M365 Changelog: (Updated) Microsoft Purview Information Protection – Require sensitivity label to restrict permissions

MC660616 – Updated November 2, 2023: Microsoft has updated the rollout timeline below. Thank you for your patience.

Users with access to Microsoft Information Protection (MIP) are redirected from old protection mechanisms towards the modern sensitivity labeling experience.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 109532

When this will happen:

Preview: Microsoft will begin rolling out in mid-August 2023 (previously late July) and complete by early September 2023 (previously mid-August).

Standard Release: Microsoft will begin rolling out in late September 2023 (previously early September) and complete by early February 2024 (previously late October).

How this will affect your organization:

When restricting access to files using Information Rights Management (IRM), Office will redirect users to apply a sensitivity label instead (if available) to protect the file. Users will also be directed to use sensitivity labels to change the file’s protection rather than standalone IRM.

What you need to do to prepare:

Organizations with need for user-defined permissions should set-up sensitivity labels with user-defined permissions.

If you don’t have any sensitivity labels or want to learn more, visit Get started with sensitivity labels.