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How to Export Microsoft Teams Private Channels Report

If you're seeking to collaborate exclusively with specific team members within your Microsoft Teams environment, this guide is tailored for you. With Teams private channels, you can facilitate collaboration with users essential for confidential discussions. Follow the solutions to manage private channels in Microsoft Teams and ensure that only intended participants engage in sensitive conversations.

Native Solution

Microsoft 365 Permission Required

High

Global Admin or Teams Admin.

Option 1 Using Microsoft Teams Admin Center

  • Login to the Teams admin center.
  • Navigate to Teams»Manage Teams and select the desired team.
  • Under the Channels section, you can find all the channels in a team.
Using Microsoft Teams Admin Center
  • You can only view the private channels by using the filter icon with the condition Type = "Private".

Option 2 Using Windows PowerShell

  • Connect to the Microsoft Teams PowerShell using the below cmdlet.
  • Windows PowerShell Windows PowerShell 
     Connect-MicrosoftTeams
  • Run the below cmdlet to get a list of Teams private channels using PowerShell.
  • Windows PowerShell Windows PowerShell 
     Get-TeamAllChannel -GroupId <TeamsGroupID> -MembershipType Private
  • You can run the below cmdlet to get a team’s group ID in Exchange Online PowerShell.
  • Windows PowerShell Windows PowerShell 
     Get-UnifiedGroup -Identity "<TeamName>"| Select ExternalDirectoryObjectId
Using Windows PowerShell
  • The above screenshot displays the details of private channels in a particular team after the cmdlet has been executed.

Option 3 Using PowerShell Script

  • However, displaying private channel membership details using a single cmdlet can be challenging. To simplify this task, we've developed a PowerShell script to report the membership of Teams private channels.
  • Download and run the following script in the Administrator PowerShell.
MSTeamsPrivateChannelReports.ps1
Using PowerShell Script
AdminDroid Solution
More than 150 reports are under free edition.

AdminDroid Permission Required

Delegated

Any user with report access delegated by the Super Admin.

StepsUsing AdminDroid

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  • Login to the AdminDroid Office 365 reporter.
  • Navigate to the Private Channels report under Reports»Teams»Private Channels.
Using AdminDroid
An in-depth view of private channels, offering insights into the total participants, owners, members, and guests, etc.
private-channel-dashboard
  • Access the dedicated Microsoft Teams dashboard for an overview of all teams with private channels in your organization.
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birds-eye-chart
donut
exported-excel
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Explore a full range of reporting options

Streamline Teams private channels management!

Maintain control over your team sensitive conversations! Effortlessly manage Microsoft Teams and private channel creations for secure collaboration with vital team members using AdminDroid.

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Microsoft TeamsUse Private Channels for Confidential Discussions in Microsoft 365

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How to create a private channel in Microsoft Teams? How to get a list of all private channels in Microsoft Teams? What are the limitations of private channels in Microsoft Teams? How to disable private channel creation in Microsoft Teams? How to make a channel private in Teams after creation?

How to create a private channel in Microsoft Teams?

Private channels offer a dedicated space for sensitive conversations that are not intended for all team members. It allows you to add only specific team members to ensure a more focused and secure collaborative environment.

Follow the steps below to create a private channel in Microsoft Teams.

  • Login to Microsoft Teams as a team owner. Click on More options near the desired team for which you want to create a private channel.
  • Select Add channel and give your channel a name and description. Under Privacy, choose Private and click on "Create".
  • You can add specific team members by typing their names. Once you have selected the required members, tap "Add".

Run the below cmdlet to create a private channel in Teams using PowerShell.

New-TeamChannel -GroupId <Team'sGroupID> -DisplayName "<PrivateChannelName>" -MembershipType Private

Note: When a private channel is created, a separate SharePoint Online site is also created which inherits its settings from the parent team site.

Using AdminDroid, you can easily find the Teams private channel storage quota and delete unwanted files from sites that have exceeded the warning limit.

