(Originally published on Jul 11, 2024 by Camille Birch)
Hi, Microsoft 365 Insiders! My name is Camille Birch, and I’m a Product Manager on the Office Purview team. I’m excited to announce the introduction of dynamic watermarking, a new feature for sensitivity labels in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint for Windows, Mac, and the web that can both deter users from leaking sensitive information and attribute leaks if they do occur.
Introducing dynamic watermarking for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint
If you work with sensitive or confidential documents, you know how vital it is to prevent any leaks of information from these documents. Sensitivity labels from Microsoft Purview Information Protection offer a highly effective way to limit access to sensitive files and prevent people from taking inappropriate actions with them, such as printing a document, while still allowing for full collaboration.
However, it’s still possible for someone to take a picture of a sensitive file on their screen or of a presentation being shared either online or in-person. (Some forms of screenshotting cannot be blocked with existing technology.) This loophole presents a simple way to bypass the protections that sensitivity labels place on a document. Dynamic watermarking can be a potent weapon in combatting these kinds of leaks.
How it works
- To apply a sensitivity label with dynamic watermarking, select the file name in the title bar or click the Sensitivity button on the ribbon, and then select a label from the dropdown list.
How to apply a sensitivity label in Word
- When the label is applied, the watermarks will appear on the screen shortly afterwards.
Dynamic watermarking from a sensitivity label in Word
3. When you open a file protected with a sensitivity label that has the dynamic watermarking setting enabled, you will see tiled watermarks superimposed across the file content. These watermarks will contain the email address for the account you’re using to view the file.
Tips and tricks
- You'll be able to work with your file like normal — viewing, editing, and collaborating — with the watermarks always visible on top of your file content. You won’t be able to remove these watermarks unless you have IRM usage rights that allow you to change the file’s label to one that doesn’t have dynamic watermarking.
- If you attempt to open a file labeled with dynamic watermarks in a version of Microsoft 365 that does not support the feature, you will get an “access denied” message (unless you are the owner of the file). This is to prevent files that should be shown with dynamic watermarks from being viewed on Microsoft 365 clients that cannot show the watermarks.
- If you need to open a file with dynamic watermarking but your client does not support it yet, open the file in Microsoft 365 for the web instead. You’ll be able to view, edit, and collaborate on your document there with full support for dynamic watermarking.
- Watermarks are included when you print a file but are not included if you export it to another file format. Remember this when deciding whether to export a file.
- File views outside of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint do not support dynamic watermarking. This means that certain experiences, such as PPT Live, will not render watermarks.
Requirements
- To access this feature, you must be in an organization that is licensed for sensitivity labels in Microsoft 365 and that has enabled dynamic watermarking on a sensitivity label that you can access.
- You can only apply a label with dynamic watermarks if your admin has enabled the setting on a sensitivity label available to you.
Availability
This feature is currently rolling out to users on the web and to Current Channel Preview users running:
- Windows: Version 2407 (Build 17830.20000) or later
- Mac: Version 16.87 (Build 24070110) or later
Don’t have it yet? It’s probably us, not you.
Features are released over some time to ensure things are working smoothly. We highlight features that you may not have because they’re slowly releasing to larger numbers of Insiders. Sometimes we remove elements to further improve them based on your feedback. Though this is rare, we also reserve the option to pull a feature entirely out of the product, even if you, as an Insider, have had the opportunity to try it.
Feedback
We want to hear from you! Please click Help > Feedback in Word, Excel, or PowerPoint to submit your thoughts about this feature. Be sure to use the hashtag #DynamicWatermarking in your comments so that we can quickly identify feedback about this feature.
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