Microsoft Roadmap, messagecenter and blogs updates from 28-01-2026

Updated January 27, 2026: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience. 

 Coming soon for Microsoft Teams: Meeting participants will be able to request an annotation session while someone else is sharing their screen.

This message applies to Teams for Windows desktop and Teams for Mac desktop. (Users can view and annotate in Teams on the web but cannot initiate annotations.)

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 89975.

[When this will happen:]

Targeted Release: We will begin rolling out early March 2026 (previously early February) and expect to complete by late March 2026 (previously mid-February).

General Availability (WW, GCC, GCC High, and DoD): We will begin rolling out late March 2026 (previously mid-February) and expect to complete by late April 2026 (previously late February).

[How this will affect your organization:]

After the rollout, meeting participants who are not sharing their screens will have the ability to request an annotation session. This request will be sent to the presenter sharing their screen who can choose to accept or deny it:

If the request is accepted, the annotation session will start for everyone in the meeting:

Anonymous users in the meeting will not be able to send a request.

This change will be available by default.

[What you need to do to prepare:]

This rollout will happen automatically by the specified dates with no admin action required before the rollout. You may want to notify your users about this change and update any relevant documentation as appropriate.

Learn more: Use annotation while sharing your screen in Microsoft Teams – Microsoft Support (we will update this before rollout)

Watch: How to use Collaborative Annotations in a Microsoft Teams meeting (2022)

Updated January 12, 2026: We have updated the content. Thank you for your patience.

In response to customer feedback, we are introducing enhanced flexibility, greater scalability, and streamlined compliance management for private channels in Microsoft Teams.

Note: It is important for compliance managers to review and take appropriate action before migration starts for these changes to private channels.

[What’s changing?]

Private channels will transition use a channel mailbox instead of individual user mailboxes.

Organizations with compliance policies (retention, legal hold, data loss prevention, or eDiscovery) for private channels must review these policies and must apply policies to the Microsoft 365 group for the channel’s team before migration begins to ensure continuity of the policy for a private channel. Existing policies will continue to apply to user mailboxes; post-migration, new data will be governed by policies on the group. Note that policies applied to the team’s group can apply to all channels in the team.

After the transition to updated private channels in your organization, private channels will be updated as follows.

1. Private channels are no longer limited to 30 per team. Instead, private channels can be added up to the limit of 1000 total channels per team.
2. Private channels can now have up to 5000 members, instead of 250.
3. Meetings can now be scheduled in private channels.
4. Compliance policies for private channels are part of the team’s group policies instead of the individual user level.

The migration of private channels will begin in early October 2025 and continue through February 2026. During this period, private channels will continue to operate normally. Admins and compliance managers should complete any required policy changes by October 2025, before the migration begins. Changes to private channel limits and meeting scheduling will follow in early March 2026.

As part of this change, newly created private channels will not be created with a document library by default; the root folder is used as a default location for any new files.

[When this will happen:]

General Availability (Worldwide): We will begin rolling out private channel migration early October 2025 (previously late September) and expect to complete by February 2026. Updated channel limits and meeting scheduling will complete in March 2026.

[Action required by compliance managers and admins]

1. Purview eDiscovery and Legal Hold

With this change, private channel data will move from user mailboxes to the group mailbox, aligning with how shared channels data is stored. Previously, legal holds were applied to user mailboxes since private channel data resided in each member’s mailbox. Post-migration, the latest version of private channel message data from each user’s mailbox is moved to the private channel’s group mailbox. Message edits and deleted messages will not be copied into the group mailbox.

Note: For users on hold, copies of message edits and deleted messages will remain in the user’s preserved library folder until the hold expires, while the latest version of private channel message data from each user’s mailbox is copied to the private channel’s group mailbox.

Before migration

If a legal hold exists for a private channel, admins must also apply the policy to the team’s group, in addition to the policy already applied to users’ mailboxes, in order for a hold to apply to new data generated and stored in the private channel’s mailbox. Note that policies applied to the team’s group can apply to all channels in the team.



Screenshot 1: Setting up a new hold in Microsoft Purview compliance portal.

After migration

For existing holds admins will need to ensure that the hold is applied to the user mailbox as well as the new group mailbox, in order for a hold to apply to existing and new message data. Any new legal holds will need to be applied to the group.