  • View the storage details of Teams private channel sites, including the storage used, warning level, and maximum storage level.
  • Pro Tip: If you come across any private channel exceeding the warning quota, utilize the "Storage Maximum Level" parameter to adjust the overall limit. This is particularly beneficial as deleting files in these channels may impact productivity.
private-channel-over-warning

How to get a list of all private channels in Microsoft Teams?

As a Teams admin, understanding the private channels within your Microsoft 365 organization is crucial for safeguarding sensitive data. This ensures that only legitimate users have access to the information shared via private channels, contributing to a focused working environment.

You can list all private channels in Microsoft Teams in the following ways.

Using Microsoft Teams

  • Login to Microsoft Teams as a team owner. From the Teams tab, select More options (ellipses) near the desired team.
  • Click on "Manage team". Under the Channels section, you can find all the private channels within the team denoted as the icon highlighted below.
private-channels-teams

Using Windows PowerShell

Run the below cmdlet to get a list of all teams’ private channels using PowerShell.

Get-TeamChannel -GroupId <TeamsGroupID> -MembershipType Private

You can run the below cmdlet to get a team’s group ID in Exchange Online PowerShell.

Get-UnifiedGroup -Identity "<TeamName>"| Select ExternalDirectoryObjectId

Finding private channels from the Teams admin center is a time-consuming process as it requires navigating to each team individually. Furthermore, you must execute different PowerShell cmdlets to acquire detailed information about private channels.

With AdminDroid, you can audit the members added to private channels and remove users who are not necessary for confidential discussions.

  • This report gives a complete overview of private channel memberships covering information such as the added time, channel name, added members, and the user who added them.
  • Pro Tip: Click on the "Create alert for this report now" icon to create an alert policy whenever a member is added to a private channel.
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What are the limitations of private channels in Microsoft Teams?

You must be aware of the following Teams private channel limitations to avoid confusion when trying to use certain features or perform specific actions.

  • Each team is limited to 30 private channels and each private channel can have a maximum of 250 members only.
  • It is not possible to convert an existing channel to private or vice versa.
  • Some Microsoft 365 services, including Stream, Planner, and Forms cannot be added as tabs within private channels.
  • There is no option to receive email notifications for messages that were missed on private channels.
  • Scheduling meetings on private channels is not supported.

How to disable private channel creation in Microsoft Teams?

If every user in your organization is allowed to create private channels, managing them might be a difficult task for team owners. Additionally, the creation of private channel sites may lead to an increase in the organization's storage requirements. To overcome this, you need to prevent specific users from creating private channels in Microsoft Teams.

Follow the ways below to restrict private channel creation in Microsoft Teams:

Organization-wide:

You can create a custom Teams policy to prevent specific users from creating private channels.

  • Login to the Teams admin center. Navigate to Teams»Teams policies.
  • Under Manage policies, click on +Add. Give your policy a name and a description. Turn off the "Create private channels" option and tap Apply.
  • Once created, navigate to Users»Manage users and select the desired user.
  • Under the Policies tab, click on Edit. Select the policy you’ve created from the "Select Teams policy" drop-down box and hit Apply.

Team Level:

  • Login to Microsoft Teams as a team owner. Click on More options near your team.
  • Select Manage team. Under the Settings tab, click on Member permissions.
  • Uncheck the "Allow members to create private channels" checkbox.

This will restrict all the members from creating private channels at the team level.

Additionally, you can use the below cmdlet to delete any unwanted channel created in a team.

Remove-TeamChannel -GroupId <TeamsGroupID> -DisplayName "<PrivateChannelName>"

Using AdminDroid, you can audit the Teams private channel creations and delete unwanted ones to prevent reaching the maximum limit.

  • You can also utilize the default alert template to notify when a private channel is created in your Microsoft 365 organization.
  • Pro Tip: Utilize the graphical representation feature to visually depict users who are creating private channels. This ensures that only legitimate users have permission to create private channels.
private-channel-creation

How to make a channel private in Teams after creation?

