MC803292Modernized user-defined permissions experience for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint

Updated December 4, 2024: We recently discovered a significant issue that has resulted in the temporary disabling of this feature until it is resolved. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

There is a new experience for selecting which users should have which permissions when a sensitivity label configured for user-defined permissions is applied to a file in Microsoft 365 apps or when a user applies protection using standalone Information Rights Management.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 189826

When this will happen:

Preview (Worldwide, GCC): We will begin rolling out mid-July 2024 and expect to complete by late July 2024.

General Availability (Worldwide, GCC): We will begin rolling out early September 2024 and expect to complete by late December 2024 (previously late November).  

How this will affect your organization:

Users will see a modernized dialog when configuring user-defined permissions, whether these are applied using a sensitivity label configured for user-defined permissions or with standalone Information Rights Management. There are new names for some usage rights groupings for pre-set permissions levels compared to those in Microsoft Azure Information Protection (AIP):

• Reviewer is now called Restricted Editor.
• Co-Author is now called Editor.
• Co-Owner is now called Owner.

The rights contained in each grouping are unchanged.

See Configure usage rights for Azure Information Protection for further information on usage rights.

This new feature is available by default.

What you need to do to prepare:

If your organization has training materials or internal documentation regarding the use of pre-set permissions levels, you may need to make updates based on the new names for these permissions levels.