For complete eDiscovery, include both the private channel’s users’ mailboxes and the team’s group mailbox to retrieve pre-migration messages, message history, and post-migration new content.



Screenshot 2: Configuring an eDiscovery search in Microsoft Purview compliance portal.

2. Purview Data Loss Prevention (DLP)

With this change, private channel messages will be included as a part of the DLP policy scoped to the private channel’s team’s group, as opposed to the user mailbox.

Before migration

Admins must modify the “Teams chat and channel messages” policy for private channels to add the team’s group containing the private channel, in addition to the user mailbox, in order to include new private channel messages in a policy. Note that policies applied to the team’s group can apply to all channels in the team.

After migration

Ensure that “Teams chat and channel messages” policy for private channels is scoped to the team’s group containing the private channel.



Screenshot 3: Configuring a data loss prevention policy in Microsoft Purview compliance portal.

3. Purview Retention Policy

After this change, creation of new private channel-specific policies will not be possible in the Purview portal. Instead, “Teams channel messages” policies applied to the team’s group will now include private channels. Existing private channel policies will remain in effect and preserve all held message data in user mailboxes. Editing of existing policies will not be supported but policies can be removed.

Before migration

Apply current private channel retention policies (previously on user mailboxes) to Teams channel messages to include the team’s group, in order to include new private channel messages in a policy. In Microsoft Purview compliance portal, go to solutions > Data Lifecycle Management > Retention policies. Note that policies applied to the team’s group can apply to all channels in the team.

After migration

If the parent team’s group retention policy differs from the private channel’s policy, create a new or equivalent policy to ensure consistent retention.



Screenshot 4: Configuring “Teams channel messages” for a retention policy in Microsoft Purview compliance portal.




4. Microsoft policies for Optical Character Recognition

Before Migration:

• In Microsoft Purview compliance portal, go to Settings, -> Optical character recognition (OCR), -> Select locations and scope to [1] all users and groups or [2] specific users and groups

After Migration:

Set the settings for “all users and groups” to cover private channels as specific users and groups are not supported.

Frequently asked questions

1. How can admins identify a user’s private channel memberships?
   • Use Teams Admin Center under team settings, or run PowerShell: Get-TeamChannelUser to list members.
2. When is compliance manager action required?
   • If a policy (legal hold, eDiscovery, retention, DLP) applied to a user’s mailbox, in order to include private channel messages, differs from the team policies for the team hosting the private channel. Policies must be applied to the team’s group in order to include new private channel messages in a policy. Note that policies applied to the team’s group can apply to all channels in the team.
   • During eDiscovery for users on hold or during migration, search both user mailbox and group mailbox for complete data on a private channel.
3. What if no action is taken?
   • User-level policies will not apply to a private channel’s new message data. Team-level policies will apply to private channels.
4. Why isn’t Microsoft automatically applying policies from user mailboxes to a private channel’s team?
   • Tenant admins and compliance managers must assess and apply policies as needed. Group policies apply to all channels in the Team. Some user mailbox policies are intended for all of a user’s messages, and some are intended for private channel messages. Each organization must review and decide on policies.
5. Is there any impact to end users?
   • During migration, users may see duplicate search results in Teams searches—both links will navigate to the same content in Microsoft Teams.

6. When will migration happen for my tenant and how long will it take?

Migration can start or end at different times for each tenant during the rollout period and can take some weeks depending of the tenant. To track progress, a new PowerShell command will be available for tenants to check whether their migration has started or is completed. The command will be –

Get-TenantPrivateChannelMigrationStatus -TenantId <tenantId> 

Please refer to this blog post for more information: New enhancements in Private Channels in Microsoft Teams unlock their full potential 

We appreciate your attention to this important update.

Please refer to this blog post for more information: New enhancements in Private Channels in Microsoft Teams unlock their full potential 

We appreciate your attention to this important update.

Updated January 27, 2026: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience.

Introduction

We’re introducing enhancements to the focus area experience in Viva Glint to improve how organizations track and act on employee feedback. With this update, focus areas will now be tied to survey cycles, and goal periods will be retired. This change simplifies reporting and aligns focus areas more closely with survey insights.

This update is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 498922.

General availability: We are pleased to announce this feature is now available.

