Permission & Access Issues

How to Configure SharePoint Online Audience Targeting and News Digests

Olivia Miller Oct 10, 2026 871 views

Question details

The user needs to understand how audience targeting controls the visibility of news digests in SharePoint Online and whether it prevents unauthorized users from accessing the content.

How to Manage Audience Targeting and News Digests in SharePoint Online

Product: Microsoft SharePoint Online
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: Configuring news digests and audience targeting to control content visibility for specific user groups.
Observed behavior: Audience targeting hides news links from non-audience members but does not restrict actual access to the content, requiring separate site permissions for true security.

Before you start

Ensure you have Site Owner or Full Control permissions in your SharePoint Online environment. You will need these rights to modify site contents, configure news web parts, and adjust user access permissions.

Solution 1Recommended

Configure Audience Targeting and Security Permissions Properly

Use audience targeting to personalize news feeds for specific groups, and apply strict security permissions to restrict actual access to the content.

Audience targeting in SharePoint is designed to highlight relevant content for specific groups (like Audience A or B), not to secure it. If a user receives a direct link to a news post they are not targeted for, they can still open it unless security permissions explicitly block them.

To ensure that sensitive news posts are only accessible to authorized users, you must configure item-level or site-level permissions in addition to enabling audience targeting.

Enable audience targeting

Navigate to your SharePoint Site Pages library, click on the Settings gear icon, select Library settings, and toggle the option to enable audience targeting.

Target specific news posts

Create or edit a news page, open the Page details pane, and specify the target Microsoft 365 groups or Azure AD groups in the Audience field.

Set strict security permissions

To secure the content, manage access on the specific news page by removing permissions for users who should not view it. Users without permissions will receive an 'Access Denied' message if they attempt to open the link.

Configure Audience Targeting and Security Permissions Properly

News Digest Visibility: When generating a news digest, links are generally hidden from recipients who are not in the target audience. However, audience targeting cannot replace actual security permissions to prevent unauthorized access.

Free Microsoft Office alternative

Boost Your Team's Productivity with WPS Office

While SharePoint handles your intranet and news digests, WPS Office provides a free, lightweight, and user-friendly suite for creating the documents, spreadsheets, and presentations you share across your organization.

1. Download and Install: Get the free WPS Office installer from the official website and complete the lightweight setup process.
2. Create Office Documents: Open WPS Office to create documents, spreadsheets, and presentations using a familiar tabbed interface.
3. Save and Upload: Save your files in standard Microsoft formats (like .docx, .xlsx) and upload them directly to your SharePoint document libraries.

Create and edit Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint documents locally before distributing them via SharePoint.Fully compatible with all Microsoft Office file formats, ensuring your files look perfect when shared.Free, lightweight, and features a familiar user interface for a seamless migration with no steep learning curve.

microsoft office alternative - wps office

Frequently Asked Questions

Can audience targeting prevent users from accessing a SharePoint news post?

No. Audience targeting only hides the link from the news web part or news digest. If a user obtains the direct URL, they can still open it. You must configure site or item permissions to restrict actual access.

Will non-targeted users see targeted news links in a SharePoint news digest email?

Generally, audience targeting ensures that only members of the specified audience see the targeted links in the news digest email. However, Microsoft advises not to rely on this feature as a strict security measure.

How do I manage who can securely access my SharePoint site and news posts?

Click the gear icon in the top right of your SharePoint site, select 'Site permissions,' and assign users or groups to the appropriate permission levels (such as Visitors, Members, or Owners) to control actual access to the site content.

Document & File Issues