Microsoft Roadmap, messagecenter and blogs updates from 20-12-2025

Updated December 19, 2025: The tentative timeline for Public Preview of the new Message Trace support on Graph API has been delayed from December 2025 to now January 2026.

This does not impact the deprecation timeline for the legacy Message Trace cmdlets. The legacy Message Trace cmdlets (Get-MessageTrace, Get-MessageTraceDetail) were deprecated starting back in September 1st 2025.

We are excited to announce the General Availability of the new Message Trace in the Microsoft Exchange admin center (EAC) in Microsoft Exchange Online. This new experience, previously in Public Preview, offers improved performance, modern design, and enhanced feature parity. Admins can access it via Exchange admin center > Mail flow > Message Trace.

The GA release is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 495489.

[When this will happen:]

• Retirement of legacy Message Trace begins September 1, 2025.
• General Availability (Worldwide): We will begin rolling out mid-June and expect to complete by late July.

[How this will affect your organization:]

• Like in Public Preview, the new Message Trace UX in EAC will be available by default and Microsoft PowerShell cmdlets (Get-MessageTraceV2, Get-MessageTraceDetailV2) will be available.
• The legacy Message Trace experience and cmdlets (Get-MessageTrace, Get-MessageTraceDetail) will remain available in parallel for several months to support the transition.
• Starting September 1, 2025, the following will begin deprecating:
  • Legacy Message Trace UI in EAC.
  • Legacy cmdlets (Get-MessageTrace, Get-MessageTraceDetail).
• Starting March 18th, 2026, Reporting Web Service support for Message Trace data will begin deprecating. 

[What you need to do to prepare:]

This GA rollout and retirement will happen automatically by the specified dates with no admin action required before the rollout. Review your current configuration to assess the impact on your organization. You may want to notify your admins and/or users about this change and update internal documentation.

• Begin using the new Message Trace experience in the Exchange admin center.
• Update any automation or scripts using legacy cmdlets to use the new versions by August 31, 2025.
• If you rely on the Reporting Web Service for Message Trace data, migrate to the new PowerShell cmdlets by March 18, 2026.
• To provide feedback on the new Message Trace, use Exchange admin center > Give Feedback.

Learn more about the GA rollout: Announcing General Availability (GA) of the New Message Trace in Exchange Online | Microsoft Community Hub (documentation will be linked to this blog before rollout)

Updated December 18, 2025: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience. 

Coming soon to Microsoft Purview | Information Protection: To help improve label usability and configuration, the sensitivity labeling scheme will be simplified to only consist of labels and label groupings.

This move to a dynamic architecture will make it easier to move a child label into label groups, out of label groups, and between label groups without losing referential integrity, allowing customers to better scale and reorganize their labels across their entire data estate.

Tenants in scope for manual migration to the new label scheme will see a message on the Sensitivity labels page in the Purview portal, where the tenant admin can access a simple manual migration wizard to opt in to the migration, which should complete in less than a few minutes or even seconds, depending on the label configuration.

If you do not see this message, your tenant does not meet the criteria for manual migration (your tenant lacks applicable parent labels). This new label scheme will be rolled out to your tenant in the coming months. (and we will send a separate MC post in advance).

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 386900.

[When this will happen:]

Public Preview (Worldwide): Modern labels have been in Public Preview since July 7th 2025. This post announces the rollout of modern label scheme to new tenants and tenants with applicable parents.

General Availability (Worldwide): We will being rolling out early December 2025 and expect to be completed by end of January 2026 (previously late December 2025). As part of GA, customers with non-applicable parents will be auto migrated to the modern label scheme while migration for customers with applicable parents will continue to be opt-in for 12 months post-GA. We will auto-migrate customers with applicable parents to the modern label scheme once the 12-month extension ends in December 2026. 

[How this will affect your organization:]

During migration, to ensure label scoping integrity, any applicable parent label will be converted to a child label under a new label group, and then both parent and child label will have the same display name as the original parent label. Non-applicable parent labels will automatically be converted to label groups.

A parent label is deemed applicable if it has a different scope from any of its children, has label actions, or is published separately from its children.