After the update, focus areas will be organized by survey cycle instead of goal periods. Glint users will be able to create and report on focus areas based on survey cycles. Goal periods will be retired. Focus areas not linked to a survey cycle (for example, if the cycle has been deleted) will be labeled No survey cycle and remain accessible in the platform. No focus areas will be deleted as part of this change. This update will be enabled by default. 

• No admin action is required for the transition, but we recommend communicating this change to Glint users in your organization.
• Review and update any internal documentation or training materials that reference goal periods. 

No compliance considerations identified, review as appropriate for your organization.

Updated January 27, 2026: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience. 

[Introduction:]

We’re introducing a simpler way to view conversations in Viva Engage communities, organized by recent posts rather than recent activity. This new view is designed to make it easier for users to follow discussions and will be available as an option, alongside the current system, for those who prefer sorting by recent activity and filtering to new conversations only.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 513275.

[When this will happen:]

General Availability (Worldwide): We will begin rolling out in February 2026 (previously January).

[How this will affect your organization:]

This change should align better with how people expect to browse and engage with content in their communities, while still preserving the triage flow for those who prefer it.

Who is affected: All Viva Engage users in your organization.

Current experience:

• Communities default to “new” and “recent activity” if there’s any new content (posts or replies).
• If there’s no new content, the feed falls back to “all.”
• Unread indicators on content only exist in the “new” feed.

New experience:

• The feature will be ON by default.
• Communities will default to “all” and “recent posts”:

 

• Unread indicators will exist in both the “new” and “all” feeds.
• A sticky user preference will be introduced:
  • If someone changes the feed (new/all) or sort order (recent posts/recent activity), we will maintain that setting across their communities.
  • If someone picks “new” and there’s no new content in the next community, we will fall back to “all” for that community visit, but “new” will remain the preference for that user.

[What you can do to prepare:]

No action is required.

[Compliance considerations:]

No compliance considerations identified, review as appropriate

Updated January 26, 2026: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience. 

We’re bringing the power of Microsoft 365 Copilot directly into your daily file experience in Windows. This new feature enables users to generate summaries of files and share them directly from the share dialog in File Explorer and the OneDrive activity center. This enhancement is designed to streamline collaboration and improve productivity by making it easier to provide context when sharing files.

A Microsoft 365 Copilot license is required to access this feature.

• General Availability (Worldwide, GCC, GCC High, DoD): Rollout begins in early January 2026 and is expected to complete by end of February 2026 (previously late January).

• Who is affected: All users of OneDrive and File Explorer in Windows with Microsoft 365 Copilot enabled.
• What will happen:
  • Users will be able to summarize files and include the summary when sharing via File Explorer or OneDrive activity center:

   

  • The feature is enabled by default.
  • No admin configuration is required.

No admin action is required to enable this feature.

If your organization uses or plans to use Copilot, consider:

• Informing users about the new summary-sharing capability.
• Updating internal documentation to reflect this new functionality.
• Reviewing Microsoft Copilot licensing and availability details: Which Copilot is right for me or my organization? | Microsoft Learn

Updated January 26, 2026: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience. 

[Introduction]

Brand Impersonation Protection for Teams Calling adds proactive safeguards against fraudulent or deceptive external callers who attempt to appear as trusted organizations. This helps reduce social-engineering risks and improves tenant security when users receive first-contact external calls. This update aligns with Microsoft’s ongoing investments in caller identity protection and secure collaboration.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 543239.

[When this will happen:]

Targeted Release: Rollout will begin mid-March 2026 (previously mid-February) and is expected to complete by late March 2026 (previously late February).
General Availability: Timelines will be communicated in a future message.

[How this affects your organization:]

Who is affected:

• All organizations using Microsoft Teams Calling that receive inbound VoIP calls from first-contact external callers.

What will happen:

• Teams will evaluate inbound calls for signs of brand impersonation.
• Users will see high-risk call warnings before answering suspicious calls.
• Warnings may continue during the call if risk signals persist.
• Users can accept, block, or end the call.
• The feature will be enabled by default.
• Existing Teams Calling policies remain unchanged.

[What you can do to prepare:]

No admin action is required at this time.

• Inform helpdesk staff that users may begin seeing high-risk call warnings.
• Update internal training materials if applicable.
• Review Microsoft documentation on caller ID security when available.

Before rollout, we will update this post with new documentation.

[Compliance considerations:]

No compliance considerations identified, review as appropriate for your organization.

