💡 Our Technical Review in summary
Summary
- Microsoft is retiring the Azure AD (Entra ID) Account Linking feature for Microsoft Rewards.
- This feature previously allowed users to connect a work or school account with a personal Microsoft Account (MSA) to earn rewards points for search activity performed while signed in with their organizational credentials.
- The retirement process begins on February 17, 2026, with full removal of the capability scheduled for March 19, 2026.
Impact
- Users: After March 19, 2026, users will no longer be able to link their work accounts to personal MSAs for Microsoft Rewards. Entry points for this feature will be removed from Bing, Microsoft Edge, MSN, and the Microsoft 365 Admin Center.
- Reward Points: Existing point balances in personal Microsoft Accounts are unaffected. Users can continue to earn points through their personal accounts independently.
- Administrators: There is no technical impact on tenant security or data access. No admin controls, configuration changes, or policy updates are required as the feature is being deprecated at the service level.
- Service Visibility: Related settings will disappear from the Microsoft 365 Admin Center and browser interfaces once the removal is complete.
Action Required
- Helpdesk Readiness: Inform support and helpdesk teams about the retirement to address potential user inquiries regarding missing rewards points or the inability to link accounts.
- Documentation Update: Review and update internal training materials, onboarding guides, or FAQ documents that reference earning Microsoft Rewards via work accounts or Bing/Edge integration.
- User Communication: If your organization actively encouraged the use of this feature, consider sending a brief notification to users explaining that while the linking is being retired, their existing personal reward points remain safe.
Microsoft Official Update
Service: N/A
Category: planForChange
Severity: normal
[Introduction]
Microsoft is retiring the Azure AD Account Linking feature that allowed users to connect a work (Azure AD) account with a personal Microsoft account (MSA) to earn Microsoft Rewards points for Bing search activity performed while signed in with a work account.
[When this will happen:]
- February 17, 2026: the feature is retired.
- March 19, 2026 (30 days from this notice): the capability will be fully removed.
[How this affects your organization:]
Who is affected:
- Users who previously linked an Azure AD account to Microsoft Rewards
- Organizations where users sign in to Bing, Edge, MSN, or Microsoft 365 with a work account
What will happen:
- Users can no longer link Azure AD accounts to Microsoft Rewards after March 19, 2026.
- Account linking entry points will be removed from Bing, Edge, MSN, and the Microsoft 365 Admin Center.
- Existing Microsoft Rewards point balances are not affected.
- Personal Microsoft accounts continue to work as usual when used independently.
- No admin controls, configuration changes, or policy updates are required.
[What you can do to prepare:]
- No action is required from administrators,
- Inform helpdesk teams of the change,
- Update any internal documentation that references earning Microsoft Rewards while signed in with a work account
[Compliance considerations:]
| Question | Explanation |
|---|---|
| Does the change modify or retire an existing capability? | The Azure AD Account Linking feature for Microsoft Rewards is being retired and will no longer be available. |
| Does the change allow users to enable or disable the feature themselves? | After the feature is removed, users will no longer be able to enable Azure AD account linking for Microsoft Rewards. |