The manual migration wizard provides a preview of the migrated scheme so admins can better understand how their sensitivity label scheme will change after the migration.

After migration, admins are free to make changes to their migrated label scheme, including unpublishing applicable parent labels that were converted to children during migration.

Users will not notice any change in how labels are viewed or applied. This change will be on by default.

Example of a migrated label scheme:

[What you need to do to prepare:]

This rollout will happen automatically by the specified dates with no admin action required before the rollout. Review your tenant’s label scheme to ensure it is up to date. You may want to notify your admins about this change and update any relevant documentation.

Optionally, before you migrate your production tenant, consider migrating a test tenant configured with a label scheme that is representative of your production tenant, to become familiar with the migration process and the modern label scheme.

Learn more: Learn about sensitivity labels | Microsoft Learn

Updated December 18, 2025: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience. 

[Introduction]

We’re enabling 1080p resolution (1920 x 1080 pixels) for Microsoft Teams town halls, delivering a significant upgrade in video quality for your online events. This enhancement allows for sharper, more professional-looking broadcasts—making speaker video and shared content more visually engaging and easier to follow. The feature is available to Teams Premium customers and can be enabled by IT admins via policy.

This message applies to Teams for Windows desktop, Teams for Mac desktop, Teams for the web, and Teams for iOS/Android and is associated with Roadmap ID 513270.

[When this will happen:]

• Targeted Release: Begins early November 2025; expected completion by mid-November 2025.
• General Availability (Worldwide): Begins mid-January 2026 (previously mid-December 2025); expected completion by end of January 2026 (previously late December 2025).

[How this affects your organization:]

• Who is affected:
  • Only organizations with Teams Premium licenses.
  • IT admins managing Teams town hall policies.
• What will happen:
  • 1080p resolution will be available for town hall broadcasts.
  • Admins must enable the feature via policy: TownhallMaxResolution attribute in CsTeamsEventsPolicy set to Max1080p.
  • This feature is set to MicrosoftManaged by default and requires admin configuration to enable.
  • Network infrastructure must support 1080p streaming to ensure optimal performance.
  • 1080p operates at a maximum 4Mbps bitrate.

[What you can do to prepare:]

• No immediate action is required unless you plan to enable the feature.
• Ultra-Low Latency is required for 1080p.
• It is recommended to use the Microsoft eCDN to ensure network resiliency.
• To enable 1080P resolution:
  • Set TownhallMaxResolution to Max1080p in CsTeamsEventsPolicy.
• Review your network capacity to ensure it can support 1080p video.
• Communicate this change to event producers and helpdesk staff.
• Update internal documentation if you reference town hall video settings.

[Compliance considerations:]

No compliance considerations identified, review as appropriate for your organization.

Updated December 18, 2025: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience. 

[Introduction:]

We’re updating the Microsoft Teams jump list experience on Windows to streamline access to key actions directly from the desktop. These enhancements are designed to reduce clicks and improve user efficiency, based on feedback and alignment with other Microsoft 365 applications.

[When this will happen:]

General Availability:

• Worldwide: We will begin rolling out in mid-November 2025 and expect to complete by mid-February 2026 (previously late November 2025).
• GCC, GCCH, and DoD: We will begin rolling out in late November 2025 and expect to complete in mid-February 2026 (previously late November 2025).

[How this affects your organization:]

Who is affected: All users of the Microsoft Teams desktop app on Windows.

What will happen:

• Users will see upcoming and ongoing meetings directly in the Windows jump list.
• Users can join meetings without opening the full Teams app.
• New quick actions will be added to the jump list:
  • Schedule a meeting
  • Start a new chat
• The “Quit” option will be removed from the jump list and will only be accessible via the Teams system tray icon to prevent accidental exits.

Screenshot – New taskbar jump list view:

[What you can do to prepare:]

No action is required. These updates will be delivered automatically as part of the Teams desktop app release. You may wish to:

• Inform helpdesk staff of the updated jump list behavior.
• Update internal documentation if it references the “Quit” option in the jump list.

