An update coming to Microsoft Teams will help prevent unwanted chats from external users in an effort to boost security in its video conferencing suite.
The entry’s (opens in new tab) title reads: “External access chat invitation flow for managed organizations” which suggests that, for now at least, this change is likely only coming to business users.
As ever, the company keeps information regarding future products close to its chest. However, the description gives a little detail into what we can expect: “When receiving a new one-on-one chat from an external user, Teams users will now see an invitation to accept or block the external user. This also provides the ability to block external users at any point, which revokes access to presence and incoming messages.”
Block external messages with Microsoft Teams
The entry added that the feature is expected to go live with general availability due at some point in August 2022, extending to desktop, mobile and web platforms.
With more and more businesses turning to online collaboration tools, this move is set to make presentations with external guests a lot more slick, helping users to eliminate unwanted messages and maintain focus, while boosting privacy.
Also part of the company’s roadmap destined for an August arrival will be the ability to open pop-ou content in a new window, an update that will help users of dual-monitor setups to view the video call and shared documents, for example, in separate windows.
With most video conferencing suites no offering some form of chat blocking, Microsoft hopes this new feature will give it the one-up it needs in terms of regulating external messages.
