Microsoft is unlocking the "Full Potential" of Private Channels in Microsoft Teams: What You Need to Know

It has been a while since I posted something just about a Microsoft Teams update, as a lot have been Copilot in Teams to be honest. But here is a real Microsoft Teams update I think is worth knowing about, and it involves Security and Compliance as well. Microsoft is rolling out a "major" update to private channels in Teams, starting in late September 2025 and continuing through mid-December. This biggest change in this update is a shift in how private channel data is stored from individual user mailboxes to a dedicated channel mailbox. Not only will this simplifie compliance management, it will also and align private channels with shared channels, making governance and experience more consistent across Teams. This update promises to increase the support up to 1000 channels per team and 5000 members per channel, removing previous limitations. Teams will also allow meetings to be scheduled directly within private channels, enhancing collaboration.  For organizations using Micr...

A couple of favorite news about the world of Teams - Week 20

Unless you disconnected yourself from the Internet last week, you probably already heard my first item this week. A much awaited "Direct Routing for Teams" has now been released for public preview. So if you have a certified SBC, a O365 tenant and PSTN infrastructure in your environment, it's time to sign up to skypepreview.com if you want to test PSTN in Teams and can't make use of Microsoft's own offerings. Guides available from Audicodes and Ribbon

Also rolling out as of last week, are a set of new meeting policies for a more granular control. here are some of the new policies available:

  1.  Allow Channel Meeting Scheduling (MeetingPolicy)
  2.  Allow Private Meeting Scheduling (MeetingPolicy)
  3.  Allow channel ad-hoc meet ups (MeetingPolicy)
  4.  Enable Screen Sharing (MeetingPolicy)
  5.  Allow IP Video (MeetingPolicy)
  6.  Allow Anonymous Users to Dial Out (MeetingPolicy)
  7.  Recording Policy implementation
There is an update to retention polices, ensuring that new code is rolled out to clients that will prune data older than 30 days. Then the min value for retention is also 30 days.

The list of great keyboard shortcuts keep getting longer and better. For a comprehensive look, check out the official documentation for both PC and Mac

This is a big one, I personally am really looking forward to see it in real action. Say hello to the Surface Hub 2