Prevent Users from Deleting Chat Messages in Microsoft Teams

How to disable message deletion in Private chat in Microsoft Teams

In Microsoft Teams, users have the ability to delete messages that they have sent in private or group chats. However, in certain situations, it may be necessary to prevent users from deleting chat messages, such as when preserving chat history for compliance or legal purposes.

Prevent Delete sent message in Microsoft Teams

While Microsoft Teams does offer retention policies that can be used to retain messages and prevent deletion, these policies are only available in certain subscription plans. Therefore, In this article, we will explore how to manage Messaging policies to prevent users from deleting chat messages in Private Chat as well as Group Chat in Microsoft Teams to disallow users to delete their messages.

Prevent users from deleting sent messages
Prevent users from deleting sent messages

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How to Prevent Users from Deleting Chat Messages in Microsoft Teams?

To prevent users from deleting chat messages in Private Chat as well as Group Chat in Microsoft Teams, you have two options as stated below:

  1. Prevent All Users from Deleting Chat Messages in Microsoft Teams
  2. Prevent Specific Users from Deleting Chat Messages in Microsoft Teams

1) Prevent All Users from Deleting Chat Messages in Microsoft Teams

To Prevent All Users from Deleting Chat Messages in Microsoft Teams, you have to edit the Messaging Global (Org-wide default) policy by doing the following:

Steps

  1. Go to the Microsoft 365 admin center (https://admin.microsoft.com/) and sign in using your admin credentials.
  2. From the left-hand menu, select “Messaging policies“.
Manage Messaging Policies in Microsoft Teams
  1. As we earlier mentioned, to prevent chat messages from being deleted by all users, you simply need to modify the Global (Org-wide default) policy.
Manage global Messaging Policies in Microsoft Teams
  1. Then “Turn Off” the “Delete sent messages” as stated below
Delete sent messages in Microsoft Teams
  1. Please wait briefly for the changes to take effect then click “Confirm.
approve changes in Microsoft Teams
  1. Great the Global policy has been updated successfully.
the policy global was updated in Microsoft Teams
  1. Quit the Microsoft Teams Client App and reopen it, You will then notice that the option to delete sent messages has been removed, as shown below.
Delete Message is not Available in Chat in Microsoft Teams Chat
Prevent users from deleting chat messages

Prevent Specific Users from Deleting Chat Messages in Microsoft Teams

To prevent particular users from deleting chat messages in Microsoft Teams, you need to create a customized messaging policy by following these steps:

Steps

  1. Go to the Microsoft 365 admin center (https://admin.microsoft.com/) and sign in using your admin credentials.
  2. From the left-hand menu, select “Messaging policies“.
Manage Messaging Policies in Microsoft Teams
  1. Click “Add” to create a new Messaging Policy.
Create a new Messaging Policy In Microsoft Teams
  1. Provide the Policy name and a brief description, then “Turn Off” the “Delete sent messages” as stated below.
Create a new Messaging Policy to delete sent messages in Teams
  1. After the new Messaging Policy is created, select it, and from the above toolbar, click on “Manage Users” > “Assign Users“.
Assign users for custom policy in Microsoft Teams
  1. Type the accounts or groups name that you need to prevent them from deleting sent messages in Private Chat or Group Chat, then click on “Apply“.
Add and Manage users for custom policy in Microsoft Teams
  1. Great the assigned users have been added successfully,
a new custom policy in Microsoft Teams
  1. Please wait briefly for the changes to take effect, then Quit the Microsoft Teams Client App and reopen it, You will then notice that the option to delete sent messages has been removed, as shown below.
prevent users from deleting chat messages
Prevent users from deleting chat messages

Conclusion

In conclusion, prevent users from deleting chat messages in Microsoft Teams can be achieved through the use of messaging policies By modifying the Global (Org-wide default) policy or creating a custom messaging policy to prevent specific users from deleting their own chat messages.

Generally, prevent users from deleting chat messages in Microsoft Teams using messaging policies can be an effective way to enforce message retention and ensure compliance with regulatory and legal requirements. However, it is still important to carefully review the specific needs and circumstances of your organization before implementing messaging policies to ensure that the policies align with your organization’s goals and comply with any relevant legal and regulatory requirements.

See Also

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