Enable focused collaboration with private channels
While most channels organize content, private channels can also organize people.
Private channels in Microsoft Teams create focused spaces for collaboration within a team. With a private channel, team members must be added to it to participate and see content in it. Anyone, including guests, can be added to a private channel as long as they're already members of the team.
Consider using a private channel to limit collaboration to a specific set of team members. Private channels are also useful for communication between members assigned to a specific project without having to create another team to manage.
Private channels in a staff, PLC, or "Other" teams
In a staff, PLC, or other team, a private channel is useful when:
- Educators in a specific grade level or department want a focused workspace
- A subset of team members needs to discuss sensitive information like budgets, resourcing, or strategic positioning
Private channels in a class team
In a class team, a private channel is useful when:
- A group of learners needs to collaborate on a project
- Co-educators want to collaborate on lesson plans
By default, any team owner or member (except guests) can create a private channel and add members. However, IT admins can limit private channel creation to certain roles.
Important
Be sure to consider whether you need a private or standard channel before creating it. Once you create it, it can’t be changed. Each team can have a maximum of 30 private channels. Each private channel can have a maximum of 250 members.
For members of a private channel, the channel appears in their channel list with a lock icon next to its name. Only team members who are owners or members of the private channel have access to the channel. Files shared in a private channel are viewable and accessible only to people with access to that channel. These shared files live in a separate SharePoint site away from the standard channels to ensure access only to members of the private channel.