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Types of Teams Channels

Channels are dedicated sections within a team to keep conversations and files organized by specific topics, projects, disciplines and more! Files that you share in a channel, or upload to your Team files area will be stored in SharePoint.

There are 3 types of channels that you can create based on your

  • Private Channels limit the number of users who have access or see a channel within the team. So subsections of the Team members can collaborate on particular projects or responsibilities without the rest of the team getting notifications.
  • Shared Channels can allow you to collaborate with other teams and share files, have conversations and more.
  • Standard Channels allow any member of the team to collaborate, and update projects, or start and reply to conversations within the channel.

Channel Feature Comparison

FeaturesStandard ChannelPrivate ChannelShared Channel
People can be added to the channel without adding them to the teamNoNoYes
Channel membership can be limited to a subset of the teamNoYesYes
Channel can be shared directly with other teamsNoNoYes
Channel can be shared directly with it’s parent teamN/ANOYes
Guests can participate in the channelYesYesNo
External Participants (B2B Direct Connect) can participate in the channelNoNoYes
ModerationYesNoNo
Copy link to channelYesNoNo
Each channel has a dedicated SharePoint SiteNoYesYes
Scheduled MeetingsYesNoYes
PlannerYesNoNo
Bots, connectors, and messaging extensionsYesNoNo
Supported in Class TeamsYesYesNo
TagsYesNoNo
AnalyticsYesYesNo
Comparison of Teams features for each channel type

Channel Policies

PolicyDescription
Create Private ChannelsWhen On, team owners and members can create private channels. (Team owners can control if members can create private channels in each team.)
Create Shared ChannelsWhen On, team owners can create shared channels. Teams apps that are available for your organization are also available in shared channels.
Invite external users to shared channelsWhen On, owners and members of shared channels can invite external participants from organizations where a cross-organization trust has been configured. Teams policies for your organization apply to these channels.
Join external shared channelsWhen On, users can participate in shared channels created by other organizations where a cross-organization trust has been configured. Teams policies for the other organization apply to these channels.
policies available for teams channels
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