If we have an existing app/add-on on Microsoft Teams and we added another functionality - would the end user who already have the app installed, need to proactively update/re-install the app to have the update or would it be added automatically?

Question

We need to know if an existing app would require to update clients to re install the app, to get the new additions and features or if this is something like a regular version update the clients will automatically receive and not require them to o something.

Answer 1

@Elinor Komissar - If you have an existing app or add-on on Microsoft Teams and you add another functionality to it, the behavior of the update depends on the changes you made to the app.

In most cases, if the new version of your app doesn't require any new permissions, the update will be applied automatically to the end users who already have the app installed. They won't need to proactively update or reinstall the app.

However, if you make certain changes to your app that require additional permissions or functionality, the existing users will need to accept another permission request to install the update. These changes include:

• Adding or removing a bot
• Changing the bot ID
• Modifying a bot's one-way notification configuration
• Modifying a bot's support for uploading and downloading files
• Adding or removing a message extension
• Adding a personal tab
• Adding a channel and group tab
• Adding a connector
• Modifying configurations related to your Microsoft Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) app registration

In such cases, the existing users will be prompted to accept the new permissions or functionality when the update is available. They will need to provide their consent for the update to be installed.

It's important to note that the update process may take up to two days after a user signs in to the enabled app using Azure AD on another platform. Users will receive a welcome message from the app if it supports bots, and they will also receive an Activity Feed notification on Teams desktop or web client informing them about the new app that has been added. However, this notification is not available on mobile devices.

To ensure that the update process works smoothly, you must enable the "Auto install approved apps" feature in the Teams admin center. This feature is disabled by default. You can enable it by following the steps below:

1. Sign in to the Teams admin center and go to Teams apps > Manage apps.
2. Select Org-wide app settings and enable the Auto install approved apps option.
3. Optionally, you can manage specific apps by selecting Manage selected apps and changing the setting for each app.
4. Select Save to apply the changes.

By enabling this feature, you allow the automatic installation of approved app updates for your users.

Ref Doc: Microsoft Teams documentation on app updates.