Posted inPlanner

MC1492955: Microsoft Planner Adds Custom Fields for Personalized Task Management

5 minutesPosted inPlanner
MWPRO IMPACT SCORE
OPERATIONAL IMPACT
50
0 25 50 75 100
MODERATE IMPACT • ASSESS BUSINESS IMPACT
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Primary Audience

Microsoft 365 AdminsTeams AdminsIT ManagersService Owners
Why this score?
AI Confidence
HIGH
Enough detail is available to trust this assessment.
Assessment Reasoning
This announcement introduces a new optional feature in Microsoft Planner allowing licensed users to create and manage custom fields. There is low admin setup effort but moderate impact to review licensing, communication, and governance implications. Users will notice the new options across Planner boards and grids, which may change how they track work. Rollout timing is clear and near term, raising moderate urgency to prepare communication and adjust licensing.
45
🛡️ Admin Impact
MEDIUM
55
👥 User Impact
HIGH
55
⚡ Urgency
HIGH
40
🔧 Effort
MEDIUM
ℹ️ WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
📌

AT A GLANCE

Planner is adding Custom Fields so teams can tailor task details. Premium users can create and edit these fields, while Microsoft 365 users have view-only access.
👥

END USERS

Premium users can add and manage up to 10 custom fields; standard users can only view them.
🛡️

IT ADMINS

Check licence assignments and inform users about custom field limits, single-select choices, and that deletions are permanent.
📅

ROLLOUT TIMELINE

Start:
Late October 2026

📢 Official Microsoft Message Center Announcement

Microsoft Planner: Introducing Local Custom Fields
Message ID: MC1492955

[What and why]

We are introducing Custom Fields in Microsoft Planner, enabling users to tailor plans to match the way their teams work. Users can add Text, Number, Date, Yes/No, and Choice fields to capture information that matters to their workflows and manage that information across Board, Grid, and Task details.

[Rollout schedule]

  • General Availability (Worldwide): Rollout begins in late October 2026 and is expected to complete by early November 2026.

[Impact on your organization]

Who is affected

  • Users with a Planner Premium P1, P3, or P5 license
  • Users with a Microsoft 365 license

Platforms and services

  • Microsoft Planner

What will happen

  • Users with a Planner Premium P1, P3, or P5 license will be able to create, edit, and manage Custom Fields and their values.
  • Users with a Microsoft 365 license can view Custom Fields and values as read-only and export them but cannot create or edit them.
  • Users can add up to 10 custom fields with 255 characters each to tasks in a plan for information beyond Planner’s built-in fields. Available types are Text, Number, Date, Yes/No, and Choice, and field names can be up to 255 characters.
  • Choice fields are single-select and can contain 2 to 25 colored options.
  • Field values can be viewed and updated across Board, Grid, and Task details and used for sorting, filtering, grouping, and bulk editing.
  • This feature is optional. Existing plans are not affected unless users add Custom Fields.
  • Existing compliance capabilities cover custom field data, including Unified Audit Log, eDiscovery, Microsoft Information Protection through inherited plan-level labels, and Data Lifecycle Management.

[Action required and recommendations]

No tenant-level configuration or admin setup is required to enable Custom Fields. We recommend that you:

  • Ensure users who need to create or edit Custom Fields have a Planner Premium P1, P3, or P5 license. Microsoft 365 users will have read-only access.
  • Inform users about the supported field types, the limit of 10 fields per plan, and that Choice fields are single-select with 2 to 25 options.
  • Advise users that deleting a custom field or choice option is permanent and cannot be undone, and that deleting a choice option clears affected values.
  • Remind users to follow your organization’s data-handling policies. Custom field data is included in audit, eDiscovery, Microsoft Information Protection, and data lifecycle processes.

[Learn more]

We will update this post with new documentation.

[Compliance considerations]

Does the change store new customer data?

  • Yes. Custom field names and values that users create on tasks (up to 10 fields per plan) are stored as part of plan/task data.

Does the change alter how existing customer data is processed, stored, or accessed (e.g., documents, emails, chats, etc.)? 

  • No. Existing task and plan data is unchanged. Custom fields are additive metadata on tasks.

Does the change modify, interrupt, or disable any of the following Microsoft Purview capabilities?

  • Data Loss Prevention (DLP) policies or enforcement
    • No.
  • Information Protection labels or sensitive information types
    • No.
  • Conditional Access policies
    • No.
  • Audit logging capabilities
    • No. Custom field edits are logged in Task History and flow to the Unified Audit Log.
  • eDiscovery or Content Search
    • No.
  • Encryption methods or key management
    • No. Data uses existing service encryption.
  • Retention policies, holds, or deletion workflows
    • No. Custom field data follows the existing task/plan lifecycle (deleted when the task/plan is deleted).

Does the change alter how admins can monitor, report on, or demonstrate compliance activities (e.g., Purview or admin reporting)?

  • No. Existing Purview and admin reporting continue to work; custom field activity appears in audit logs like other task edits.

Does the change modify how users can access, export, delete, or correct their personal data within Microsoft 365 services (GDPR Data Subject Rights)?

  • No. Users can view, edit, and export custom field values (Export to Excel), and the data is deleted along with the task or plan it belongs to.

Source: Microsoft Message Center • Analysed by MWPro

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