M365 Changelog: Header and footer content mark changes for Microsoft Purview Information Protection in Word

MC439634 – Microsoft is improving behavior of Microsoft Purview Information Protection (MIP) content markings for headers and footers in Word to be more closely aligned with the behavior implemented by the Azure Information Protection (AIP) plugin for Office apps. This includes inserting header and footer content with the “in front of text” configuration so content markings won’t rearrange existing document content.

When this will happen:

This will happen starting rolling out on November 1st the following App versions:

  • Windows version: 16.0.15703.10000
  • Mac version: 16.66.902.0 (16.66.22090200)
  • iOS version: 2.66.902.0 (2.66.22090200)
  • Android version: 16.0.15703.10000
  • Web version: November 1st

How this affects your organization:

You are receiving this message because our reporting indicates one or more users in your organization are using this Microsoft Purview Information Protection.

Once this change is implemented, new content markings added when applying a sensitivity label will insert header and footer content markings with the new properties. Content markings previously inserted in a document will not be impacted unless the label is changed.

If your organization is using a mix of clients, including clients that haven’t been updated to receive the new behavior, content markings applied in the updated clients will implement the new behavior when viewed regardless of the client application that is used to view the document, while content markings applied in clients without this update will implement the old behavior even when viewed in updated applications. 

Users may see content markings applied by labels render in a different way that may overlap with existing headers or footers in documents, when this change is implemented.

What you need to do to prepare:

You can test the new behavior by applying sensitivity labels with content marking elements using the Office apps Beta channel starting October 11, 2022, to ensure your content behaves as desired with the label change and to make any adjustments to label properties in the admin center.

If this change produces undesired results, you can adjust the positioning of content markings in your labels, adjust the text in the content markings or modify the font size and or color to add in visibility of the content markings. See Modify the look of sensitivity labels in your document for steps on how to make those changes in impacted documents. 

For more information about Content Markings in Office sensitivity labels see When Office apps apply content marking and encryption