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

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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...

Microsoft Teams: Enable transcription policy by default

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Microsoft is about to update its Teams default policy settings for transcription services. Previously, transcription was turned off by default for new tenants. With this update, transcription will be enabled by default for new global policies created for new tenants. This change aims to streamline the adoption of transcription and enhance the use of AI features within Teams.

For tenants without customized policies, the new default settings will apply, impacting these tenants by enabling transcription by default. However, tenants with customized policies for user-level or group-level assignments will remain unaffected by this change. This update aligns transcription with the default policy for recording, which is also enabled by default in the Teams admin center. The update applies to Teams for Windows desktop and Teams for Mac desktop.

Although existing policies will not be changed, admins are advised to familiar themselves with the new settings and apply them if needed (or wanted) in the organization. The policies will be available as part of the regular Teams policies found in the Teams Admin Center. 

This update is associated with the Roadmap ID 468282 and should be complete by the end of March.