Microsoft 365: Organizational Data – Granular access policy controls for custom attributes

[What and Why:]

We’re introducing enhanced access policy controls for Organizational Data custom attributes in Microsoft 365. This update provides administrators with more granular control over how and when new organizational attributes are shared. Admins can limit release to a few selected users using the new Staging policy and can better manage access to non-public data shared with Workforce Insights delegates. This change supports stronger data governance while enabling controlled sharing of new attributes.

This message is associated with Roadmap ID 564805.

[Rollout Schedule:]

• Public Preview (Worldwide): We will begin rolling out in mid-June 2026 and expect to complete by mid-July 2026.
• General Availability (Worldwide): We will begin rolling out in mid-July 2026 and expect to complete by early August 2026.

[Impact on Your Organization:]

Who is affected: Microsoft 365 administrators managing access policies in Organizational Data for Microsoft 365.

Platforms/Services:

• Microsoft 365
• Organizational Data in Microsoft 365
• Workforce Insights

What will happen:

• New granular access controls for custom organizational attributes.
• Admins can:
  • Release new attributes to selected users or groups instead of the entire organization or all managers.
  • Control whether leaders can share non-public data with Workforce Insights delegates.
• Existing policies are unchanged.
• New attributes default to not shared until explicitly configured.
• No user impact unless enabled by admin.

[Action Required / Recommendations:]

No action is required to maintain current behavior.

Admins may optionally:

• Customize the Staging policy for upcoming custom non-public attributes.
• Update Organizational Data access policies to take advantage of the new granular controls.
• Communicate internally with data owners or analytics teams about the new policy options.

[Compliance Considerations:]

Admin control via policy is impacted due to the introduction of new access controls for Organizational Data custom attributes. No other compliance considerations were identified.