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Last date modified: 2026-Apr-29
Preservation in-place
The Preservation in-place application lets you initiate and manage preservation holds from within Relativity, while keeping data in its original system.
With Preservation in-place, Relativity integrates with supported third‑party applications, such as Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, and Slack, to place preservation holds where the data lives. These third‑party applications perform the actual preservation holds.
Relativity projects track, display, and reconcile preservation activity and statuses so you can manage holds in a single place.
If preservation statuses differ between Relativity and the third‑party application, the third‑party application is the source of truth for whether data is preserved. Relativity records and reflects that status but does not perform the hold itself.
This design ensures that preservation remains defensible and enforced by the system that owns the data, while Relativity provides oversight, visibility, and management across all preservation activity.
Preservation workflow
The Preservation workflow explains how Relativity uses the Preservation in‑place application to initiate and manage preservation holds. Relativity coordinates with supported third‑party systems to request holds, which those systems apply and enforce on the data. Relativity records and displays preservation status to provide centralized visibility and management.
Creating a preservation in Relativity
With the Preservation in‑place app, you create a preservation from within a Legal Hold project. When creating the preservation, you select the custodians and the data sources that you want to preserve.
This defines the scope of the preservation and determines where the preservation hold will be applied.
Processing the preservation request
After you create the preservation, the Preservation in‑place app processes the request. The app uses the configured preservation data source associated with the selected third‑party system.
Using supported APIs, the Preservation In‑place app communicates with the third‑party system to initiate the preservation hold.
Preserving data in third‑party systems
The third‑party system applies a preservation hold using its native preservation mechanisms. These mechanisms protect data from accidental or intentional deletion or modification.
Original versions of data that existed before an edit or deletion are retained. Depending on the system, this data is stored in a preservation folder or a preservation library.
The data remains in the third‑party system and is preserved for as long as the preservation hold is active.
Preservation status and tracking
The third‑party system reports preservation status and results back to Relativity. Relativity stores this information in the Legal Hold project.
This allows you to track preservation activity and confirm that data remains protected throughout the lifecycle of the legal hold.
Custodian experience during preservation
Preservation holds are transparent to custodians. Custodians are not notified when a preservation hold is applied.
Custodians can continue working as usual while their data is preserved in place.
Multiple preservation holds and release behavior
A custodian can be subject to multiple preservation holds at the same time. If multiple holds apply, all holds remain active.
Releasing one preservation hold does not affect other active holds. When a preservation hold is released in Relativity, only that specific hold is removed.
The corresponding hold is released in the selected third‑party system, while any remaining holds continue to apply.
Preservation sources
Relativity supports preserving the following data. For more information, see Preservation sources.
- Google Workspace—collect data from Gmail, Chat, Drive, and Groups.
- Microsoft 365—collect data from Exchange mailboxes, OneDrive files, SharePoint directories, and Teams channels. You can also collect from Microsoft 365 Government with the proper licenses.
- Slack—collect direct and group chats.
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