Microsoft Teams: Join by code requires owner approval for private teams

[What and Why]

To improve team governance and reduce unintended access to private teams, Microsoft Teams is updating the join by code experience for private teams. With this change, join requests submitted using a code will require approval from a team owner before the user is added. This aligns the experience with join by link behavior and strengthens access control for private teams.

[Rollout Schedule]

General Availability (Worldwide, GCC, GCC High, DoD): Rollout begins in late August 2026 and completes by late September 2026.

[Impact on Your Organization]

Who is affected

• All Microsoft Teams users joining private teams using the join by code feature

Platforms/Services

• Microsoft Teams on desktop, web, and mobile

What will happen

• Users can continue to generate join codes from Team settings > Team code.
• Users can enter a join code from the New items menu in Chat or Channels.
• For private teams, users will no longer be automatically added when entering a code.
• Team owners will receive a join request and must approve or reject it before the user is added.
• Public teams are not affected, and users can still join immediately using a code.
• This feature will be enabled by default.

[Action Required/Recommendations]

No admin action is required to enable this feature.

Recommended actions to support awareness and adoption:

• Inform team owners about the new approval step.
• Encourage owners to monitor and manage incoming join requests.
• Update internal documentation or training materials if join by code is referenced, especially in environments where it is commonly used.

[Compliance considerations]

No compliance considerations identified because this change does not affect data storage, processing, or access controls. Review as appropriate for your organization.