Create and use shared channels in Microsoft Teams

With a shared channel you work with people from another team or even another organization, without them becoming members of your whole team. They don't need to switch organizations in Teams either: the channel simply appears alongside their own teams. Shared channels were announced at Ignite as Teams Connect and have been generally available since 2022.

Three types of channels

Channel	Who has access?
Standard	All team members
Private	A subset of team members
Shared	Whoever you add: team members, other colleagues, other teams or people from another organization

Create a shared channel

1. Go to the team and click More options (three dots) > Add channel.
2. Enter a name and choose Shared as the channel type.
3. Click Create and add people or entire teams.

What does the admin need to set up?

• In the Teams admin center, the teams policy controls who can create shared channels and who can invite external people.
• To collaborate with another organization, both organizations must allow B2B direct connect in the cross-tenant access settings in Microsoft Entra ID.
• Exact setting names can differ.

Guest access or shared channel?

• Choose a shared channel for collaboration around one project, without access to the rest of the team.
• Choose guest access when the external person needs access to the full team, with all channels and apps.

Also see create a channel in Teams and work with external users in Teams.

Read also

Create a standard, private or shared channel in Microsoft Teams
Five ways to work with external users in Teams
How to add external guests in Microsoft Teams

Nederlandstalige versie: Gedeelde kanalen in Microsoft Teams maken en gebruiken

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