Windows 11 · Research guidance. Instructions are based on publisher guidance; a UK IPTV account was not tested on this platform.
List the files you intend to retain
Before changing automatic cleanup, identify documents, local media or configurations you are entitled to keep and their locations. Do not assume a file in Downloads is a permanent archive. Use an appropriate retained location and backup arrangement for important material instead of relying on a default cleanup setting remaining unchanged.
Read each cleanup category
Microsoft’s Storage Sense guidance describes separate controls for temporary files, Recycle Bin content and Downloads age rules. Inspect the current configured values. Recycle Bin and Downloads are different categories, so one selected interval should not be reported as the retention rule for every file on the computer.
Inspect cloud-content behaviour separately
The same guidance describes inactive cloud files becoming online-only and identifies Always keep on this device as exempt from that management. This changes local availability rather than permanently deleting the cloud file. A future offline task may still fail if the item is no longer downloaded, so distinguish that situation from a deleted file.
Use the actual configuration as evidence
Microsoft’s article contains general default wording alongside version-specific cloud-content behaviour. For a support diagnosis, record the installed Windows version, configured age interval and any Always keep exemption instead of assuming a universal default. After an intentional change, verify one harmless representative file and preserve needed originals before manually running a broad cleanup.
Questions, answered
Does making a cloud file online-only permanently delete it?
Microsoft says this Storage Sense action does not permanently delete the file.
Should one assumed default be applied to every device?
No. Inspect the device version and actual configured choices.