Microsoft has informed non-profit organizations that it cannot recover data deleted from its Microsoft 365 cloud service. The company admitted that the files were removed prematurely due to an internal error following the cancellation of a grant program for the Business Premium subscription tier.
The corporation stated that it is currently unable to determine which specific files were affected or if any data was lost at all. Despite multiple attempts to restore the information, Microsoft confirmed in writing that recovery is impossible. The company has not disclosed the total number of organizations impacted by this incident.
The issue arose after Microsoft ended a grant that provided 10 free Business Premium licenses to non-profits. In May 2025, the company announced the transition to a new model offering up to 300 free Business Basic licenses. While organizations were advised to export their data before the transition, the subsequent deactivation of old subscriptions led to the unintended deletion of files.
Microsoft has offered affected non-profits a complimentary concierge service to assist with setting up new environments. This incident follows other reported cases of data loss in Microsoft cloud services, including instances in June 2025 and July 2026 where individual users lost access to decades of personal and professional data stored in OneDrive.