[Introduction]

We are simplifying how your organization manages Copilot access in Viva Glint. Viva Glint will now use Viva Feature Access Management (VFAM) as the single control plane for Copilot access, consistent with other Microsoft Copilot experiences. As part of this change, the existing Glint service‑level Copilot toggles will be removed, and Copilot will default to ON at the Glint service level.

This removes unnecessary admin friction caused by the current dual‑gate model and ensures a clearer, more consistent governance experience across Microsoft 365.

This message is associated with Roadmap ID 551197.

[When this will happen:]

General Availability (Worldwide): Rollout will begin in early March 2026 and is expected to complete by late March 2026.

[How this affects your organization]

Who is affected

• All organizations using Viva Glint.
• Viva Glint service admins who previously managed Copilot toggles within Glint.
• Global/M365/Viva Glint Tenant Admins who manage feature access using VFAM.
• Users with Glint permissions (Reports + Comments access) who will see Copilot by default unless restricted in VFAM.

What’s changing

• The Copilot enable/disable settings currently found in Viva Glint admin pages (per survey program, per role, and Company Admin settings) will be removed.
• Copilot will default to ON for all customers at the Glint service layer.
• VFAM becomes the single, authoritative control for Copilot access in Viva Glint.

What stays the same

• VFAM access policies (tenant, group, user) continue to apply and default to ON. Learn more: Control access to features in Microsoft 365 | Microsoft Learn.
• Users will only see Copilot if they have the required Glint permissions (Reports access and Comments access).

Impact

• Glint service admins: No more Copilot toggles to manage; reduced admin workload.
• Global/M365/Viva Glint Tenant Admins: Manage Copilot access exclusively in VFAM.
• Users: Copilot will appear by default, unless disabled in VFAM.

Licensing & Compliance Clarifications

• A license for Viva Glint, Microsoft Viva Suite, or Microsoft Viva Workforce Analytics and Employee Feedback is required to access Copilot in Viva Glint.
• A license for Microsoft 365 Copilot is not required to access Copilot in Viva Glint.

For compliance and feature FAQs, refer to:

• Data, privacy, and security compliance for Microsoft 365 Copilot in Viva Glint
  
• Microsoft 365 Copilot in Viva Glint-Enablement and general FAQs
  

[What you can do to prepare:]

Admins can take the following steps:

Review your VFAM settings

• Go to admin.microsoft.com → Settings → Viva → Viva Glint → Manage settings for Microsoft Copilot in Viva Glint.
• Verify tenant‑level Copilot access.
• If you need to restrict Copilot for specific groups or users, configure custom VFAM policies.

Inform your Glint service admins

• They will no longer manage Copilot access inside the Glint admin portal.

Get help from the product team

Join the Feb 12th Viva Customer Connection Program (VCCP) session to learn more about this update. During the session, you will:

• Get early visibility into what’s changing and why Microsoft is making this update.
• Learn how this update simplifies setup and expands access to AI powered insights for managers and leaders. With additional Copilot capabilities coming soon, admins should maintain their current VFAM settings and keep Copilot enabled for all Glint users to ensure they benefit from upcoming enhancements.
• Understand what stays the same for permissions, privacy, and compliance. Glint Copilot uses only existing Glint data and honors current permissions, making privacy, security, compliance, and works council review much simpler than M365 Copilot approvals. Additionally, no M365 Copilot premium license is required to enable Glint Copilot for all users.
• Ask the product team questions.

Compliance considerations:

No compliance considerations identified, review as appropriate for your organization.

[Introduction]

Microsoft Teams is improving time zone handling in the Teams desktop client for Windows and Mac and Teams on the web. With this update, Teams will automatically apply the new device time zone when a time zone change is detected, without requiring a client restart. This enhancement provides a smoother, more seamless experience for users who travel or work across multiple regions.

[When this will happen]

Targeted Release: Rollout will begin in early February 2026 and complete in early February 2026.

General Availability (Worldwide, GCC, GCC High, DoD): Rollout will begin in mid-February 2026 and complete in late February 2026.

[How this affects your organization]

Who is affected:

• Users on the Teams Desktop Client for Windows and Mac and Teams on the web.

What will happen:

• Teams will automatically synchronize to the updated device time zone when a time zone change is detected.
• No restart will be required when the OS time zone changes.
• The active time zone will be shown in Teams Settings > General.
• This update is applied automatically and does not require any admin configuration.

