M365 Changelog: (Updated) Microsoft Teams: Ask to join a shared channel with a channel link – Sep 4, 2024

MC792603 – Updated September 4, 2024: Microsoft has updated the rollout timeline below. Thank you for your patience.

Coming soon to Microsoft Teams: In-tenant users who attempt to access a shared channel with a link will be able to request to join the channel. Channel owners will receive the join request and can decide to approve or deny request. This rollout applies to Teams for Desktop and Mac.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 325330.

When this will happen:

Targeted Release: Microsoft will begin rolling out mid-June 2024 and expects to complete by mid-June 2024.

General Availability (Worldwide, GCC): Microsoft will begin rolling out late June 2024 and expects to complete by late June 2024.

General Availability (GCC High, DoD): Microsoft will begin rolling out mid-July 2024 and expects to complete by mid-September 2024 (previously mid-August).

How this will affect your organization:

Before the rollout, a user who selects a channel with a link receives a You don’t have access message.

After the rollout, a user who selects a channel with a link receives will be able to ask to join a channel:

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After the rollout, out-of-tenant users who click on a shared channel link from another tenant will continue to see the You don’t have access message.

Admins cannot turn off this feature.

What you need to do to prepare:

This rollout will happen automatically by the specified dates with no admin action required before the rollout. You may want to notify your users about this change and update any relevant documentation as appropriate.

Before rollout, we will update this post with revised documentation.