Deprecation of Global Secure Access Private Preview Features for Office 365

[What and Why:]

We are retiring the private preview integration between Global Secure Access (GSA) Universal Tenant Restrictions and Microsoft 365 that provided blocking of:

• Anonymous access to SharePoint Online and OneDrive content
• Anonymous join of Microsoft Teams meetings

This retirement only affects the Microsoft 365 private preview integration. Global Secure Access Universal Tenant Restrictions for Microsoft Entra ID remains generally available and is not affected.

As part of this change, Microsoft is retiring the preview functionality and aligning customers to supported tenant restriction controls.

[Rollout Schedule:]

• Rollout begins: Late September 2026
• Retirement complete: Late October 2026
• Preview fully disabled: October 30, 2026

[Impact on Your Organization:]

Who is affected

• Organizations that enabled Global Secure Access Universal Tenant Restrictions before May 2025 and are using the private preview integration for Microsoft 365 anonymous access blocking.

Platforms/Services

• Microsoft Entra ID
• Global Secure Access
• SharePoint Online
• OneDrive
• Microsoft Teams

What will happen

• The private preview capability that blocks anonymous access to SharePoint Online and OneDrive through Global Secure Access will be removed.
• The private preview capability that blocks anonymous Microsoft Teams meeting joins through Global Secure Access will be removed.
• Universal Tenant Restrictions functionality for Microsoft Entra ID will continue to operate as expected.
• Microsoft will automatically disable the preview functionality as part of the retirement process.

[Action Required/Recommendations:]

If your organization relies on this preview capability for Microsoft 365 anonymous access blocking, review and implement an alternative supported configuration before October 30, 2026.

• Global Secure Access administrators: Identify whether your organization currently depends on the preview-based anonymous access blocking capabilities.
• Identity and security administrators: Configure tenant restriction settings on managed Windows devices if continued anonymous access restrictions are required.
• Communications administrators: Notify affected security and collaboration stakeholders about this retirement.

Optional early disablement

1. Open the Microsoft Entra admin center.
2. Navigate to Global Secure Access > Settings > Session Management > Universal Tenant Restrictions.
3. Set the feature toggle to Off.
4. Set the feature toggle back to On.

This action removes the preview Microsoft 365 integration while preserving supported Universal Tenant Restrictions functionality.

Documentation

• Configure Tenant Restrictions - Microsoft Entra ID External ID (Microsoft Learn)

[Compliance Considerations:]

• Access control behavior changes: The retirement removes a mechanism that some organizations may use to restrict anonymous access to SharePoint, OneDrive, and Teams resources.
• Admin controls: Administrators retain control through supported tenant restriction configurations and Global Secure Access settings.
• User communication impact: Organizations relying on the preview functionality may need to notify users if anonymous access behavior changes after retirement.