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

on
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...

Data Lifecycle Management: Separate Copilot retention policies from Teams chats

on

In a previous post I mentioned how Microsoft is adding the capability to use Purview Data Loss Prevention on Copilot to block certain information from surfacing for the user.

Now, Microsoft is adding Copilot to it's retention policy controls, and starting mid-February, public preview tenants can start exploringthis new feature.

Admins will be able to create separate retention policies for Microsoft Teams chats and Microsoft 365 Copilot interactions, and allows for a more tailored data management. The feature will of course require that the targeted users have Microsoft 365 Copilot license. 

According to the message center, the public preview will be during February, and we can hope for a general release sometime in March. The feature will be available by default, but policies will have to be set up.