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Choose a Microsoft 365 add-in by matching its requested access to a specific work task, checking how its publisher handles data, and confirming that your IT team can control its rollout. A verified publisher badge is useful for identifying the publisher, but it is not a security certification. For higher-risk uses, look separately for Microsoft Publisher Attestation or Microsoft 365 Certification, then pilot the add-in with a small group before expanding access.
Start with the task and the data it requires
Write down what the add-in must do, who needs it, and what information the feature genuinely requires. An add-in that edits a document may need different access from one that works with an Outlook message. If the requested access appears broader than the task calls for, ask the publisher to explain why before approving it.
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An Office Add-in’s manifest describes permissions and points to a hosted web application containing its code and logic. The manifest is not the whole security picture: Microsoft notes that the hosted application can change independently of manifest updates. Review the permission scope alongside the publisher’s continuing commitments for data handling. Microsoft’s privacy and security guidance explains the relationship between add-ins, permissions, and hosted applications.
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Understand what Office data the add-in can access
Many Office Add-ins can read or write the active document or mail item, subject to platform permission levels and constraints. That access can expose sensitive business content, so treat an unfamiliar add-in cautiously. For Outlook mailbox add-ins, Microsoft says the requested permissions, terms of use, and privacy policy are surfaced before installation. Review Microsoft’s explanation of Office Add-in permissions and compare the requested scope with the feature you intend to use.
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Read the vendor’s data terms
Look for a privacy policy and terms that clearly state what information the add-in collects, what is sent to the vendor or its services, how it is protected, and how long it is retained. Microsoft’s platform encrypts communications, but that does not establish how a vendor uses or retains data after receiving it. If the policy does not answer those questions, treat the uncertainty as a selection risk rather than assuming the platform covers it.
Evaluate publisher identity and security assurance separately
A verified publisher badge helps establish publisher identity; it does not certify an add-in’s security, quality, or compliance. Microsoft puts it plainly: “Verified publisher status is only one of the several criteria to consider while evaluating the security and OAuth consent requests of an application.” Microsoft’s publisher verification overview also says the status does not establish certifications, standards compliance, or best practices.
Where the add-in’s access or business impact warrants stronger evidence, check for one of Microsoft’s separately described assurance programs:
- Publisher Attestation: an ISV self-assessment whose information is published for customers. It is useful transparency, but it is not the independent audit described for Certification.
- Microsoft 365 Certification: includes a yearly independent audit, penetration testing, and review of data handling, privacy, and security practices. Microsoft’s certification overview describes the program.
Inspect sign-in and OAuth consent
Check which identity the add-in uses, whether its sign-in flow is understandable, and which OAuth scopes it requests. Ask whether each scope is necessary for the stated feature and whether the organization is comfortable granting it. A polished consent screen is not proof of safety: Microsoft notes that the publisher controls the logo, strings, and permission scopes shown in the consent window. Compare what the screen says with the actual scopes and the publisher’s documentation. Publisher verification guidance and Microsoft’s Office Add-in SSO guidance provide context for verification and sign-in.
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Confirm that the add-in fits your tenant and deployment model
Before choosing a candidate, verify that it supports the Microsoft 365 clients your staff use and works with your tenant, cloud, licensing, and mailbox conditions. Centralized deployment has prerequisites: Microsoft lists eligible licensing and active Exchange Online mailboxes for users, as well as unsupported environments and add-in types. Check the current requirements rather than assuming that an add-in available to one user can be deployed to everyone. Microsoft’s centralized deployment documentation covers prerequisites and limitations.
For centrally managed access, admins can assign add-ins to users or groups through the integrated apps portal. If company policy requires admin approval before employees install add-ins, administrators can disable user access to Microsoft Marketplace add-in downloads. Microsoft documents the controls and assignment process in its deployment guidance and admin-center add-in management instructions.
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Use a staged approval and rollout process
- Define the need: record the business task, intended users, and minimum document, mail, or user data access needed.
- Review the candidate: find its declared Office permissions, privacy policy, terms of use, publisher identity, and any attestation or certification details.
- Assess consent: inspect the OAuth scopes and sign-in flow. Treat publisher verification as one identity signal, not a substitute for reviewing permissions and security evidence.
- Check operational fit: confirm client support, tenant and mailbox prerequisites, licensing, and whether admins can assign and remove access centrally.
- Deploy to a pilot group: use the integrated apps portal and group assignment where supported. Include business stakeholders and IT so the pilot tests both the workflow and its administration.
- Review before expansion: verify that the add-in performs as expected and handles data in a way that meets the organization’s needs. Expand access in stages, then complete the rollout if the results support it.
- Assign ongoing ownership: name an owner to review vendor or permission changes and manage access. Admins can alter assignments or disable and remove centrally deployed add-ins.
Staging matters because the hosted web application behind an add-in can change without a corresponding manifest update. A pilot is therefore a controlled way to assess initial fit, not a guarantee that the add-in will never change. Microsoft’s privacy and security guidance and deployment guidance describe the relevant application and administration considerations.
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