Currently, it is not possible to make a Teams channel private after creation. However, you can control access to the files shared in channels by managing permissions for the respective team site.

Follow the steps below to limit file access in a private channel site:

  • Login to Microsoft Teams as a team owner and navigate to the respective standard channel. From the Files section, click on "Open in SharePoint".
  • Now, the respective team site is opened. Click on the Open the details pane icon at the top and then select Manage access. Here, you can view the existing individuals and groups with access to the folder.
  • Select the specific group for whom you want to restrict access to the channel’s default folder. Choose the "Remove direct access" option under "Ways this group has access" and click on Apply.
manage-access

Now, members in a group cannot access the files directly from the channel in Microsoft Teams.

AdminDroid Microsoft Teams ReportingEnhance focused discussions with private channel management!

The AdminDroid's Microsoft Teams analytics and reporting offers various reports to assist you in managing private channels within teams. The membership details of private channels ensure that only legitimate users can participate in confidential discussions.

Leverage Microsoft Teams private channels using AdminDroid’s standout features

By consistently reviewing the Private Channels report, you can ensure that your organization maintains enough channels for sharing sensitive information among trusted team members.

An Overview

Efficient Microsoft Teams Management

AdminDroid’s Microsoft Teams auditing reports help you stay informed about all team activities, including file sharing, membership changes, and login events.

Insightful Microsoft Teams Administration

Utilize the Microsoft Teams statistics to analyze how your team members communicate within private channels on confidential projects.

Complete Overview of Microsoft Teams

Access the Microsoft Teams dashboard for a comprehensive overview of teams' channel insights, including channel types, private channels without owners, storage consumption, and more.

Intuitive SharePoint Online Storage Control

Ensure Teams private channel storage quotas are maintained by consistently reviewing AdminDroid's SharePoint Online usage reports.

Microsoft 365 ISO Compliance Management

AdminDroid ensures ISO compliance management by providing reports related to the sharing of sensitive information in Microsoft Teams.

User Behavior Analysis in Microsoft Teams

Check AdminDroid's Microsoft Teams usage and adoption for an in-depth analysis of user performance in your organization.

In conclusion, managing Teams private channels is necessary to safeguard data, enhance collaboration, and maintain control over user activities. With AdminDroid’s advanced reporting features on user access and permissions, you can ensure the information shared via private channels is limited only to legitimate users.

Kickstart Your Journey with AdminDroid

Your Microsoft 365 Companion with Enormous Reporting Capabilities!

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Common Errors and Resolution Steps in getting private channels in Microsoft Teams

The following are the possible errors and troubleshooting hints while dealing with Microsoft Teams private channels.

Error: You don’t have permission to create private channels. Try adding a standard channel instead.

This happens when your organization’s policy restricts you from creating private channels.

Troubleshooting hint :Ask your Global or Teams Administrator to configure the Teams policy that allows you to create private channels.

Error: Unable to upload documents in teams' private channels.

This error occurs when you have only the "View" permission for the private channel’s SharePoint group.

Troubleshooting hint :Navigate to the desired private channel site and assign the “Edit” permission under Manage Access.

Error: New-TeamChannel : Error occurred while executing.

This error occurs when you don’t have the necessary permission to create private channels in your organization.

Troubleshooting hint :Ask your Global or Teams Administrator to configure the Teams policy that allows you to create private channels.

Error: We couldn’t delete the <PrivateChannelName> channel. Try deleting it again.

This error occurs when the private channel site has a retention policy configured.

Troubleshooting hint :Remove the private channel site from the configured retention policy.

Error: The term 'Connect-MicrosoftTeams' is not recognized as the name of a cmdlet, function, script file, or operable program.

This error occurs when the Microsoft Teams module is not installed properly.

Troubleshooting hint :Run the below PowerShell cmdlet to install the Microsoft Teams module. 

Install-MicrosoftTeams