Microsoft 365 does not have one universal add-in privacy screen. Where you check depends on the app and platform: desktop Word, Excel, and PowerPoint have Trust Center add-in controls; Office privacy settings govern optional connected experiences; and browser-based Office and new Outlook can ask separately for device access. Some controls are set by your organization and cannot be changed by an individual user.
First identify the app and platform
Before changing anything, note whether you are using Word, Excel, or PowerPoint on Windows or Mac, Office for the web, classic Outlook for Windows, new Outlook for Windows, or Outlook mobile. Menu paths and the effects of privacy settings vary between clients. The controls below address different things: add-in security, optional connected experiences, device capabilities, and organization-wide deployment or consent.
Check add-in security in desktop Word, Excel, or PowerPoint
- Open the Office app and select File > Options > Trust Center > Trust Center Settings > Add-ins.
- Review the available add-in security choices. Depending on the app and policy, these can include requiring trusted publisher signatures, suppressing notifications while keeping unsigned add-ins disabled, or disabling all application add-ins.
- Choose only a setting that matches your security needs. Disabling all add-ins can impair application functionality.
- Restart the Office app for changes to take effect.
Microsoft Support notes that an organization may determine these settings, in which case some options will not be available to change. If a control is locked or missing, contact your Microsoft 365 administrator rather than trying to bypass the policy. This Trust Center route is documented for desktop Word, Excel, and PowerPoint; it is not a universal control for every Office client. Microsoft Support: View, manage, and install add-ins for Excel, PowerPoint, and Word.
Change optional connected-experience privacy settings
Windows
In a supported Office app, go to File > Account > Account Privacy > Manage Settings. Review the optional connected-experience choices and change them if the controls are available. Your organization may manage this setting centrally, so an unavailable control can be a policy restriction rather than a missing feature.
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Open an Office app, then use the app menu and select Preferences > Privacy. Available choices can depend on the app and organization policy.
Optional connected experiences are separate from the Trust Center add-in security settings. Turning them off can also affect add-ins and Marketplace access, and the result depends on the client. Microsoft documents these client-specific effects: admin-deployed add-ins remain visible and usable in Office for the web and new Outlook for Windows, while user-installed store add-ins cannot be used; classic Outlook for Windows keeps add-ins usable but makes the store inaccessible; Mac hides add-ins from the ribbon and makes the store inaccessible; and Outlook mobile shows only admin-deployed add-ins in Get Add-ins. Check the current Microsoft guidance for your client before changing the setting because behavior can change. Microsoft Learn: Privacy and security for Office Add-ins.
Microsoft’s older Trust Center privacy path for volume-licensed Office 2019, Project 2019, and Visio 2019 is a legacy route; support for those products ended October 14, 2025. For current Microsoft 365 apps, use the paths above where available.
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Respond to an add-in device-access prompt
In Office for the web using a Chromium-based browser and in new Outlook for Windows, an add-in that requests a device capability such as the camera, microphone, or geolocation may present Allow, Allow Once, or Deny. These prompts apply to the documented clients, not every Office app.
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- Allow Once: Grants access until the browser tab or window closes.
- Deny: Blocks the request. The add-in may ask again the next time you use it.
Consider whether the requested capability makes sense for the add-in’s purpose before granting access. Microsoft Support’s add-in guidance describes these options and their scope.
Understand what an add-in permission does—and does not—tell you
For add-ins that interact with an Office document, the add-in manifest declares its requested document access level. Microsoft describes a five-level JavaScript API access-permissions model for task pane add-ins. The permission label helps explain the document access requested; it is not a complete account of every data practice of the add-in.
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Office Add-ins are web applications: Microsoft Learn explains that they use web technologies running in a browser control or iframe. Before installing one, review the publisher, requested permissions, terms, and privacy policy. Outlook add-ins that interact with mailboxes can surface requested permissions, terms, and privacy policies before installation. Microsoft’s deployment guidance also notes that the hosted web app can change over time, so a manifest permission declaration should not be treated as a guarantee that all application behavior or data handling is captured by that label.
Microsoft Learn: Privacy and security for Office Add-ins and Microsoft Learn: Deploy Office Add-ins in the Microsoft 365 admin center.
Administrator controls for add-in deployment and consent
Review or change deployed add-in assignments
- In the Microsoft 365 admin center, go to Settings > Integrated apps.
- Select the add-in to review.
- Open Users to review or update its assignment. Administrators can centrally assign, disable, or remove deployed add-ins.
Microsoft Learn: Manage Add-ins in the Microsoft 365 Admin Center.
Control user access to the Office Store
In the Microsoft 365 admin center, go to Settings > Org settings > Services > User owned apps and services, then set Let users access the Office Store as appropriate for the organization. Microsoft documents an Outlook exception for this Marketplace control; it does not govern Outlook add-ins.
Review application consent in Microsoft Entra
If the concern is user consent to enterprise applications, rather than an Office add-in’s document permissions, an administrator can go to Microsoft Entra admin center > Identity > Applications > Enterprise apps > Consent and permissions > User consent settings. These settings apply at the organization’s identity layer and are distinct from Office Trust Center and connected-experience controls. Microsoft recommends restricting user consent to verified-publisher applications to reduce risk. Microsoft Learn: Configure How Users Consent to Applications.
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