Sensitivity Label Edit permission behavior in Teams vs Desktop app

[Kurt]

I'm trying to apply permissions to an excel file using sensitivity labels. One group only needs read access. They do not need to save changes to the file but they would like to manipulate the data. For example, they would like to make calculations and charts but then close the file without saving it.

Initially they could not do anything to the file with only View rights so I added Edit content(DOCEDIT) rights. That seems to work when viewing the file in the desktop excel app. None of the changes seem to be saved. However, when viewing the same excel file within Teams, all the changes are saved.

Why is the behavior different in Teams vs. Desktop app? Should the user be able to make changes to the file even though Save is not enabled?

[#2 · Accepted solution]

@Kurt 

The difference in behavior between the desktop Excel app and Teams is likely due to the implementation of the sensitivity labels in each application.

• In the desktop Excel app, when you have only "View" rights, you should not be able to make any changes to the file. Adding "Edit content" rights would allow you to make changes, but since you don't have "Save" rights, those changes would not be saved.
• In Teams, however, the implementation of sensitivity labels may differ, and changes made in the file may be saved to a temporary location before being discarded when the file is closed. This is likely the cause of the changes being saved in Teams, even though the user doesn't have "Save" rights.

The behavior of sensitivity labels can vary depending on the application and platform in which they are being used. It's important to test the behavior of sensitivity labels in each environment to ensure that the desired level of access and protection is being achieved.