Microsoft SharePoint Online: Retirement of Restricted SharePoint Search

🚨 The Signal: Restricted SharePoint Search (RSS) is retiring, impacting content visibility in Microsoft Search and Copilot. Organizations must transition to Restricted Content Discovery (RCD) or other controls to maintain secure content governance and prevent unintended data exposure.

The Impact

SharePoint and Microsoft 365 administrators are affected, facing a high security risk if content discoverability controls are not migrated.

• SharePoint Admins: Risk of unintended content exposure if RSS is not migrated.
• Microsoft 365 Admins: Must reconfigure search governance to maintain security posture.
• Security Teams: Need to validate new content discovery controls meet policy requirements.
• Compliance Teams: Potential for non-compliance if sensitive data becomes discoverable.

The Action

1. Identify all SharePoint Online sites currently using Restricted SharePoint Search (RSS).
2. Review existing RSS configurations and map them to equivalent Restricted Content Discovery (RCD) or other appropriate controls.
3. Plan and execute the migration of content discoverability controls from RSS to RCD before January 31, 2027.
4. Validate that new RCD configurations effectively limit content visibility as intended in Microsoft Search and Microsoft 365 Copilot.
5. Update internal documentation and governance policies to reflect the use of RCD for content discoverability.

Domain: SharePoint · Impact: high · Workload: SharePoint