Sway is a Microsoft 365 app that helps you and your colleagues express ideas using an interactive, web-based canvas. Sway's design engine helps you quickly and easily produce professional, interactive, and visually appealing designs from images, text, documents, videos, maps, and more. You can also modify the results to get the unique look and feel you want. Sway makes your creation look great in any browser, on any screen, and you can share it with your customers and colleagues by simply sending a link.
This article answers frequently asked questions from admins about Sway. Check out Frequently Asked Questions about Sway for end-user info.
What admin controls are there for Sway?
As an admin, you have control over how Sways are created and viewed in your organization. You can enable or disable Sway for individual users, allow or block what content sources can be in Sway, enable or disable external sharing of Sway for people in your organization, and enable or disable people and security-group look-up for people in your organization. You can even reassign Sways from a deleted account.
Check out Administrator settings for Sway for more details.
What's the difference between the consumer version of Sway and Sway for Microsoft 365?
The Sway creation experience looks and feels the same whether you’re logged in with a Microsoft account or a Microsoft 365 work or school account. Sway is still your digital design assistant no matter how you use it. However, there are some differences including premium features when you log in with a Microsoft 365 work or school account:
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Content sources in the Insert tab are tailored for Microsoft 365 commercial users.
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By default, Sways can only be viewed by others in your organization.
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Built-in sharing options are scoped for Microsoft 365 commercial use.
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Microsoft 365 admins can control turning Sway on or off for individual users, as well as disable external sharing of Sway for people in the organization.
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Ability to add password protection to Sways.
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Ability to add more content into the Sway.
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Ability to remove the Sway informational footer.
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Ability to add a logo to the Sway title.
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Ability to view more advanced analytics.
How does my Microsoft 365 subscription and license work with Sway?
Sway is available in many plans for Microsoft 365. Check out the plans and license info at Available licenses for Microsoft 365 Sway. For Sway to be available to a user, a license with Sway must be assigned to that user and the Sway service plan must be enabled under that license.
Where is data stored in Sway?
Tenants who are located within the EU Data boundary, will have their Sway data stored only in Azure EU data centers. Others might have their Sway data stored in Azure United States or EU datacenters. Sways do not count against your OneDrive for Business storage quota.
For more information, check out the EU Data boundary.
Where is data stored in Sway if I access Sway through another online service?
Even if you access Sway through another online service, the data that you provide through your use of Sway is still stored in Azure EU or US data centers. For more information see, Where is data stored in Sway?
If customers migrate their Microsoft tenant to a new tenant, does Sway data migrate automatically?
No, Sway data doesn't migrate automatically. Sway data must be handled separately. There are no admin controls to enable Sway data transfer across tenants. Sway data cannot be reassigned by admin scripts to a user outside tenant, once the user accounts are deleted. Therefore, to avoid data loss, admin must ask users to make a copy of their data before old user accounts are deleted. Users can preserve their data in the following ways:
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They can export Sways as Word, PDF files, and create a new Sway out of the exported files.
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They can share their Sways externally (if their admin allows this), duplicate the shared Sway, and create a new Sway from it in the new tenant.
Note: Creating a new Sway in either of the suggestions above, doesn't preserve the original Sway’s URL, history, and share permissions.
What compliance category does Sway meet?
Sway meets compliance category C. For more info, check out the Microsoft 365 Trust Center.
How does Sway securely store and use my data?
As a customer of Microsoft 365, you own and control your data. Microsoft doesn't use your data for anything other than providing you with the service that you have subscribed for. As a service provider, we do not scan your email, documents, or Sways for advertising or non-service related purposes. Check out more info on our trust and security related information at the Microsoft 365 Trust Center. Sway follows the same guidance/principles as the Microsoft 365 Trust Center.
Does Sway support encryption of data?
Sway currently supports encryption in flight via https and encryption at rest.
What privacy controls are in Sway?
Privacy controls are enabled by default for all customers of Sway and you can turn off and on privacy impacting features to meet the needs of your organization. Sway sets the default sharing level for all new Sways to My Organization. This ensures viewers must be logged in with credentials from your organization to view the Sway. Admins can additionally disable external sharing at the organizational level, so that users can only share Sways they create with people in the organization. Check out Admin settings for Sway.
Where can I get support information and learn more about Sway?
You can find support info about Sway at Office support. You can also find additional help in the Microsoft 365 community. Check out the Microsoft knowledge base article on the Sway tile still appearing on the App Launcher even after its disabled.
You can also check out these other topics about Sway for more info:
