MC804771 - Microsoft Teams: Hiding inactive channels

Updated March 20, 2025: We have updated the content. Thank you for your patience

Note: Users with EDU licenses assigned will not receive this change. 

Based on Admin feedback, we are updating the behavior for automated hiding of inactive channels to be opt-in (suggestions) only. With this update, Teams will offer users suggestions on channels that are inactive, and the user is prompted to review their inactive channels and hide them only if they choose. The settings are also updated to reflect this opt-in workflow. There are no changes to the on-demand hiding process.

This feature is enabled for Targeted Release, and we will roll out to General Availability later this year in 2025. 

In the interim, we are disabling the current generally available version of the feature which requires users to opt-out as well as the settings, for all users. Please note that all users in the public or general ring will not see the setting or have any of their channels hidden automatically. We will re-introduce the updated feature later this year in 2025. 

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 325780.

When this will happen:

Targeted Release: We will begin rolling out mid-July 2024 and expect to complete later in 2025.

General Availability (Worldwide) and all clouds: We will begin rolling out later in 2025.

How this will affect your organization:

Before this rollout: Users had to manually manage their relevant channels list by hiding inactive and irrelevant channels.

After this rollout in 2025: Manage preferences for automated suggestions via Teams Settings 

If users prefer to manage channels manually, they can opt out of the auto-suggestions process. Simply go to Teams settings, select General, and toggle off "Suggestions for hiding inactive channels." 

Hide inactive channels on demand when needed 

Users can manually view which channels are inactive and choose to hide some or all of them whenever you need. This can be done from Settings, under General, by clicking the "Get Suggestions" button. Note that this action can be performed once every 24 hours. 

Automated suggestions of inactive channels

With this, Teams will suggest channels that have been inactive for the user. Once the inactive channels are identified, the user is notified with the coach mark message, "Looks like you haven’t visited some channels lately. Hide them to help you focus." 

The user can select Review and Hide to see the details and decide which channels they would like to hide. The user can choose not hide any channels by selecting Not Now.

If a user has less than or equal to 25 shown channels, no channels will be suggested for that user. This feature is on by default and all Teams users on the affected platforms will have access to it.

What you need to do to prepare:

Admins need to be aware of this feature, but no additional action is needed.