This new feature makes it possible to create private channels, allowing you to limit who has access to the channel and its content.
A great security update has been made to Microsoft Teams. If you use Teams, you are familiar with the ability to create channels. Previously, any member of a team could see all the channels, regardless of content or need for security.
With this new update, it is now possible to create private channels, which allows you to limit who has access to the channel and its content. The user must be a member of the team to be added to a private channel.
Why use a private channel? Basically, in any situation where you want to limit collaboration to those who have a need to know or if you want to facilitate communication between a group of people assigned to a specific project, without having to create an additional team to manage.
What You Need to Know About Private Channels
- Only members of the channel will see the channel. It will appear in their channel list with a lock next to it.
- You need to know at the outset if a channel should be private or not. It’s not possible to make a standard channel private and vice-versa.
- A private channel comes with its own SharePoint site.
- Up to 250 people can be added to a private channel.
How to Create a Private Channel
When adding a new channel, there is now a “Privacy” option. The default is Standard, where everyone on the team has access. Change Privacy to Private and you will have the option to add specific team members to this channel. Again, only members of the private channel will be able to see and access the channel.
This new update hopefully will expand the functionality for teams as it allows for privacy and better security within a team.
For more in-depth information on private channels, please to the link below.