Teams PowerShell Embraces Web Account Manager and Imposes Control Over Federated Chat
Teams released a new version of their PowerShell module on July 19. The new module contains WAM support and cmdlets to limit federated chat for specific users and tenants. The new controls are welcome, but it’s a sad state of affairs that to configure the settings you must install a new version of a module that doesn’t work so well alongside other Microsoft 365 modules. https://office365itpros.com/2026/07/24/federated-chat-controls/
Automatic initials are taking my business
Hello everyone, I'm a software developer, mostly based in Germany. I have a M365 Business Account and am using Teams as part of it. Since automatic initials, instead of generic profile pictures, became a thing, I'm constantly in a hurry to change my profile picture as soon as possible. This is because my initials are SS, which in the German culture is the abbreviation of the company responsible for the death camps during Nazi Germany. People are so upset about it that I even had customers not do business with me. They saw the SS initials in calls and thought I was using this on purpose to make a political stand, i.e. being in favour of the industrial scale mass murder of several million people. I'm not. So here is where my frustration is with Teams, which I'm paying for, and which is taking my business away with its stupid initials: I cant change the initials without changing my name I cant populate my picture to outside orgs preventing the initials from being shown This leads me to the incredibly uncomfortable situation that every time I connect to a new client, I need to discuss my distancing of the genocide 80 years ago before actually being able to commence a meeting. Not a very happy topic and as mentioned before I have lost business because of it. Is there please, any solution to this, that doesn't involve having to change my name? Kind Regards SebastianThe Misleading Teams Remove External Chat from User View API
The Graph removeAllAccessForUser API is supposed to remove external chat messages from the view of a tenant user when the chat contains some objectionable material. Unless the documentation is erroneous, the API doesn’t work as advertised and the results are disappointing. All of which means that blocking content for external chats isn’t really possible. If someone gets to start an external chat, they can pump some horrible stuff into your tenant. https://office365itpros.com/2026/07/02/external-chat-api/
Don't expire attached chat files | Show a warning.
Teams allows users to upload files to share with others in a chat. These files inherit the organization's sharing policy. So whether you use Share or Copy Link in SharePoint or OneDrive or you use Attach File in Teams, the same default policy is applied. The issue, what makes the Teams experience different from SharePoint / OneDrive, is that the message with the attached file persists in the chat. A file that was attached to a conversation two months ago appears to still be in the chat. However, the default policy blocks access to the file that appears present. Moreover, there is no method for the sender to alter the sharing policy using the Attach function. When this an issue, this is a HUGE issue. Suggestions: Actually attach the attached file and store in the recipient's Attachments folder. Don't use a paperclip icon that says "Attach file" for files that aren't actually attachments. Warn the sender that the attached file inherits the organization's 'Share with anyone' policy and may expire. Prompt the sender to alter the sharing link before sending. Put a timer on the attachment showing the countdown to expiration. After the expiration date, the file should be labeled "Your organization's sharing policy has expired access to this file". Add a button for the recipient to request access to the file again.
Anyone Else Having Issues?
Hello! My company uses Teams as our main communication channel. For the past two or three weeks we have had significantly more issues than usual with Teams. Messages will sit and not send for sometimes over an hour. We have tried the standard troubleshooting methods and are still facing this problem. Is it just us or is this a bug? If so, is Microsoft working on a solution? Thank you!How to Remove Teams Chat Threads with PowerShell
Sometimes, Microsoft 365 tenants need to remove problematic Teams chat threads from user view. The usual reason is because someone posted some bad or objectionable content to Teams. This article covers how to use Microsoft Graph PowerShell SDK cmdlets to find chat threads, to check thread messages for targeted content, and to remove matching chat threads. The code can be run interactively by an administrator to clean up Teams. https://office365itpros.com/2026/06/15/delete-teams-chat-threads/
Planner task comments no longer send email notifications – critical regression
This change removed a previously existing core functionality without providing an adequate replacement. With the new Planner experience, task comments no longer trigger automatic email notifications to assigned users. This breaks a critical communication mechanism that many teams relied on for reliable task coordination. As a result, assigned users are no longer consistently informed about updates, introducing a high risk of missed information and operational issues in day-to-day work. There is currently no supported or enforceable alternative to ensure users are notified. Previous behavior: Task comments triggered automatic email notifications Assigned users were reliably informed Communication was traceable and consistent Current behavior: No automatic email notifications No configuration to restore this @mentions required (manual, error-prone, not enforceable) Microsoft Support has confirmed that this is by design and cannot be reverted. From an enterprise perspective, this is not just a design change, but a regression of critical functionality without an equivalent replacement. Request: Please restore automatic email notifications for task discussions or provide a reliable, enforceable alternative for notifying assigned users. Question to the community: How are you handling this change in real-world scenarios? Switching tools? Enforcing @mentions? Moving communication out of Planner? Would appreciate hearing how others are dealing with this.
