Sharing your Microsoft Team
Tips for getting it right and staying secure
Microsoft Teams is a powerful collaboration tool, but sharing your Team with others—especially beyond your immediate group—requires careful thought.
Think before you share
All members of a Microsoft Team can see everything by default: chats, files, and channels.
If you need to restrict access, you can use private or shared channels to limit visibility to a subset of members or share content with other University users.
Shared channels cannot be used with external partners.
Understanding Team types
- Private Teams: Only people added by the Team owner can join. These are best for groups needing privacy and controlled membership.
- Public Teams: Anyone at the University can find and join public Teams. ‘Public’ does not mean open to the world or anonymously accessible; content is still restricted to University members.
Manage sharing securely
Consider the following if you want to share your Microsoft Team more widely:
- Always use the Teams app or web version to add or remove people - this ensures secure membership management.
- You can set up a Team code or share a link to invite others. Membership requests can be approved or rejected easily.
- Always check who has access before sharing sensitive content.
Avoid common pitfalls
Teams is not the same as SharePoint or OneDrive. You cannot share individual files or folders with just anyone. The SharePoint site behind a Team does not offer options for granular sharing of files with certain individuals, it shares everything with all Team members.
For more flexible sharing with a wider group try using a standard SharePoint site or OneDrive.
Tips for security
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Don’t treat Teams like a normal SharePoint site – files in Private or Shared channels cannot be shared individually.
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Think before you share: Make sure you’re not giving access to confidential information.
Help and training
Find Teams advice, help and training on the IT Help, IT Skills and the Centre for Teaching and Learning websites.
Join the Nexus365 User Group for Teams news, tips, quick-start guides and more. The code is W2CBE7.
Final thoughts
Before sharing your Team, ask who really needs access. Use private or shared channels for sensitive material and manage membership through official Teams tools.
Security is everyone’s responsibility—think before you share!