[Compliance considerations:]

No compliance considerations identified, review as appropriate for your organization.

Updated December 18, 2025: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience. 

[Introduction]

Coming soon to SharePoint: Site owners and admins will be able to apply two new Microsoft-designed multi-color dark themes. These official themes offer modern dark color palettes with multiple colors combinations, enabling richer visual experiences and consistent branding across sites. Both themes are available out-of-the-box and can be configured via site settings.

This message is associated with Roadmap ID 526788.

[When this will happen:]

• Targeted Release (Worldwide): Rollout begins early January 2026 (previously mid-December 2025), completes January 2026 (previously early January)
• General Availability (Worldwide, GCC, GCC High, DoD): Rollout begins early February 2026 (previously mid-January), completes February 2026 (previously early February)

[How this affects your organization:]

• Who is affected: SharePoint Site owners and SharePoint admins across all Microsoft 365 environments (Worldwide, GCC, GCC High, DoD)
• What will happen:
  • Two new Microsoft-designed dark themes (Dark Teal, Dark Blue) will be available out-of-the-box
  • Themes can be applied via “Change the look” in site settings
  • The themes update site headers, footers, section design, Text web part, and Design Ideas
  • Designed for low-light environments and compliant with Microsoft accessibility standards
  • No impact to existing themes or site functionality

Note: Previously applied PowerShell settings that disable all out-of-box themes from Microsoft remain effective, and the PowerShell command can still be used to manage the Microsoft theme availability.

[What you can do to prepare:]

• No admin action is required prior to rollout. After rollout:
• Notify site owners and users about the new dark themes
• Encourage exploration of the new options for improved branding and visual comfort

Learn more:

• Site theme
• Set-SPOHideDefaultThemes

[Compliance considerations:]

No compliance considerations identified, review as appropriate for your organization.

Updated December 19, 2025: We have updated the content. Thank you for your patience.

[Introduction]

In early 2026, a major update of Planner will begin rolling out. This update will introduce several new capabilities. In addition, several features will be retired from Microsoft Planner. These changes will begin rolling out between mid-January 2026 and mid-February 2026.

[When this will happen:]

Refer to the sections below for details on timing.

[How this affects your organization:]

Who is affected: All users of Microsoft Planner in your organization, including those using Planner components in Loop, integrations with Viva Goals, and premium Planner plans.

What will happen:

In early 2026, we will begin rolling out a new major update of the Planner app in Teams desktop and web as well as Planner on the web. This update will come with several new enhancements, and we will also be retiring several features at this time. See each section below for more detail on the timing.

New features in the upcoming Planner update:

• These changes will be available with the new update, which we expect to begin rolling out between mid-January 2026 and mid-February 2026.
• Tasks chats in basic plans will allow team members to collaborate directly on tasks using rich text formatting and @mentions, making it easier to discuss work and notify teammates about what needs attention.
• Custom templates will allow you to create reusable, pre-designed plan layouts tailored to your organization’s needs, ensuring consistency and saving time. They provide the ability to standardize content while allowing easy customization for specific scenarios.
• Project manager agent will now be available in all plans for M365 Copilot licensed users, including basic plans.

Features in Planner that will be retired:

• We expect this rollout to begin between mid-January 2026 and mid-February 2026.
• The following changes will take effect as this build rolls out to your organization:
• A new Task chat experience will replace the prior comments experience for basic plan tasks:
  • As noted above, the previous task comments experience will be replaced by a new task chat feature that supports messages about the task that can include @mentions and rich text formatting, in response to a longstanding top customer request. Due to customer feedback on our notifications experience, the new chat feature only sends an email/Teams notification to a colleague that’s been @mentioned in the message.
  • The task chat experience will be available on Planner in Teams web/desktop and the Planner web experience, and the old experience for viewing comments will no longer be directly visible on a task. Instead, the task details pane will show a link to open a page in Outlook where task comments can be seen.
  • Users can continue to use and see the previous task comments experience in the iOS Planner app, Android Planner app, and Planner in Teams mobile. New task chat messages will not be visible in the mobile experience at this time.
  • There are no changes to email notifications for the existing task comments experience, meaning that an email notification will be sent to all group members associated with the plan when a task comment is added.
  • There is no change to the premium plan conversations feature at this time.
• The whiteboard tab for premium plans will be retired.
  • This feature automatically created a whiteboard for premium plans in Planner and allowed users to create tasks in Planner from that whiteboard’s sticky notes.
  • The whiteboard tab will be unavailable on the premium plan after retirement of this feature.
  • Users will be unable to create tasks from a whiteboard as a result.
  • Any existing whiteboard content will remain available via the Whiteboard app.
  • There is no replacement for this feature at this time.

