Delete Mode Behaviour for Modern Microsoft Exchange Connector (Graph)

Moving to Microsoft Graph changes how you recover deleted data.

Unlike the older EWS connection, Graph removes the SoftDelete safety net for Calendar and Contacts - items are now either in the trash or gone forever.

Additionally, Tasks can only be moved to the "Deleted Items" folder. If your team relies on recovering items from a secondary "hidden" bin, you’ll need to adjust your workflows, as that middle recovery step is no longer available.

EWS Delete Modes

EWS supports three delete modes across all item types:

Delete mode	What it does
`MoveToDeletedItems`	Moves the item to the Deleted Items folder.
`SoftDelete`	Removes the item from the mailbox view but keeps it in the Recoverable Items folder.
`HardDelete`	Permanently deletes the item so it cannot be recovered by the user.

Appointment / Calendar

EWS Behavior:
Supports all three delete modes: MoveToDeletedItems, SoftDelete, and HardDelete.

Graph Behavior:
SoftDelete is not supported.

Impact:

Any logic relying on SoftDelete will change.
Deleted appointments will either: move to Deleted Items, or
Be permanently deleted (HardDelete).

Customer Consideration:
If your team previously relied on recoverability through SoftDelete, this will no longer work for calendar items.

Contact

EWS Behavior:
Supports all three delete modes: MoveToDeletedItems, SoftDelete, and HardDelete.

Graph Behavior:
SoftDelete is not supported.

Impact: Same as Calendar:

There is no intermediate recoverable state through SoftDelete.
Deleted contacts will either move to Deleted Items or be permanently deleted.

Customer Consideration:
Recovery workflows may need to be adjusted.

Mail

EWS Behavior:
Supports all three delete modes: MoveToDeletedItems, SoftDelete, and HardDelete.

Graph Behavior:
Full parity with EWS.

Impact:
No behavioral change.

Customer Consideration:
Existing delete logic will continue to work as expected.

Task

EWS Behavior:
Supports all three delete modes: MoveToDeletedItems, SoftDelete, and HardDelete.

Graph Behavior:
Only MoveToDeletedItems is supported.

Impact:

SoftDelete and HardDelete are not supported.
All deleted tasks will move to Deleted Items.

Customer Consideration:
Tasks cannot be permanently deleted directly. Cleanup processes may require manual or additional handling.

Unsupported Delete Mode Behavior

If an unsupported delete mode is configured in the settings, the behavior depends on the item type:

Item type	Behavior
Contact	An error is thrown when the system tries to delete a contact.
Mail	All delete modes are supported, so no unsupported delete mode behavior applies.
Other modules	A warning is logged, and the delete mode is automatically set to `MoveToDeletedItems`.

MoveToDeletedItems is currently supported by all modules.