M365 Changelog: Private drafts for SharePoint pages and news

MC291100 – Updated February 18, 2022: Microsoft has updated the rollout timeline below. Thank you for your patience.

This new feature will provide users the ability to create private drafts for pages and news posts. A private draft will be visible to only the page author, the people the author chooses to share it with, and site admins. Users will be able to create and edit content that’s not ready for others to see except the people with whom users want to collaborate.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 85629.

When this will happen:

Targeted release (select user and organization): will begin rollout in early April (previously late January) and be complete by late April (previously late February).

Standard: will begin rollout in early May (previously late February) and be complete by late May (previously mid-March).

How this will affect your organization:

Authors of SharePoint pages and news will be able to create private drafts. When a private draft is created, only the creator and site admins can see the page (including from within the Pages library). The creator can then share the private draft with other people to allow them to access and edit the page. They will also have access to the assets associated with the page which are stored in the site’s assets library.

Like all pages and news posts, only one person at a time can edit the draft. When the draft is published, its permissions will be reset and everyone in your organization who has access to the site will be able to view it.

What you need to do to prepare:

You might want to notify your users about this new capability and update your training and documentation as appropriate.  

Learn more:

• Create a private SharePoint page or news post