Skip to content
← Back to the guide

Microsoft Purview sensitivity labels — a deep dive

8slides. Screenshot a slide, download it as a PNG, or use your browser's Print → Save as PDF for a LinkedIn-ready multi-page carousel — each slide becomes one page.

M
solvingmicrosoft365.com
1 / 8

Microsoft Purview sensitivity labels — a deep dive

How Purview sensitivity labels classify and protect content, how to design a taxonomy that survives contact with users, and the rollout order that works.

Solving Microsoft 365 · www.solvingmicrosoft365.com/guides/purview-sensitivity-labels-deep-dive

Slide 1Download PNG
M
solvingmicrosoft365.com
2 / 8
01

What does a sensitivity label do?

It classifies content — a document, email, meeting, Teams team, or SharePoint site — and optionally applies protection: encryption with permissions, headers, footers, and watermarks, and for containers, privacy and gues…

Solving Microsoft 365 · www.solvingmicrosoft365.com/guides/purview-sensitivity-labels-deep-dive

Slide 2Download PNG
M
solvingmicrosoft365.com
3 / 8
02

How many sensitivity labels should we have?

Four or five top-level labels — Public, General, Confidential, Highly Confidential — with a handful of sublabels for encryption variants. Taxonomies with a dozen labels produce mislabelling and user fatigue; the label i…

Solving Microsoft 365 · www.solvingmicrosoft365.com/guides/purview-sensitivity-labels-deep-dive

Slide 3Download PNG
M
solvingmicrosoft365.com
4 / 8
03

Do sensitivity labels work on files outside Microsoft 365?

Encryption follows the file: a labelled and encrypted Word document opened from a USB stick still requires Entra authentication. Non-Office files (PDF, images) can be labelled and encrypted through the Purview Informati…

Solving Microsoft 365 · www.solvingmicrosoft365.com/guides/purview-sensitivity-labels-deep-dive

Slide 4Download PNG
M
solvingmicrosoft365.com
5 / 8
04

Public marketing material, published pricing

Typical label: Public · Encryption?: No · Notes: No controls needed; the point is unrestricted distribution

Solving Microsoft 365 · www.solvingmicrosoft365.com/guides/purview-sensitivity-labels-deep-dive

Slide 5Download PNG
M
solvingmicrosoft365.com
6 / 8
05

Routine internal email, meeting notes, day-to-day drafts

Typical label: General · Encryption?: No · Notes: The default; if this path has friction, adoption fails everywhere else

Solving Microsoft 365 · www.solvingmicrosoft365.com/guides/purview-sensitivity-labels-deep-dive

Slide 6Download PNG
M
solvingmicrosoft365.com
7 / 8
06

Client files, contracts, anything with a named external counterparty

Typical label: Confidential \ Specific People · Encryption?: Yes · Notes: Recipient list set at labelling time, not "everyone in the org"

Solving Microsoft 365 · www.solvingmicrosoft365.com/guides/purview-sensitivity-labels-deep-dive

Slide 7Download PNG
M
solvingmicrosoft365.com
8 / 8
07

Board papers, M&A materials, unannounced financials

Typical label: Highly Confidential · Encryption?: Yes, named-audience · Notes: Pair with container controls on the site or Team it lives in

Solving Microsoft 365 · www.solvingmicrosoft365.com/guides/purview-sensitivity-labels-deep-dive

Slide 8Download PNG

Auto-generated from Microsoft Purview sensitivity labels — a deep dive. This page is not indexed and isn't part of the guide itself.