Sensitivity Label Detection
SMART Migration reads the sensitivity label associated with each file directly from SharePoint Online in:
FileManagementDataETL
How it works
SharePoint Online maintains separate label fields per file. SMART Migration retrieves all four independently during the scan:
| SharePoint Column | Internal Name | Contains |
|---|---|---|
| Sensitivity Label | _DisplayName |
The display name of the sensitivity label applied directly to the file — for example Confidential or Internal Use Only. This label was explicitly set on the file itself, either manually by a user in Office or SharePoint, or automatically by a Microsoft Purview auto-label policy. Empty if no label has been applied directly to the file. |
| Sensitivity Label ID | _IpLabelId |
The unique identifier (GUID) of the sensitivity label applied directly to the file. Can be used to look up full label details in Microsoft Purview. |
| Sensitivity Label Assignment | _IpLabelAssignmentMethod |
Indicates how the label was assigned to the file. Possible values: Standard — the label was applied manually by a user in Office or SharePoint; Privileged — the label was applied by an administrator or a privileged service; Auto — the label was applied automatically by a Microsoft Purview auto-label policy. |
| Effective Sensitivity | _EffectiveIpLabelDisplayName |
The display name of the sensitivity label inherited from the document library or site. This is populated when an administrator has configured a default sensitivity label at library or site level, and reflects that container-level label — independent of whether the file also has a direct label in the Sensitivity Label column. |
Limitations
In a small number of cases no label will be detected even if one appears to exist in SharePoint:
| Situation | Impact |
|---|---|
| File has not yet been indexed by SharePoint after upload | Transient — the label will appear in a subsequent scan |
| File type does not support sensitivity labels (ZIP, PNG, CSV, MSG, etc.) | No label can be detected for these formats |
| Label was applied using a legacy AIP client and is not mapped to a current Microsoft Purview label | Extremely rare in modern tenants |
These limitations are SharePoint platform behaviours, not limitations of SMART Migration. In practice they affect a very small fraction of files in a typical tenant.
Accuracy
For standard SharePoint Online environments, SMART Migration reliably detects sensitivity labels on 95% or more of labelled files, covering all common labelling methods including manual labelling, auto-label policies, and library and site default labels.