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One free scan finds every outdated or missing driver and matches the right update for your exact hardware.Free scan · exact hardware matchMicrosoft announced Information Barriers (IB) v2 as generally available to new onboarding customers on March 6, 2023. It raised the tenant limit from 250 to 5,000 segments, added support for assigning one user to as many as 10 segments, and gave administrators a choice about whether IB restricts people-picker discovery. The announcement did not say that existing IB v1 organizations were upgraded automatically; it said they would be eligible to upgrade in the future.
What Information Barriers v2 is
Microsoft Purview Information Barriers is a compliance feature for controlling communication and collaboration between groups of users in regulated organizations. Microsoft describes use cases in sectors such as finance, legal, and consulting. It began with Teams and later expanded to OneDrive for Business and SharePoint Online. IB helps organizations implement controls across those services; the feature alone does not guarantee that an organization complies with a particular law.
In its March 6, 2023 announcement, Microsoft described IB v2 as generally available for new onboarding customers. That is an availability statement, not a claim that every existing IB v1 tenant was changed at that time. Microsoft said existing IB v1 organizations would become eligible to upgrade in the future. Microsoft Security Community Blog, March 6, 2023.
What changed in IB v2
| Capability | IB v1 | IB v2 |
|---|---|---|
| Maximum segments per tenant | 250 | 5,000 |
| Segments assignable to one user | One | Up to 10 |
| People-picker discovery restriction | Restricted by IB policies | Restricted by default for IB policies, with an administrator option to change the setting |
The figures are product limits reported by Microsoft in 2023, not results from independent performance testing. Microsoft said the increase to 5,000 segments did not require extra configuration for organizations using IB v2. Microsoft’s announcement.
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More segments per tenant
The stated tenant limit grew twentyfold, from 250 segments in IB v1 to 5,000 in IB v2. This gives organizations more room to model distinct teams, business units, or other groups within one tenant.
Multiple segment assignments per user
In the earlier mode, a user could be assigned to one segment. IB v2’s multi-segment organization mode allows assignment to as many as 10 segments per user. That can represent users whose roles span groups, while enabling more varied communication rules.
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Choice over people-picker discovery
People-picker discoverability is a separate control from segment capacity. Microsoft said IB policies restrict user discovery by default, and that administrators can change the setting with the Set-PolicyConfig PowerShell cmdlet. The announcement identifies the cmdlet but does not provide a complete configuration procedure, so administrators should consult current Microsoft documentation before changing a tenant setting.
Availability and rollout chronology
New onboarding customers
Microsoft announced IB v2 general availability for new onboarding customers on March 6, 2023. Existing IB v1 organizations were described as becoming eligible to upgrade in the future; that wording does not establish an automatic upgrade or a present-day upgrade status for any particular tenant.
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GCC, GCC High, and DoD
A separate Microsoft public-sector roadmap notice in 2024 covered GCC, GCC High, and DoD. It described a rollout beginning in late September 2024, with expected completion by mid-October 2024, and said IB v2 would be on by default for that rollout. The notice also referenced -InformationBarrierMode as a way for administrators to change the state. This was a dated rollout schedule, not confirmation of the current configuration of every government-cloud tenant. Microsoft Community Hub, September 2024 roadmap notice, updated August 21, 2024.
What administrators should take from the announcement
- IB v2 expanded the documented segment scale to 5,000 per tenant and allowed up to 10 segment assignments per user.
- People-picker restrictions were enabled by default for IB policies, but administrators had a setting to adjust discoverability.
- General availability for new onboarding customers did not mean existing IB v1 tenants were all upgraded.
- The announcements describe product capabilities and rollout plans, not whether a specific tenant is configured correctly or whether its controls are legally sufficient.
Tenant-specific upgrade status and legal sufficiency are not established by these announcements. Administrators should verify their current configuration against Microsoft’s current guidance and assess compliance requirements with their organization’s compliance team or counsel.
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