Breaking Language Barriers with Purview Sensitivity Labels

One Sensitivity Label, Multiple Languages in Purview DisplayName + Tooltip Translations via PowerShell

Introduction

If you operate a Microsoft Purview environment across multiple countries, you will quickly run into this limitation: sensitivity labels do not automatically translate.

Even if a user’s Office UI language is Dutch, French, or German, the label names and tooltips stay in the language you originally created.

The good news: Purview supports multilingual display names and tooltips, but the translations must be explicitly added to the label object using Security & Compliance PowerShell.

This guide explains how multilingual label works in Purview and provides a streamlined PowerShell script that adds or updates one locale at a time without overwriting existing translations.

See It in Action

Why This Matters

A label taxonomy only works when users understand the labels.

Common problems in multi-language deployments:

• Users select the wrong label because the names remain in English.
• Tooltips are ignored due to language barriers.
• Adoption declines (“labels are confusing”), impacting compliance goals.

Adding proper translations improves usability while maintaining governance:
One global label set, localised per user language.

What You Can (and Cannot) Localise

Purview translations are not automatic. They are per-locale overrides.

You can localise:

• Display name
• Tooltip/description

You cannot rely on automatic localisation for:

• Custom policy tips
• Justification prompts
• Custom messages in label policies

These often require separate policies for each region/language to achieve true localisation.

How Purview Stores Label Translations

Translations are stored under the label’s LocaleSettings property.

Each entry includes:

• LocaleKey — which property is being translated (DisplayName or Tooltip)
• Settings — list of locale/value pairs

Example:

[{"LocaleKey":"DisplayName","Settings":[{"Key":"en-US","Value":"Confidential"},{"Key":"nl-NL","Value":"Vertrouwelijk"}]},{"LocaleKey":"Tooltip","Settings":[{"Key":"en-US","Value":"Use for internal confidential data."},{"Key":"nl-NL","Value":"Gebruik dit label voor vertrouwelijke intern gegevens."}]}]

Prerequisites

You need:

• ExchangeOnlineManagement module
• Connectivity to the Compliance PowerShell endpoint
• Permissions: read/update labels (Get-Label, Set-Label)
• The label GUID
• Locale codes (examples: nl-NL, fr-FR, ar-AR)

Step-by-Step: Adding a Translation

1. Identify the label GUID

Get-Label | Select-Object DisplayName, Name, Guid

# View current translations

Get-Label -Identity “<LABEL-GUID>” | Format-List DisplayName, Tooltip, LocaleSettings

2. Run the script to add/update a single locale

Script link in repo:
Public/Set-MultilingualSensitivityLabels.ps1 at main · SaiedTaki/Public

What the script does:

• Prompts for missing inputs (GUID, locale, display name, tooltip)
• Retrieves the current label (including existing translations)
• Normalizes LocaleSettings (handles JSON vs object)
• Updates only the selected locale for:
  • DisplayName
  • Tooltip
• Calls Set-Label without removing existing locales
• Outputs updated JSON for verification

Validation

Verify that translations were applied:

Get-Label -Identity “<LABEL-GUID>” | Format-List DisplayName, Tooltip, LocaleSettings

Client-side validation:

• Restart Word/Outlook if metadata is cached.
• Ensure Office UI language matches the added locale.
• Test in multiple apps (Word, Outlook, Excel).

Conclusion

Multilingual sensitivity labels require deliberate configuration.
By storing translations directly in LocaleSettings, Purview allows one global label set to be localised per region.

The PowerShell script shared here provides a safe, incremental way to maintain translations one locale at a time, perfect for global organisations expanding into new languages or maintaining a centralised label architecture.

Resources

Set-Label (ExchangePowerShell) | Microsoft Learn