Data protection in Microsoft Teams

Microsoft Teams has become the heart of modern collaboration – whether in the office, in the home office or in hybrid models. But in order for you to be able to use the various functions safely, a clean configuration of the settings and policies is mandatory. This is the only way to guarantee that the protection of personal data is maintained at all times.

In the following sections, I will show you in detail how to set up Microsoft Teams in compliance with data protection regulations and master the often difficult balancing act:

• Maximum safety: Consistent protection of personal data and compliance.
• High user-friendliness: A secure environment that doesn’t restrict your users, but supports them.

Note on the new interface: The articles explicitly refer to the new Microsoft Teams admin center user interface . Since Microsoft has significantly revised the navigation and arrangement of the menus, the steps here look a little different than usual.

Overview of all articles | “Teams Settings“:

👉 Get the guide: Microsoft Teams | Settings – Teams and channels
👉 Get the guide: Microsoft Teams | Settings – External Collaboration
👉 Get the guide: Microsoft Teams | Settings – Apps
👉 About the guide: Microsoft Teams | Settings – Messages
👉 About the guide: Microsoft Teams | Settings – Emergency
👉 Get the guide: Microsoft Teams | Settings – Advanced Encryption

For orientation: From the old view, to the switch dialog, to the new interface.

Settings and policies

1. Teams and channels

In this area, you lay the foundation for your Teams environment. Here you define globally how teams may be created, found and used.

• Teams: Here you define the global rules of the game. Are users allowed to find private teams in the search? Are shared channels allowed? This is where you set the course for data protection and governance.
• Team Templates: Ensure uniform structures instead of uncontrolled growth. Curate the list of templates your users can see when creating new teams (and hide unnecessary ones).
• Teams update management: Manage the innovation cycle. Determine which “Power Users” get access to new preview features to test before the broad rollout.
• Migrate to Teams: A relic for admins with legacy issues. This is where hybrid scenarios and the completion of the move from Skype for Business to Teams are managed.

👉 Get the guide: Microsoft Teams | Settings – Teams and channels

2. External collaboration

Here you decide on the balance between isolation and cooperation. Define exactly how secure and open your digital company boundaries are for partners and customers.

• Guest access: The classic for external visitors (via tenant switch). Be granular about what guests can do in your teams, from screen sharing in meetings to using Giphys in chat.
• B2B Member Access: The modern way of networking (e.g. via shared channels). Set the rules of the game for external partners who work seamlessly with your employees without changing clients – all the way to using Copilot.

👉 Get the guide: Microsoft Teams | Settings – External Collaboration

3. Apps

This is where you design the digital workplace of your users. Don’t just decide what’s allowed, but how it’s presented.

• App Setup Policies: Act as the architect of the user interface. Centrally control which apps (e.g., intranet, files, or shifts) are pinned to the sidebar, so you can create short click paths instead of search chaos.

👉 Get the guide: Microsoft Teams | Settings – Apps

Meetings & Events

Here you define the rules of the game for your meeting culture. Determine how meetings work, what they look like, and who can attend.

• Audio Conference: Manage the classic dial-in so that colleagues can participate stably even when they are on the road or when the connection is poor.
• Reviews: The heart of the collaboration. Centrally regulate the “Who is allowed to do what?”: Who has to wait in the waiting area? Are recordings and transcripts allowed? Here you balance security and openness.
• Designs & Customization: Show the flag. Add logos and custom backgrounds for the waiting area to give your meetings a professional corporate look.
• Meeting templates: Standardize instead of chaos. Create fixed templates (e.g., for “Confidential Calls” or “Project Updates”) that automatically enforce the appropriate security options.
• Events & Webinars: For the big stage. Manage settings for town halls and live events where you reach hundreds of viewers, and centrally control interactions like Q&A.

🚧 This guide is currently still in progress! (Coming soon)

5. News

This is where you define the “vibe” and security of your communication.

• Message Settings: Find the balance between casual chat culture (Giphys, stickers, custom emojis) and necessary compliance (deleting/editing messages). In addition, you can activate essential protective shields such as “Safe Links” to block phishing attacks directly in the chat.

👉 Get the guide: Microsoft Teams | Settings – Messages

6. Voice

Here you can turn Teams into a full-fledged telephone system. Control the routing, identity, and experience of your callers.

• Calling & Voicemail: The basics. Determine who is allowed to make external calls, how calls are forwarded and whether the digital answering machine (including transcription) is active.
• On-hold music (call hold): Avoid silence on the phone. Define the music or announcement that callers hear when they are parked briefly.
• Caller ID: Mask internal extensions. Centrally determine whether the personal number, the service hotline or “Anonymous” is displayed for outgoing calls.
• Dial Plans & Routing: The technology in the background. Normalize dial plans and control which lines (Direct Routing / Operator Connect) are used to make calls.
• Shared Calling: Save costs and numbers. Allow user groups to share a line instead of assigning each user their own expensive extension.
• Mobility & Voice Applications: Integrate mobile numbers directly into Teams (Teams Phone Mobile) and delegate the management of queues to the specialist departments so that they can maintain their own announcements.

🚧 This guide is currently still in progress! (Coming soon)

7. Emergency

This area is essential for the safety of your employees and regulatory compliance with Teams telephony.

• Emergency call: Set up the alarm chain. Determine which numbers (112, 110) trigger an emergency call and automatically inform internal departments (e.g. security or reception) as soon as someone calls for help.
• Forwarding of emergency calls: The ambulance has to go to the right location. Configure routing so that emergency calls are routed directly to the local control center based on the user’s current location (office, branch).

👉 Get the guide: Microsoft Teams | Settings – Emergency

8. Advanced Encryption

Here you activate the digital safe for absolutely confidential conversations.

• Advanced encryption settings: Protect sensitive content (e.g., board-level) with end-to-end encryption (E2EE). This applies to 1:1 calls and – with Teams Premium – also to meetings. Note, however, that if you want maximum security, you have to do without comfort features such as recording or transcription.

👉 Get the guide: Microsoft Teams | Settings – Advanced Encryption

This post is also available in: Deutsch English