Collaborate securely with guests in a Team

How to Collaborate securely with guests in a Team

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In this “Collaborate securely with guests in a Team” article, we will learn about how to collaborate securely with Guests in Microsoft Teams. Microsoft has made it easy to collaborate using familiar teamwork tools such as Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and OneNote. But now it’s making it even easier for you to collaborate without compromising security or control by introducing guest access to Teams.

The benefit of this feature is that you can enable real-time collaboration and document or screen sharing. Besides that, you can activate the recording of meetings, enforce two-factor authentication (2FA), and inspect devices to make sure they meet your organization’s standards.

In other words, you can now collaborate securely with anyone in Microsoft Teams. The platform makes it easy to protect you and all the other contributors, but we will explain it a bit deeper in this article. Let’s see how you can collaborate safely with guests in Microsoft Teams. 

Add guests to a Microsoft Teams chat or call – Collaborate securely with guests in a Team

It is very simple to add guests to your chat or call. Just open the conversation of your choice, click on the ‘settings’ button (the one with the three dots) at the top right corner of that window and then choose ‘add guest’. 

It will ask for confirmation before proceeding. As a team administrator, you can disable this feature and allow or deny guest access. That’s right – now you can easily control guest access in Microsoft Teams. 

How to share files and folders with guests in Microsoft Teams – Collaborate securely with guests in a Team

As we already mentioned, it is possible to collaborate via file sharing in Microsoft Teams. If you want to share files or folders with guests, you need to perform the following procedure: 

  • Add a guest to your chat or call. 
  • Click on the ‘settings’ button (the three dots) and choose ‘share files’.
  • Now select one of your shared folders or create a new one. 
  • Click on the ‘share’ button and select guest access. 

When a guest tries to open or edit files or folders shared with them, they’ll be prompted for their email address. The team member who shared the content will receive an email invitation that can be accepted or declined by that guest. 

Record meetings with guests in Microsoft Teams

Just like sharing files, you have the option to allow guests to be recorded during a meeting. To enable this feature, do as follows: 

  • Click ‘settings’ and choose ‘record meetings’.
  • Now switch the toggle to the ‘on’ position and select guests.
  • Click on the ‘record meetings’ button and choose ‘start recording’ 
  • Once again, a prompt will appear for all guests in a chat or call to agree with being recorded. 

If they do, they’ll be added to the list of those who can be recorded.

How to inspect guest devices in Microsoft Teams

If you want to make sure the computers and mobile devices used by guests to join your chat or call meet your organization’s standards, you can use a free service called Microsoft AutoUpdate for Business. 

This tool is available from the Office Store and will give you the opportunity to inspect devices used in Microsoft Teams by guests. Once activated, it will perform automatic updates on these devices so they meet your company’s security standards. 

Using guest access in Microsoft Teams you can collaborate securely with anyone, even if they are not part of your organization. This feature is particularly useful for consultants who will be working closely with the company’s representatives on projects where sensitive information needs to be shared.

Restrict guest access to specific chats or calls in Teams

If you are using Microsoft Teams, you have the option to allow or deny guest access. If your organization prefers that guests don’t have access to all chats and calls, you should open the channel or private chat where you wish to block or accept guest requests. 

Then click on the ‘settings’ button and select ‘manage guest access’. On the dialog box that appears, you can choose to block or allow guest requests for the specific chat or call where you are. You can also see a list of all your guests and their status (blocked or allowed).

How to revoke access from a guest in Teams?

When you need to revoke guest access from someone you’ve previously given the ability to join chats or calls, you can do it in a few clicks. Go to the ‘manage guest access’ dialog box and click on the ‘revoke access’ button next to that person’s name.

How to allow multiple guests in Microsoft Teams

By default, only one guest can join a chat or call at a time. If you want more than one guest to be able to join the same channel or private chat, you can change this setting by following these instructions: 

  • Click on the ‘settings’ button and choose ‘manage guest access’.
  • Now select the option ‘add guest with video’ and click ‘save’. 

Microsoft Teams will only allow multiple guests when there is at least one person in a chat who already has access. 

Add your organization’s phone number (on mobile)

If you need someone from your organization to be able to call a guest from within Microsoft Teams, without having to give them your number, you can add a company phone number in the settings of the app. Here’s how:

  • Open the menu and click on ‘settings’.
  • Click on ‘company phone’ and enter your organization’s number. 
  • Save changes by clicking on the ‘save’ button.

The procedure is as simple as that.

Delete B2B accounts of guests who are not active

From time to time, you will have to delete a guest account from your organization’s Microsoft Teams. However, if they are still active in another chat or call (or even part of one), deleting the account would also block their access throughout all these channels. 

As an alternative, try using the ‘inactive guests’ function to identify which accounts you could safely delete. Follow these steps to utilize this option:

  • Go to the ‘manage guest access’ section of your Microsoft Teams settings. 
  • Click on ‘inactive guests’. 
  • You will see a list of all your guests with their status (active or inactive). 
  • Select the accounts you want to delete and click on ‘delete’.

 Use sensitivity labels to restrict guest access to specific chats or calls – Collaborate securely with guests in a Team

If you are using Microsoft Teams, your organization can set rules for who is allowed to join chats and calls. Sensitivity labels allow administrators to restrict guest access to channels or private chats with certain content. These labels include:

  • Company Confidential: Visible only by employees of the specific company
  • Internal use only: Visible by anyone with the link, but only employees of the specific company can join
  • Private: Visible by anyone with the link and password, and also any Microsoft Teams user outside your organization.

These sensitivity labels restrict guest access to certain channels or private chats, depending on how you set up these settings. 

Conclusion – Collaborate securely with guests in a Team

Microsoft Teams is a powerful collaboration platform that you can use for projects and conversations inside and outside of your organization. That’s why the platform offers users a handful of features to maximize security. Let’s wrap up and see the key takeaways:

  • Add guests to a Microsoft Teams chat or call
  • Share files and folders with guests in Microsoft Teams
  • Record meetings with guests in Microsoft Teams
  • Inspect guest devices in Microsoft Teams
  • Restrict guest access to specific chats or calls
  • Revoke access from a guest
  • Allow multiple guests in Microsoft Teams
  • Add your organization’s phone number
  • Delete B2B accounts of guests who are not active
  • Use sensitivity labels to restrict guest access to specific chats or calls

With these functions at your disposal, Microsoft Teams becomes a much better collaboration tool. Make sure to use them – it will take your work to a whole new level.

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Do you want to set up your Microsoft Teams and manage it following Microsoft standards? Here is our eBook – Microsoft Teams Administration eBook

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