Simplify an inclusive meeting experience by enabling Guest access as the default

[Jamie Stark]

We want to make everyone aware of an upcoming change to the default setting for Guests in Microsoft Teams. With the large increase in organizations looking to use Teams to expand collaboration beyond the boundaries of their tenant, we want to make it easier for customers to get started. This has also been announced in Message Center post MC234252.

As a result, starting on February 8th we are turning on Guest access in Microsoft Teams by default for any customers who have not already configured this setting. This will bring the control for Teams Guest capability into alignment with the rest of the suite, where the setting is already on by default.
When this change is implemented, if you have not already configured Guest access capability in Microsoft Teams, that capability will be enabled in your tenant. With guest access enabled, you can provide access to teams and other resources to people outside your organization while maintaining control over your corporate data.

Prior to this change taking effect beginning on February 8th, if you want Guest access to remain disabled for your organization, you will need to confirm that the Guest access setting is set to "Off" instead of "Service default". Instructions for how to configure the Teams guest access settings can be found here: Teams guest access settings

A view of Teams admin center Guest access page, showing the choices for Guest access being “Off”, “On”, and “Service default”. Currently the service default is off but beginning February 8th the service default will be “On”.

[ChristopheHumbert]

Hello @Jamie Stark I think it is a bad decision. if it is off you should honor it ...I don' t understand how MS can push so much for security and push updates like this in the same time...

[Jamie Stark]

@ChristopheHumbert  I understand the concern.  Fundamentally, Guest access is a sophisticated feature because there are so many controls involved that can send the experience sideways.  Nearly every one of those controls is found in a different layer of software increasing the difficulty for some customers to manage.  Over time, we've made each of these controls enabled by default, except for this one in Teams.

To be absolutely clear, nothing changes if customers have customized this parameter in their tenant.  For anyone who views the Guest access capability today and sees the setting as "On" or "Off" - nothing changes.  The only change will be for customers who are showing "Service default".  The intent of these communications is to ensure everyone is aware of this change and understands the steps needed to manage if necessary.

Appreciate sharing your feedback, thank you!!

[ChristopheHumbert]

Thanks @Jamie Stark for the detailed clarifications

[HydrateAndy]

I understand the rationale and this would be valid if all this change did was 'allow' guests access to teams. Guest management is actually a hard process to manage well and does need some thought, care and attention before just being blindly enabled in my opinion.

Everything from deciding if limits are placed on guests, through to the accounts that get created in Azure AD that remain unless managed and reviewed. The link below should also be taken into account.

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/solutions/collaborate-as-team?view=o365-worldwide#tea...