Microsoft Deletes Charities' Cloud Data Due to Internal Error

Microsoft has admitted to deleting data from charities' cloud storage before their retention deadline. This error, which affected expired Microsoft 365 Business Premium nonprofit subscriptions, was due to an internal error that moved up the deletion date. The company had announced in May 2025 that it would retire its software grants and replace them with offers of up to 300 free Business Basic licences and discounts on paid plans.

The charities were supposed to have time to migrate or export their remaining files before the deletion occurred, but Microsoft's recovery options proved ineffective. The company has apologized for the mistake and offered affected organizations a free session with a specialist to help set up a new Microsoft 365 environment.