How to disable the creation of private and shared channels in Microsoft Teams

Some time ago, I introduced you to various channels we have in Microsoft Teams. This post specifically focuses on the two channel types we have in Teams: Private Channels and Shared Channels. Both channels allow for secure conversations and file storage for a subset of users in a given Team.

While great in theory, they do create separate workspaces and SharePoint sites behind the scenes. And in some organizations or use cases, you might not necessarily want to create those separate areas and would like to leave all the content easily accessible by users and administrators. So in such cases, we need to prevent the ability to create Private and Shared Channels, and that is exactly what this article is all about.

The issues with Private and Shared channels…

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To disable private channel creation in Microsoft Teams, you will need to use the Microsoft Teams admin center. Here's how to do it:

1. Go to the Microsoft Teams admin center by signing in to the Office 365 admin center and navigating to the "Teams and Teams policies” section.
2. In the left navigation menu, click on "Org-wide settings."
3. Scroll down to the "Private channels" section.
4. Select the option to "Disable private channel creation."
5. Click the "Save" button to apply the changes.
6. After you have disabled private channel creation, team members will no longer be able to create new private channels. However, any existing private channels will still be accessible to the team members who are members of those channels.

What is Microsoft Teams Shared ?

Microsoft Teams Shared channels are a feature that allows organizations to collaborate with external organizations or teams within their organization in a secure and structured way. Shared channels allow users to share files, hold meetings, and communicate with each other in a shared space within Microsoft Teams.

Shared channels can be created between two organizations or between teams within the same organization. When a shared channel is created, members from both organizations or teams can access the shared channel and collaborate as if they were all in the same organization. Shared channels can be accessed from the Microsoft Teams desktop or web app, as well as from mobile devices.

Microsoft Teams private channels are a feature that allows members of a

Microsoft Teams team to create a channel that is only visible to a specific group of people within the team. Private channels can be created by team owners or members who have been granted the appropriate permissions by the team owner.

Private channels are useful for situations where a team needs to have a conversation or share files that are not relevant to the entire team. For example, a team may want to create a private channel for a specific project or for a subgroup of team members who are working on a specific task.

It's important to note that private channels are only visible to members of the team who have been added to the channel. They are not visible to people outside of the team, even if those people are members of other teams within the same organization. This helps to ensure that sensitive or confidential information remains secure within the private channel.