Features in Planner that will be temporarily unavailable:

• We expect this rollout to begin between mid-January 2026 and mid-February 2026.
• Convert a basic plan to a premium plan will be temporarily unavailable.
• The ability to convert an existing basic plan to a premium plan will be unavailable.
• We plan to make similar functionality available again in the future.
• In the meantime, users will need to create a new premium plan and manually copy the tasks into the new plan.

Features that will be retired as we pursue a long‑term plan to bring equivalent capabilities:

• Planner component in Loop pages.
  • This control, which could previously be inserted by typing /planner in a Loop workspace or pasting the link to a Plan, was one of the available options. This control will be retired between mid-January 2026 and mid-February 2026.
  • Loop pages support various options for capturing task information. We recommend the Task List Control in Loop to capture tasks.
  • After the retirement of this control, which is expected to begin in January 2026 and will roll out independent of the Planner update rollout, it will no longer be possible to add a new component of this type in a Loop workspace.
  • Workspaces where these components were already present will display the Planner plan URL where the component was previously located.
  • Tasks previously entered in these components will remain available in Planner.

While the Planner component in Loop is being retired currently, we recognize the user need around a component like this for their planning needs. We have a longer-term goal to bring a similar Planner component across our M365 suite, including Loop. Considering these discussions are still in an early stage, we do not have an ETA to share currently.

 Features outside of Planner that will be retired without replacement:

• Planner integration in Viva Goals.
  • Viva Goals will be retired on December 31, 2025, as previously announced. Refer to Viva Goals retirement for more information.
  • When Viva Goals is retired, the entry point in Viva Goals for use with Planner will no longer be available.
• iCalendar feed integration retirement.
  • This feature will be retired between mid-January 2026 and mid-February 2026.
  • This feature allowed users to subscribe to their Planner tasks as an iCalendar feed that could be viewed in iCalendar-compatible applications like Outlook.
  • After this feature is retired, users will not be able to create new iCalendar feeds for their tasks or plans, and they will stop seeing their tasks in the iCalendar feeds they previous created.
  • There is no replacement for this feature at this time.

[What you can do to prepare:]

• These changes will happen automatically by the specified dates.
• No admin action is required.
• Notify users about this change.
  • Update relevant documentation as appropriate.
  • Share the recommended alternate options where appropriate, as described above.

[Compliance considerations:]

No compliance considerations identified, review as appropriate for your organization.

[Introduction]

We’re introducing a new purge mitigation action in Microsoft Purview Data Security Investigations (DSI). This feature enables admins to quickly and efficiently delete sensitive or overshared content during investigations, directly within the product experience. The purge action complements DSI’s AI-powered capabilities—such as categorization, AI search, and risk analysis—helping organizations reduce data exposure and mitigate leaks faster.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 542930.

[When this will happen:]

• Public Preview: Rollout will begin in early January 2026 and complete by mid-January 2026.
• General Availability (Worldwide): Rollout will begin in early March 2026 and complete by late March 2026.

[How this affects your organization:]

• Who is affected: Admins using Microsoft Purview Data Security Investigations.
• What will happen:
  • A new purge mitigation action will be available in the DSI interface.
  • Admins can delete content matching investigation search queries to mitigate oversharing or sensitive data exposure.
  • The feature is enabled by default; no configuration changes are required.
  • Existing admin policies (DLP, retention, labels) remain respected.

