Microsoft Default Sensitivity Label have been accidentally deleted, how do we restore them?

Question

In Purview/ Information Protections - we think the Microsoft Default Sensitivity Labels (Personal, General, Confidential etc) have been accidentally deleted, or could it be a licencing issue? We are unsure why they don't appear in Purview, we are only at the beginning of the journey with data classification.

Answer 1

1. Licence is: Microsoft 365 E3/E5. Custom/test sensitivity labels have been created by someone from the security team, but they have managed to delete the default labels. We looked into it further and don't believe that it's a licence issue.
2. Information protection > Labels > there are no Microsoft default sensitivity labels (e.g., Personal, Public, General, Confidential, Highly Confidential), we can only see two custom test labels built by someone in security, they have not been published.
3. Sensitivity labels/ policies have never been published, we are in the process of planning to apply Data classifications/labels.None of our documentation has labels currently.
4. Two custom labels have been created as a test but not published

Is there a way to restore the original default Microsoft labels (e.g., Personal, Public, General, Confidential, Highly Confidential)? Is there a way to discover who deleted the labels?

Answer 2

Hi Hazmeleri,

Good day and I hope you're doing well.

It has been a while and I am writing to see how things are going with this issue. Have you encountered any difficulties, or is there anything else I can assist you with? Any updates would be appreciated.

Thank you for your valuable time.

Best Regards,
Mia - MSFT | Microsoft Community Support Specialist.

Answer 3

Hi Hazmeleri,

Thank you for the detailed reply and I appreciate the additional clarification.

Based on the information you shared, I’d like to clarify a few key points:

1. About Microsoft default sensitivity labels:

• The default sensitivity labels (e.g., Personal, Public, General, Confidential, Highly Confidential) are part of the Microsoft Information Protection (MIP) starter kit. These labels are not automatically created in every tenant and do not appear by default unless they’ve been explicitly imported or published.
• These labels cannot be permanently deleted, but if your tenant has never imported the starter kit or if someone removed the labels after importing them, they will not show up in the Purview portal.

2. About your custom labels not published:

• It’s expected that custom labels won’t appear to users until they are included in a published label policy and assigned to users or groups.

3. About tracking who modified or deleted labels:

• If someone modified or removed labels (or label policies), you can check via Microsoft Purview Audit Logs:

1. Go to Microsoft Purview > Audit
2. Search for activities like:
   • Delete Sensitivity Label
   • Update Label Policy
   • New-LabelPolicy
3. Filter by date and user if needed

You can follow this article: Search the audit log in Microsoft Purview

4. About restoring the Microsoft default labels, you can use Microsoft’s PowerShell script to import the default MIP starter labels into your tenant:

If you're end-user, I recommend you reach out to your Microsoft 365 global admin who manage all the user account in your tenant and prefer this article:

• Deploy default sensitivity labels using PowerShell.

*Please take some time reading the content of this article to avoid further complications.

• I'd quick overview of how to do this:

1. Connect to Security & Compliance PowerShell
2. Run the Microsoft-provided script to import default labels
3. After importing, go to Information protection > Label policies > Publish labels to make them available to users

Thank you for your valuable time, if you have any update, you are always welcome to share, I will do my best to assist withing my capabilities. 

Best Regards,
Mia - MSFT | Microsoft Community Support Specialist.

Answer 4

Hi Hazmeleri,

Thank you for posting in Microsoft Community.

From your description, I understand you're concerned and you're unsure why that labels that you notice don't appear.

From what I understand, first, I'd provide some reassurance: The default Sensitivity Labels provided by Microsoft (like Personal, Public, General, Confidential, Highly Confidential) cannot be accidentally deleted by an administrator. These are built-in system labels that are fundamental to Microsoft Purview's Information Protection capabilities. An administrator can hide them from publishing, deactivate them, or modify their settings, but not permanently delete the default templates themselves.

This means the labels are likely either:

1. Labels must be part of a policy to be seen and applied by users, but it not included in a published Label Policy.
2. Related to your Microsoft 365 licensing which may about the ability to create, manage, and utilize advanced sensitivity labels requires specific compliance licenses.

Therefore, I'd recommend some information that may help you clarify:

1. Verify your Microsoft 365 Licensing because the availability and management of sensitivity labels depend on your Microsoft 365 subscription.

• Could you please confirm your organization's Microsoft 365 subscription plan(s). For full sensitivity labeling capabilities (including default labels and creating custom ones), you typically need:
  • Microsoft 365 Business Premium
  • Microsoft 365 E3/E5
  • Or specific Microsoft 365 E5 Compliance add-on licenses.
• If your subscription is a lower tier (e.g., Business Basic, Microsoft 365 F3, Office 365 E1), basic sensitivity labeling features might not be available.
• You can ask your Microsoft 365 administrator to go to Microsoft 365 Admin Center > Billing > Your products to see the active subscriptions. If you’re unsure who the Global Admin is within your organization, you can find guidance on locating them here: How do I find my Microsoft 365 admin? - Microsoft Support.

2. You can go to Microsoft Purview to find where the label

• Log in to the Microsoft Purview portal with an account that has Administrator roles.
• In the left navigation pane, go to Information protection > Labels.
• Do you see the default labels (e.g., Personal, Public, General, Confidential, Highly Confidential) listed here? Even if they're not published, they should appear in this list if your licensing is correct.

3. You can check sensitivity label policies (if labels are present but users cannot see them, they might not be published):

• In the Microsoft Purview compliance portal, go to Information protection > Label policies.
• Check if there are any active label policies. Labels must be explicitly included in a policy and assigned to users/groups to be pushed out and visible in Office apps.

4. If possible, you can create your custom label by follow this article Create and publish sensitivity labels | Microsoft Learn

Please understand that our initial response does not always resolve the issue immediately. However, with your help and more detailed information, we can work together to find a solution. 

I hope this helps. If you have any further question or concerns, please don't hesitate to let me know.

Best Regards,
Mia - MSFT | Microsoft Community Support Specialist.