MC878427: Restricted Content Discoverability for SharePoint Sites

Announcement ID	MC894579		Published Date	09-21-2024
Service	General		Last Updated	09-21-2024
Category	Stay informed		Expiration Date	01-31-2025
Roadmap ID			Action Required by Date
Tags	Admin impact, New feature, User impact

Summary
The updated Office Add-ins Store will be accessible in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint for Windows desktop and web users, including minors not blocked by tenant administrators. Rollout begins late October 2024, with general availability details to follow. Educational tenant admins should adjust settings to control minor students' access to the store.

More Information

Users with Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint on Windows desktops and the web will soon have access to an updated version of the Office Add-ins Store in these applications. This store will continue to support users in exploring, installing, and managing Office Add-ins provided by Microsoft and third parties. With this new feature, minor users will no longer be permanently blocked from getting Office Add-ins from the Office Add-ins Store. When this will happen: Targeted Release: We will begin rolling out late October 2024 and expect to complete by late November 2024. General Availability (Worldwide): We will communicate timing with a new Message center post in the future. How this will affect your organization: Users will experience a new Office Add-ins Store in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint on both Windows desktops and on the web. Minor users not blocked by tenant administrators will be able to get Office Add-ins from the Office Add-ins Store. This feature will be available by default. What you need to do to prepare: Review your current configuration to determine the impact for your organization. You may want to notify your users about this change and update any relevant documentation. For educational tenant administrators: If you wish to continue blocking minor students from getting Office Add-ins from the Office Add-ins Store, please ensure the user's License Type is set to student, the Age group property is not set to Adult, and go to Microsoft admin center > Org settings > User owned apps and services to ensure the option Non-adult student is unchecked. For student users who you want to have access to the Office Add-ins Store, make sure their Age group property is set to Adult. Educational tenant admins: The last step in Microsoft admin center to blocking minor students from getting Office Add-ins from the Office Add-ins Store: