Adding people from outside your company to Teams

Two kinds of outside access

External chat. People at other organizations that use Teams can chat and call with you, and join meetings, using their own company account. They cannot see your teams, channels or files.

Guest access. A guest is added to a specific team. They can see that team’s channels, conversations and files, just like a member, but nothing else in your organization.

Before you add a guest

• Check what is in the team. A guest sees every standard channel and its files. If the team holds anything they should not see, create a separate team or a shared channel for the work with them.
• Use their work email address, so access ends when they leave their company.
• Know your company’s rules. Some organizations restrict who can invite guests.

Keep it tidy

• Remove guests when the work ends. They do not disappear on their own.
• Review teams with guests regularly. IT can produce a list of every guest and the teams they belong to.
• Watch what you share in chat. Files shared in a chat with an external person may be shared with them through a link.