MicrosoftTo be frank, this change introduces some significant challenges from both a governance and user experience standpoint.
One of the key benefits of SharePoint Alerts was that they worked with Contribute permissions, allowing users to stay informed without needing elevated access. This supported compliance with the principle of least privilege, minimizing risk while maintaining usability.
By contrast, SharePoint Rules require Edit permissions, meaning users now need broader access than they actually require—something that directly undermines least-privilege models and introduces additional administrative overhead and risk.
Power Automate, while powerful, is not a like-for-like replacement. It requires significantly more effort and user knowledge. The simplicity of clicking “Alert Me” for notifications was ideal for non-technical users and quick, ad hoc collaboration scenarios. Replacing that with custom flows will likely result in a poor experience for many users and increased support burden for admins.
In short, this transition seems like a step backwards in terms of security, usability, and governance. If Microsoft is looking to modernise this functionality, a more secure and user-friendly notification feature that respects permission boundaries would be a far better direction.