  Screenshot 1: Data Security Investigations save search query for purge

  

  Screenshot 2: Data Security Investigations purge queue

  

[What you can do to prepare:]

• No admin action is required before rollout.
• Consider notifying your security and compliance teams about this new capability.
• Update internal documentation if you detail DSI workflows.

Learn more:

• Learn about Data Security Investigations
• Use the mitigation plan in Data Security Investigations (preview)

[Compliance considerations:]

No compliance considerations identified, review as appropriate for your organization.

[Introduction]

To strengthen security when Microsoft Purview interacts with Microsoft 365 services (Exchange, SharePoint, OneDrive, and Teams), we’re updating how roles are managed in Microsoft Purview. Certain admin roles in Purview will now be mapped to three newly created roles in Microsoft Entra. Role assignments will be synchronized between Purview roles and Entra roles without any customer action. This ensures that user permissions and identity flow securely from Purview to Microsoft 365. M365 services will only allow high-privileged operations like search/export to Purview users with the correct level of permissions in Entra, further protecting customer data.

[When this will happen:]

• General Availability (Worldwide): Rollout begins mid-February 2026, finishes by late March 2026.

[How this affects your organization:]

Who is affected: All customers with admins assigned to high-privileged roles in Purview that access Microsoft 365 data. These admins will have their assignments synced to Entra, meaning they will be assigned membership to mapped Entra roles.

What will happen:

• New roles will be created in Entra to map to Purview roles listed below.
• Existing role assignments will sync automatically.
• New assignments will sync from Purview to Entra within 15 minutes.
• If an admin has multiple Purview roles, they will receive the highest privilege Entra role: Administrator > Writer > Reader.
• Customers may see new Purview-specific Entra roles in audit logs.
• Do not assign to these roles directly in Entra; Purview manages them.

Role Mapping Table:

Example: If you have both Export and Search and Purge roles, you’ll get the Purview Workload Content Administrator role in Entra.

[What you can do to prepare:]

• No action is required.
• Be aware that new Purview-specific Entra roles may appear in audit logs.
• Do not manually assign these roles in Entra; Purview will overwrite changes.
• For more details, review Microsoft Purview documentation.

[Compliance considerations:]

No compliance considerations identified; review as appropriate for your organization.

[Introduction]

Learning Activities is now available as part of Microsoft Education experiences. This feature helps educators and students transform passive content into active learning. With just a few selections, users can create engaging practice activities such as flashcards directly from existing learning content, improving interactivity and knowledge retention.

[When this will happen:]

General Availability (Worldwide): Rollout began in mid-October 2025 and completed in early December 2025.

[How this affects your organization:]

• Who is affected: Educators and students with Microsoft 365 for Education A1/A3/A5 licenses, and enterprise users with a Microsoft 365 Copilot license.
• What will happen:
  • Learning Activities is available through the Apps list in the Microsoft 365 Copilot app and as a web app at Learning Activities.
  • Users can create interactive learning activities (e.g., flashcards) from existing content.
  • The feature is ON by default for eligible licenses.
  • Admins can disable Learning Activity creation if desired.

[What you can do to prepare:]

• No action is required if you want to allow Learning Activities.
• If you want to disable this feature, follow the Learning Activities instructions.
• Communicate this change to educators and helpdesk staff.
• Update internal documentation if you detail available apps and features.

[Compliance considerations:]

No compliance considerations identified, review as appropriate for your organization.

[Introduction]

We’re introducing Multi-Select Forward in Microsoft Teams. This feature lets users select up to five messages from a chat or channel and forward them together in one message, preserving context and order. This update addresses customer feedback for easier message sharing and supports better collaboration.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 536997 and is applicable to Teams for Windows desktop, Teams for Mac desktop, and Teams for the web.

[When this will happen:]

• Targeted Release: We will begin rolling out early January 2026 and expect to complete by mid-January 2026.
• General Availability (Worldwide, GCC): We will begin rolling out mid-January 2026 and expect to complete by late January 2026.
• General Availability (GCCH, DoD): We will begin rolling out early February 2026 and expect to complete by mid-February 2026.

