New Feature in Microsoft Teams: Forwarding Messages to and from Channels

on
An upcoming Microsoft Teams feature will allow users to forward posts and reply messages to and from channels, enhancing collaboration by reducing limitations on the type of content that can be forwarded.  Change for users: Currently, users cannot forward messages to and from channels. With this new feature, users can select the three-dot More actions menu on any channel post or reply message and choose Forward. In the Forward this message dialog box, users can select any destination chat or channel, with channels now included in the people picker. Admin Impact: This feature will be enabled by default. Admins can control message forwarding for individual teams or at the tenant level using sensitivity labels control data important to the organization. If a sensitivity label is applied, message forwarding will be disabled, blocking users from sharing content outside the channel. The feature will according to the Roadmap ID 469508 be rolling out in January or February 2025.

Sensitivity labels in Teams

on
A new feature for Sensitivity labels in Azure AD will soon be available to Teams, and can really ensure guests are not invited accidentally into a team with internal or sensitive information.

The feature behind this is currently in preview and can be found described on this page. After the preview has been enabled, a new option appears when labels are created (I have not discovered a way to update existing labels, but I'm hoping this will be a possibility once the feature goes into GA).

By not selecting the highlighted option, it suddenly becomes "impossible" to invite guests to the Team, the site or the group in question.

Please note the current defaults on the image was to not to allow any guests, and the section on managed devices was to block all non-compliant. Be careful not to set policies that could possibly block users from doing their job.

Once the label has been created, it can must be published before group creators have the labels available to them. Existing groups and teams can also have this label added once it is available.

This addition, described as road-map item 57275, is a most welcomed one for my customers who are concerned about the accidental addition of guests into groups or teams where they have sensitive information stored.

The feature requires Azure AD P1 licenses. It is already rolling out, and should be completed by the end of this year according to a message in the O365 admin portal last week.