[What you can do to prepare]

No admin action is required.

• The feature becomes available once users update to a supported Teams client build.
• Optionally notify users of this improvement.
• Update internal documentation if it references client restarts for time zone changes.

[Compliance considerations]

No compliance considerations identified. Review as appropriate for your organization.

[Introduction]

We’re introducing the ability for Outlook mobile users to open and send OFT files (Outlook File Templates). This feature allows users to view and open OFT files as draft messages, enabling easier reuse of existing Outlook email templates.

This message is associated with Roadmap ID 548642.

[When this will happen:]

General Availability (Worldwide, GCC, GCC High, and DoD): We will begin rollout early February 2026 and expect to complete early March 2026.

[How this affects your organization:]

Who is affected: All users who access Outlook on mobile devices.

What will happen:

• Users will be able to open OFT files on mobile.



• This feature is available by default.
• OFT files will open as a draft message.



• Users can reuse Outlook email templates directly from mobile.

[What you can do to prepare:]

• No action is required.
• Update your internal training and documentation if your organization references this feature.

[Compliance considerations:]

No compliance considerations identified, review as appropriate for your organization.

Updated January 27, 2026: Based on customer feedback and visibility into adoption progress, we are refining the Exchange Online SMTP AUTH Basic Authentication Deprecation timeline to provide clearer milestones and additional runway.

• Now to December 2026: SMTP AUTH Basic Authentication behavior remains unchanged.
• End of December 2026: SMTP AUTH Basic Authentication will be disabled by default for existing tenants. Administrators will still be able to enable it if needed.
• New tenants created after December 2026: SMTP AUTH Basic Authentication will be unavailable by default. OAuth will be the supported authentication method.
• Second half of 2027: Microsoft will announce the final removal date for SMTP AUTH Basic Authentication.

We will provide detailed information in a follow up Message Center Post.

Updated October 18, 2024: We have updated the SMTP AUTH Clients Submission Report in the Exchange admin center, adding the Authentication Protocol column to show if Basic auth or OAuth is being used to submit email to Exchange Online. The data will build up over the next 90 days. Thank you for your patience.

The SMTP AUTH Basic Authentication Deprecation has been put on hold. In 2027, Microsoft will announce the final removal date for SMTP AUTH Basic Authentication.

Once Basic Auth is removed from SMTP AUTH, applications and devices will no longer be able to use Basic auth as an authentication method and must use OAuth when using SMTP AUTH to send email.

Basic auth is a legacy authentication method that sends usernames and passwords in plain text over the network. This makes it vulnerable to credential theft, phishing, and brute force attacks. 

[When this will happen:]

The removal of Basic Auth from SMTP AUTH Client Submission has been put on hold (previously beginning March 1st, 2026, and completing April 30th, 2026). 

[How this will affect your organization:]

The SMTP AUTH Clients Submission Report in the Exchange admin center has been updated to show if Basic auth or OAuth is being used to submit email to Exchange Online. 

The removal of Basic Auth from SMTP AUTH Client Submission has been put on hold (previously beginning March 1st, 2026, and completing April 30th, 2026).

[What you need to do to prepare:]

The removal of Basic Auth from SMTP AUTH Client Submission has been put on hold (previously beginning March 1st, 2026, and completing April 30th, 2026)

If your client supports OAuth, follow these steps: Authenticate an IMAP, POP or SMTP connection using OAuth

If your client doesn’t support OAuth and you must use Basic Auth with Client Submission (SMTP AUTH), you will need to switch to one of the following alternatives following the timeline that will be announced in 2027 (previously April 2026):

• If you are using basic authentication with Client Submission (SMTP AUTH) to send emails to recipients internal to your tenant, you can use Microsoft 365 High Volume Email. Please visit this site to learn more: Manage high volume emails for Microsoft 365 Public preview

• If you have an Exchange Server on-premises in a hybrid configuration, you can use Basic auth to authenticate with the Exchange Server on-premises or configure the Exchange Server on-premises with a Receive connector that allows anonymous relay on Exchange servers. Please visit this site to learn more: Allow anonymous relay on Exchange servers

Regardless of the volume of email, if you must use Basic auth to send email with Exchange Online, then you must use one of the alternatives or a 3P solution.

We understand that this change requires some adjustments, but we believe that this is a necessary step to enhance the security and reliability of our email service and your data.