.
- A deployment script deletes an item during rollback.
- An engineer removes a dependent item while troubleshooting.
- A team catches yesterday’s deletion and restores within retention.
In all cases, the value is the same: teams get a practical window to recover without jumping straight to complex recovery paths.
Frequently asked questions
Will this override settings my admin team already chose?
No. If your tenant already has an explicit Item Recovery setting, that value stays in place.
Do we need to do anything to get the default?
No action is required for tenants that are currently unset. The default applies automatically on the effective date.
Can we turn it off after rollout?
Yes. Tenant admins can disable Item Recovery at any time in Tenant settings.
Can we use a longer retention window than 3 days?
Yes. Tenant admins can select a value from 3 to 90 days based on policy and risk tolerance.
Does this mean all Fabric item types are recoverable?
No. The behavior applies to supported item types. If you are unsure whether an item type is supported, check the product documentation linked below.
Additional references
Call to action
Before August 16, 2026, open Fabric admin portal and review Tenant settings > Item Recovery. Confirm that retention matches your policy, update support runbooks, and brief workspace owners on the restore path for supported item types. After rollout, monitor OneLake storage trends and adjust retention if needed.