MC1189663 - Retirement of external access token for actionable messages – moving to Microsoft Entra authentication

Message Center

Summary

External access tokens for actionable messages will be retired by May 15, 2026, replaced by Microsoft Entra authentication to enhance security. Organizations must update integrations before this date, as messages using legacy tokens will fail. The phase-out completes by June 8, 2026.

Last Updated

May 21, 2026

Published Nov 25, 2025

View version history

Service

Microsoft 365 apps

Tag

Major change
Updated message
Admin impact
Retirement

Act by

Mar 30, 2026

More information

Updated May 21, 2026: Phasing out to Legacy Auth Token (EAT) has been initiated and will complete by June 8th 2026. Thank you for your patience. 

Introduction

We’re retiring the use of external access tokens for actionable messages and transitioning to Microsoft Entra-based authentication. This update enhances security and aligns with modern identity standards, providing a more robust and compliant experience for actionable messages.

When this will happen

This change takes effect on May 15, 2026. After this date, external access tokens will no longer be supported.

How this affects your organization

Who is affected:

Organizations using actionable messages that currently rely on external access tokens.

What will happen:

  • Actionable messages that depend on external access tokens will fail after May 15, 2026.
  • All integrations and workflows using actionable messages must adopt Microsoft Entra authentication.
  • This change improves security posture by leveraging Entra’s identity and access management capabilities.
What you can do to prepare
  • Review all actionable message implementations in your organization.
  • Update integrations to use Microsoft Entra authentication before May 15, 2026.

Learn more:

Compliance considerations

No compliance considerations identified, review as appropriate for your organization.

Version history

3 versions tracked

Updated 2 times since Nov 25, 2025. Microsoft Message Center only ever shows the current version; this archive preserves the history.

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  1. May 21, 2026 · 05:04 PMLatest · v3

    Changed: Body, End date

  2. Mar 24, 2026 · 04:15 PMv2

    Changed: Body, Tags, End date

  3. Nov 25, 2025 · 12:06 AMOriginal · v1

    Changed: Initial version