[How this affects your organization:]

Who is affected: Users of Microsoft Teams for Desktop, Mac, and web

What will happen:

• A new option will be available in the message action menu: Forward > Multiple messages.



• They can select up to five messages and forward them together. 



• Forwarded messages appear bundled in one message, preserving order and context.



• Mobile users can view these messages but cannot forward multiple messages yet. 
• This feature is ON by default.

[What you can do to prepare:]

• No admin action is required before or after rollout.
• Consider notifying your users about this change to help them understand the new behavior.
• Update any internal documentation or training materials that reference message forwarding in Teams.

Learn more: Forward a message in Microsoft Teams – Microsoft Support

[Compliance considerations:]

No compliance considerations identified, review as appropriate for your organization.

[Introduction]

We’re introducing the new and improved People Hub in Outlook Web, designed to deliver a modern, multi-column contacts experience with fast search and a streamlined interface. We’re investing in fast, relevant search and modern contact management capabilities that deliver a high-quality experience for everyone.

This update provides a unified view of each person, automatically links duplicate entries, and enriches contacts with organizational profile information where available. These enhancements aim to improve reliability and scalability for organizations of all sizes, while phasing out older solutions that no longer meet performance expectations.

This message is associated with Roadmap ID 537282.

[When this will happen:]

• Targeted Release (Worldwide): We will begin rolling out on mid-January 2026 and expect to complete by late January 2026.
• General Availability (Worldwide): We will begin rolling out on late February 2026 and expect to complete by mid-March 2026.

[How this affects your organization:]

Who is affected: All Outlook Web users and admins managing contact solutions in Microsoft 365.

What will happen:

• Users will see a refreshed People Hub with a modern, multi-column layout and improved search capabilities. 
• Duplicate contacts will be automatically linked, and organizational profile data will enrich contact details where available.
• All users will be migrated to the “New Contacts” experience automatically. The toggle to switch off “New Contacts” will no longer be available. 
  
• No admin action is required; the feature will be enabled by default.

• Admins can start training users on the new Contacts experience. Learn more: Add, find, edit, or delete a contact in Outlook.
• Before rollout, we will update this post with updated documentation.

[Compliance considerations:]

No compliance considerations identified; review as appropriate for your organization.

[Introduction]

We’re introducing an integration between Microsoft Teams and Microsoft Defender for Office 365 that allows security admins to manage blocked external users in Teams through the Tenant Allow/Block List (TABL) in the Microsoft Defender portal. This centralized approach enhances security and compliance by enabling organizations to control external user access across Microsoft 365 services.

This message is associated with Roadmap ID 542189.

[When this will happen:]

General Availability (Worldwide): Rollout begins early January 2026 and is expected to complete by mid-January 2026.

[How this affects your organization:]

Who is affected: Organizations using Microsoft Teams and Microsoft Defender for Office 365 Plan 1 or Plan 2.

What will happen:

• Security admins (with Teams admin permission) can add, delete, and view blocked external users and domains for Teams in the Microsoft Defender portal.

Screenshot 1: Image showcasing the teams block sender and block domain list in Microsoft Teams



• Incoming communications (chats, channels, meetings, and calls) from blocked users will be prevented.
• Existing communications from blocked users will be automatically deleted.
• Audit logs will track actions taken to block users for compliance monitoring.
• Entry limits: Up to 4,000 blocked domains and 200 email addresses can be configured for Teams.
• This applies to all Teams clients and the Defender XDR web portal.
• Existing federation configurations and domain blocks in the Teams admin center remain unaffected.

[What you can do to prepare:]

• Enable the setting “Block specific users from communicating with people in my organization” in the Teams admin center (default: Off).

Screenshot 2:  Image showing the teams toggle for blocking sender email addresses in Microsoft Teams



• Enable the setting “Allow my security team to manage blocked domains and blocked users” in the Teams admin center (default: Off).
• Grant security team access to manage blocked domains and users in the Teams admin center.
• Review internal documentation and inform helpdesk staff about this change.
• Learn more: Tenant Allow/Block List documentation.

[Compliance considerations:]

No compliance considerations identified, review as appropriate for your organization.