Microsoft 365 Profile Cards Are Getting a Major Update — Here’s What Admins Need to Know

Microsoft is preparing to roll out a major overhaul to Microsoft 365 profile cards, and the timing means organizations need to pay attention now. According to recent guidance from Microsoft, the update will fundamentally change how employee information is displayed across Outlook, Teams, and the broader Microsoft 365 ecosystem. The core message is straightforward: tenants that do not review their current configuration settings may find themselves exposing more internal data than they originally intended. This is not a minor UI tweak. It touches on directory visibility, contact card formatting, and the underlying Exchange Online attributes that drive what colleagues see when they click on a name.

What is changing in the Microsoft 365 profile cards?

The legacy profile card has long been a staple of the Microsoft 365 experience. When a user clicks on a colleague in Outlook or Teams, they are presented with a card containing job title, phone number, email address, office location, and sometimes a deeper organizational chart pulled from Microsoft Entra ID. Microsoft is now standardizing this experience across the platform. The update aligns the card layout with the unified identity model that Microsoft has been building for years, ensuring that Teams, Outlook, and SharePoint all render the same data structure.

From a technical standpoint, this means Microsoft is shifting how certain Exchange Online attributes are mapped to the card. Fields that previously defaulted to public display are now subject to stricter tenant-level visibility rules. The change also introduces a cleaner, more consistent design language that reduces the visual clutter of older contact cards while prioritizing the data points that matter most for day-to-day collaboration.

Why Microsoft is pushing this update

Microsoft has been steadily moving toward a unified identity and presence model for years. The older profile card system was built on legacy Exchange attributes that were never designed for modern hybrid work environments. As organizations adopted Teams as their primary communication hub, the disconnect between how Teams displayed presence and how Outlook displayed contact information became increasingly obvious. By overhauling the Microsoft 365 profile cards, Microsoft is closing that gap.

The update also aligns with broader privacy and data governance trends. Regulations like GDPR and CCPA have pushed enterprises to be more deliberate about what internal data is visible by default. Microsoft’s new approach gives administrators clearer controls over what information flows to the card, reducing the risk of accidental data leakage through default directory settings. Microsoft confirmed via its official documentation that the rollout is part of a broader effort to modernize how identity and presence data is synchronized across the suite.

What this means for IT admins and your organization

The headline warning from Microsoft is clear: ignore this update, and you could end up exposing more information than you intended. In practice, this means that default tenant configurations that worked fine under the old system may now surface data that compliance teams would rather keep internal. Admins managing a fleet of Exchange Online mailboxes will need to audit their current Set-Mailbox and Set-User configurations. Fields like ShowInAddressList, PublicDelegation, and various AddressBook attributes will be evaluated against the new card rendering rules.

If your organization relies on custom contact card templates or legacy PowerShell scripts that auto-populate profile fields, those scripts will need to be reviewed. The good news is that Microsoft is providing a transition window. During the rollout, existing visibility preferences will be preserved unless an administrator explicitly opts into the new defaults. However, once the new card architecture is fully enforced in your tenant, the old formatting will no longer be supported.

How to get it and what to do

The update is being rolled out gradually through Microsoft 365’s standard update channels, meaning it will land in your tenant based on your existing update cadence. There is no separate download or patch to install. To prepare, administrators should log into the Microsoft 365 admin center and review the Exchange admin center under the recipients and mailboxes sections. Microsoft’s official documentation outlines the specific attribute mappings that will change, and IT teams should cross-reference those with their current directory hygiene practices.

If you are using Microsoft Entra ID for identity management, you will want to verify that your attribute synchronization rules align with the new card display requirements. Microsoft recommends running a quick audit of sensitive fields before the rollout reaches your tenant, and adjusting visibility settings proactively rather than reacting after the change goes live. Keeping your tenant updated through the standard monthly channel will ensure you receive the new rendering engine without manual intervention.

What this means for you

For everyday Microsoft 365 users, the transition should feel seamless. You will notice a cleaner, more consistent look when you click on a colleague’s name, with the same information appearing reliably across Outlook, Teams, and SharePoint. The real work is happening behind the scenes, where Microsoft is tightening up how internal directory data is shared. If you work in IT or compliance, this is a reminder to treat directory visibility as an active configuration rather than a set-and-forget setting. Regular audits of what information is exposed by default will keep your organization aligned with both Microsoft’s new standards and your own internal data governance policies.

Source: Neowin

Over to you: Are you planning to audit your current mailbox visibility settings before the new card rollout reaches your tenant?