How to Label PII in SharePoint Automatically

SharePoint supports sensitivity labels, but cannot recognize PII on its own. It cannot apply labels automatically, because it lacks deep content inspection and PII detection.

SharePoint limitations include:

• No automatic classification of personal data
• No detection of PII inside PDFs, images, scans, or spreadsheets
• No OCR for screenshots or ID documents
• No PII-driven labeling workflows
• No labeling based on GDPR/CCPA rules
• No historical labeling support
• No metadata enrichment for privacy audits

This leaves most PII in SharePoint unlabeled and unprotected.

✨What PII (Personal Data) Classification Looks Like Inside SharePoint

PII appears in nearly every department’s content. Files requiring labeling include:

• HR onboarding and employee files
• Customer intake forms
• Scanned passports, IDs, and driver’s licenses
• Spreadsheets containing names and emails
• Address lists and contact directories
• Payroll documents and tax forms
• Medical identifiers in administrative documents
• PDF contracts containing personal data
• Screenshots from internal systems
• ZIP folders containing mixed PII documents

Strac detects and labels PII such as:

• Names
• Phone numbers
• Email addresses
• Physical addresses
• SSNs and national ID numbers
• Birthdates
• Passport and license numbers
• Tax identifiers
• Contact info inside spreadsheets
• PII inside images and multi-layer PDFs

Classification applies consistently across all locations.

✨What It Means to Label PII (Personal Data) in SharePoint

Labeling PII is more than tagging a document—it enforces governance and compliance. Once labeled, organizations can:

• Control access to sensitive documents
• Prioritize high-risk PII content
• Prevent unauthorized sharing
• Apply retention and deletion rules
• Trigger alerts and remediation
• Feed labels into Microsoft Purview
• Generate audit-ready logs
• Ensure consistent compliance across departments

Because SharePoint cannot detect PII, organizations must rely on automated solutions to apply labels accurately and consistently.

Strac’s PII labeling engine enables:

• Auto-labeling upon upload or modification
• Classification of historical files
• Metadata enrichment
• Custom labels for different PII categories
• Integration with Purview for sensitivity labeling
• Tag-driven remediation (alert, redact, delete, block)
• Tenant-wide visibility

How to Automatically Label PII (Personal Data) in SharePoint with Strac

Strac detects PII across documents, PDFs, spreadsheets, and images—and automatically applies accurate labels to each file.

How Strac labeling works:

• Scans every file uploaded or modified
• Detects PII using ML + OCR + NLP
• Applies structured labels instantly
• Updates metadata for privacy audits
• Supports custom classification categories
• Relabels files when new PII appears
• Labels files across all SharePoint sites and libraries
• Works seamlessly with OneDrive content

Organizations can configure:

• Standard PII labels
• High-risk PII labels (e.g., SSNs)
• Department-specific labels
• Retention rules tied to labels
• Auto-redaction or auto-delete based on labels

This turns SharePoint into a governed, compliant repository instead of an uncontrolled storage space.

Real Examples of PII (Personal Data) Labeling in SharePoint

Example 1 — Employee onboarding form with address + SSN
Strac applies a “High Sensitivity – PII” label automatically.

Example 2 — Customer list spreadsheet
Names, emails, and phone numbers trigger a PII classification tag.

Example 3 — Scanned ID document uploaded to OneDrive
OCR detects ID numbers and applies the correct label.

Example 4 — Contract with addresses and personal details
Strac labels the PDF and updates metadata instantly.

Each label is logged for audit readiness.

Why Strac Is the Best Way to Label PII (Personal Data) in SharePoint

• Automatic PII classification across SharePoint + OneDrive
• AI + OCR detection for images, scans, PDFs, spreadsheets
• Works with Microsoft Purview sensitivity labels
• Real-time + historical scanning
• Zero-agent deployment
• Full audit trails for compliance teams
• Supports GDPR, CCPA, HIPAA, FERPA, GLBA, and more

Spicy FAQs on How to Label PII (Personal Data) in SharePoint

Does SharePoint automatically label PII?

No. SharePoint cannot detect personal data and therefore cannot auto-label it.

Can Strac label PII inside images and scanned IDs?

Yes. OCR extracts PII and applies the correct labels.

Can labels trigger automated actions?

Yes. Labels can trigger redaction, blocking, deletion, or alerts.

Does Strac support Microsoft Purview?

Yes. Strac can automatically initiate Purview labels after detecting PII.

Can Strac label historical documents?

Yes. Strac can scan and label all existing content across libraries.

Try Strac for SharePoint PII (Personal Data) Labeling & DLP

Strac helps you automatically detect, classify, and label personal data (PII) across SharePoint libraries, folders, and synced OneDrive locations—ensuring data governance, privacy compliance, and complete visibility.