Forum Discussion
How to disable reactions in a Team
Hello! I'm being harassed by a colleague who keeps clicking reactions like 🤮or 🤦‍♂️when I post messages in a Team, therefore creating a hostile work environment, not only for me, but everyone in the Team. When I reported it to HR, they talked to our IT Admin who said it was not possible to disable reactions in a Team.
Does anyone know anything about how to turn off reactions? Did Microsoft really make a product that has the potential to hurt people, and not design a way to eliminate it when its abused? (Or does my IT Admin just need some direction on how to do it?)
Unfortunately, this is indeed not possible. You can disable reactions for meetings, but not for chat messages or channel posts.
The best thing to do here is vote for this feature over at the Feedback portal, where others have already expressed similar concerns. Here's one of the items you can vote on: https://feedbackportal.microsoft.com/feedback/idea/8981245d-4fbe-ed11-83ff-000d3a1ab5c3
4 Replies
Unfortunately, this is indeed not possible. You can disable reactions for meetings, but not for chat messages or channel posts.
The best thing to do here is vote for this feature over at the Feedback portal, where others have already expressed similar concerns. Here's one of the items you can vote on: https://feedbackportal.microsoft.com/feedback/idea/8981245d-4fbe-ed11-83ff-000d3a1ab5c3
Thank you for the reply and the link. I'll vote on that right now.
Microsoft Teams doesn’t currently offer a way to disable reactions in a Team or chat. It’s a frustrating gap because, as you’ve experienced, reactions can be misused.
Your IT Admin is right—there’s no built-in setting to turn them off yet. The best workaround is to report the abusive behavior through your company’s policies and keep involving HR and IT for support.
Microsoft does update Teams regularly, so hopefully, they’ll add a way to control reactions soon. For now, keep documenting the harassment and lean on HR to handle it.
Thank you for the reply. It's so surprising this is not even an option.
