Microsoft Purview Sensitivity Labels: Sensitivity label grouping modernization coming this fall (?)

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There is a change coming to Microsoft Purview Information Protection that simplifies sensitivity label architecture. The goal is to make label management easier, more scalable, and less rigid for organizations. The new model will only include standalone labels and sublabels. Parent labels will be replaced by label groups, which act as organizational containers. These groups cannot be applied to content and have no actions or scope, but they retain color and priority for visual organization. Hopefully, this change will make it much easier to move labels around and make other changes in production: for example, converting a standalone label into a sublabel or moving sublabels between groups without breaking dependencies.  From my experience, this update solves one of the biggest challenges in large environments: rigid label hierarchies. The new dynamic model gives admins the agility they need to adapt quickly as compliance and business needs evolve. For admins, migration will be quic...

Microsoft is unlocking the "Full Potential" of Private Channels in Microsoft Teams: What You Need to Know

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It has been a while since I posted something just about a Microsoft Teams update, as a lot have been Copilot in Teams to be honest. But here is a real Microsoft Teams update I think is worth knowing about, and it involves Security and Compliance as well.

Microsoft is rolling out a "major" update to private channels in Teams, starting in late September 2025 and continuing through mid-December. This biggest change in this update is a shift in how private channel data is stored from individual user mailboxes to a dedicated channel mailbox. Not only will this simplifie compliance management, it will also and align private channels with shared channels, making governance and experience more consistent across Teams.

This update promises to increase the support up to 1000 channels per team and 5000 members per channel, removing previous limitations. Teams will also allow meetings to be scheduled directly within private channels, enhancing collaboration. 

For organizations using Microsoft Purview for compliance, this transition requires action. Policies for legal hold, eDiscovery, DLP, and retention must be applied to the team’s Microsoft 365 group before migration (September 20, 2025), to ensure new data is properly governed.

Admins should update legal hold and eDiscovery configurations to include both user and group mailboxes. DLP policies must be scoped to the team’s group, and retention policies should be applied at the group level, as private channel-specific policies will no longer be editable post-migration. 

Microsoft has put together a blogpost explaining the required steps for admins.