- Which sign-in methods are allowed — Microsoft 365 only, or Microsoft 365 and email-based “Magic Link” sign-in.
- Whether other Microsoft 365 users from your company are allowed to create their own absentify workspaces — only relevant if you’ve restricted sign-in to Microsoft only.
A few terms used on this page
- Microsoft 365 sign-in — your team signs in with the same work account they use for Outlook, Teams, OneDrive, etc. (sometimes called a “Microsoft work or school account”).
- Magic Link — instead of a password, the user types their email address and absentify emails them a one-time login code, valid for 15 minutes. They enter the code on the sign-in page. Outside Microsoft Teams, the same email also contains a button that signs them in directly.
- Microsoft tenant — Microsoft’s word for “your company” inside Microsoft 365. When your IT department set up Microsoft 365 (e.g.
@yourcompany.com), Microsoft created a tenant for you. Everyone with a@yourcompany.comwork account belongs to the same tenant.
Allowed sign-in methods
Open the Allowed sign-in methods dropdown to select between two options.Microsoft only
Only Microsoft 365 sign-in is allowed. This is the recommended choice for organizations that want the full Microsoft experience.- Recommended for production use with the full Microsoft 365 experience.
- Enables automatic Outlook calendar sync and out-of-office replies.
- Anyone without a working Microsoft 365 account cannot sign in.
- Newly invited users have to sign in with Microsoft.
You can't switch to Microsoft only while users still sign in with Magic Link
You can't switch to Microsoft only while users still sign in with Magic Link
If any active user still signs in via Magic Link and hasn’t linked a Microsoft account, absentify shows a red warning with the number of affected users and refuses to save the change. Select View affected users in the warning to open a list showing every affected person’s name and email so you know exactly who still needs to link their Microsoft account. To switch:
- Each affected user opens their personal sign-in settings and links their Microsoft account.
- Once nobody is left on Magic Link, you can save the change.
"Microsoft only" doesn't grant Microsoft permissions on its own
"Microsoft only" doesn't grant Microsoft permissions on its own
Selecting Microsoft only only controls who can sign in. It does not automatically give absentify permission to read calendars, send out-of-office replies, or sync Teams groups.To unlock those advanced features, your IT department still needs to grant the matching permissions in Microsoft 365. See Microsoft Integration for the full permission walkthrough, plus dedicated guides for Calendar synchronization and Automatic out-of-office replies.
Users with non-Microsoft email addresses lose access
Users with non-Microsoft email addresses lose access
If someone signs in via Magic Link because they don’t have a Microsoft 365 account (e.g. a freelancer with a Gmail address), they have no way to sign in once you restrict the workspace to Microsoft only. Make sure every user has a valid Microsoft 365 account first.
Both (Microsoft & Magic Link)
Users can sign in either with their Microsoft 365 account or with a Magic Link sent to their email.- Maximum flexibility — works for companies whose team members don’t all have Microsoft 365.
- Each user picks their preferred method on first sign-in.
- A good fit for trial periods or mixed setups.
Magic Link users miss out on Microsoft-only features
Magic Link users miss out on Microsoft-only features
The following features rely on Microsoft 365 sign-in. Users who sign in with Magic Link won’t have them:
- Automatic Outlook calendar synchronization (they get an iCal email invitation instead, which they can add to any calendar manually).
- Automatic sync of public holidays into the Outlook calendar.
- Automatic Outlook out-of-office replies.
- Automatic sync with Microsoft Teams and Microsoft 365 groups (Microsoft’s user directory, sometimes called Entra ID).
- Automatic manager and reporting-line sync from Microsoft 365.
- Group calendar and public-holiday sync.
- Automatic absence sync to timeghost.
- Azure AI integration.
Other people from your company can create their own workspaces
Other people from your company can create their own workspaces
While Both (Microsoft & Magic Link) is selected, anyone from your Microsoft tenant — or with the same email domain — can sign up at app.absentify.com. They will create their own separate workspace instead of joining yours. absentify shows an inline hint under the dropdown explaining this. To prevent it, switch to Microsoft only and turn on the toggle described in Prevent workspace creation for same tenant.
Recommended rollout
A common path looks like this:- Trial: Start with Both (Microsoft & Magic Link) so colleagues can try absentify without involving IT.
- IT approval: Get the Microsoft 365 integration approved by your IT department.
- Production: Switch to Microsoft only to unlock the full automation.
- Migration: Anyone still on Magic Link can switch to Microsoft anytime in their personal sign-in settings.
Prevent workspace creation for same tenant
This toggle controls whether other people from your Microsoft tenant — i.e. colleagues with@yourcompany.com work accounts — can create their own absentify workspace, separate from yours.
The toggle is only visible when “Microsoft only” is the selected sign-in method. With Both (Microsoft & Magic Link) selected, sign-in isn’t tied to a Microsoft tenant in the first place, so this restriction has no effect and the toggle is hidden.
-
Enabled — Users from your tenant must be invited into the existing workspace. They will not see an option to create a new workspace when they sign in. This is the right choice when you want all employees from the same Microsoft 365 organization to land in one shared workspace, with no accidental duplicates.
If other workspaces from your organization already exist, absentify will ask you to resolve those conflicts first before you can turn this toggle on.
- Disabled — Anyone from your Microsoft tenant who isn’t yet part of your workspace can visit app.absentify.com, sign in, and choose between joining an existing workspace or creating a new one.