Exporting collaboration records during an account closure

Before an account or workspace closes, use the product-specific export route while an authorised person can still reach it. Match each export to the records needed, inspect what arrived and control the retained copy. A successful request or ZIP file does not prove every required record is present.

Set the closure boundary

Name the account or workspace, proposed closure date, business owner and the person authorised to collect records.

List what is needed afterwards: approved decisions, current files, message history, recordings, knowledge pages and attachments.

Separate material that must remain usable from material due for disposal under the organisation's rules.

Identify links back to the closing service: a list of file links may stop working when the source is removed. Also identify records owned by another organisation, as your export rights may not cover them.

If a legal hold or retention obligation applies, have the responsible records owner or legal owner check its effect before deleting an account.

Choose an export route for each source

Slack: Use Slack's Import and Export tool. Workspace owners and admins can export public-channel data; the export includes links to files, not the files themselves. Check the available export scope for the workspace's plan before treating it as a complete record collection.

Google Chat: Use Google Chat's “Export your data” route. For work or school accounts, confirm the organisation's collection route with the administrator; do not assume one user's download is a whole-workspace archive.

Google Vault: Do not delete a user's account before settling how its data will be preserved. Deleting the account removes associated data, prevents Vault searches and exports, and ends its holds; data may be recoverable for 20 days unless it has already been permanently removed. Google recommends assigning an Archived User licence, or suspending the account to keep its data while disabling services; a suspended account is billed like an active one.

Microsoft Purview eDiscovery: Export scoped search results, including mailbox items as PST files or individual messages and copies of SharePoint and OneDrive documents in their native formats. The eDiscovery user needs a Microsoft 365 Enterprise E3 or E5 licence; SharePoint exports also require a SharePoint E3 licence.

Some content may not export from Purview: files restricted by DLP action, content in SharePoint sites locked with NoAccess, and individual files restricted by SharePoint access controls. For restricted files, the collecting user needs direct access, such as being a site admin, site owner, document owner or last modifier.

A search export package expires 14 days after it is created; the package and its data are then automatically deleted and cannot be recovered. Download the package before expiry, using the Process manager page to monitor and retrieve it.

Confluence Cloud: Use Backup manager for an instance backup, and select Backup attachments if they are needed. Only one backup file is stored at a time, a new backup overwrites the existing one, and the download link is available for 14 days.

A Confluence instance backup includes pages, whiteboards and selected user and group settings; attachments are included when selected. It excludes team calendar data and soft-deleted spaces, and databases may appear in the export tree without their content, data or functionality.

For selected Confluence content, space admins can export a space or selected pages as PDF, CSV, HTML or XML; individual pages and blog posts can be exported as Word or PDF. Individual page exports include only the published version, not unpublished changes.

Notion: Export the workspace from Settings → General → Export all workspace content. The export can include pages as HTML or Markdown, databases as CSV, and uploaded files; the download link expires after 7 days, and a whole-workspace export is available only on desktop or web.

Notion omits pages the exporter cannot access, such as other users' private pages, and some content may be excluded by teamspace settings. The export includes an index.html sitemap with local links to HTML and Markdown pages, but reuploading the export cannot instantly recreate the workspace. Whole-workspace PDF export for Business and Enterprise was scheduled to be phased out by 31 August 2026; individual pages can still be exported as PDF.

Export Options by Collaboration Tool

Key Export Limits and Deadlines

Verify the handover before closure

Create a manifest with each source location, requested date range, expected record types, export operator, package name and inspection result. Compare the package contents with that inventory and record any gaps.

Open examples from every important category. Check message context, whether included files open, whether current knowledge pages are present and whether an intended successor can read the protected copy.

For Slack, distinguish file links from file contents. For Confluence, check whether attachments were selected and whether any required spaces are in the trash; for Notion, use the sitemap to navigate the exported pages and check for content omitted because of access or teamspace settings.

For Purview, compare the results with the search scope and check for exclusions caused by DLP, a locked site or SharePoint access controls. Record gaps and address them while the source remains available.

Restrict access to exports and decide who maintains or disposes of them. Keep the manifest and unresolved gaps with the handover record.

Where the organisation handles personal information, check its privacy and records obligations before retaining or disposing of export copies. Closing the source account does not settle the fate of retained copies.