Skip to main content

Your Microsoft Teams messages can now get deleted if deemed ‘inappropriate’

Microsoft might want to have a hand in helping Microsoft Teams IT administrators crack down on improper workplace or classroom behavior. As noted on the Microsoft 365 road map, the company will soon allow chat supervisors to delete messages with inappropriate content.

Set to roll out by the end of September, the feature is mainly designed for Teams for Education users. It is mainly for situations where someone might post a curse word, an off-topic conversation, or other foul gestures in a Teams chat. Microsoft says that the feature will be available on both the web and desktop apps worldwide, so there’s a chance all IT admins outside of education might eventually see the option.

People using Microsoft Teams in a circle.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Such a feature would be great at a time when schools and workplaces are adapting a hybrid way of learning and working. Presumably, IT admins would be able to control it with a switch in the Microsoft Teams Admin Center, which is home to a host of other controls for the service.

Recommended Videos

It would help keep conversations on-topic, while also playing a role in making work and school feel comfortable for everyone. It even fits in with the existing controls already in place that allow meeting hosts to disable someone’s video feed, hard-mute attendees, and manually remove someone from a meeting.

Of course, some might see this as censorship, but Slack has a similar feature for IT administrators. On Slack, which competes with Microsoft Teams, channel owners and admins can delete member’s messages in public channels, private channels, and group direct messages. Microsoft may have been inspired by this feature.

As Microsoft Teams becomes more popular, there are lots of administrators who might appreciate the feature to help keep Teams users on task. Since the start of the pandemic, Teams usage has been on the rise. Microsoft last reported in July that Teams hit a monthly milestone of 250 million active users.

That’s a major improvement from the 145 million daily active users last reported in April. The company also noted that there are over 3,000 organizations with more than 10,000 users on the platform. Slack, meanwhile, has 10 million daily active users.

Arif Bacchus
Arif Bacchus is a native New Yorker and a fan of all things technology. Arif works as a freelance writer at Digital Trends…
Microsoft warns users Windows 10 support ends soon, these are your options
Windows 11 and Windows 10 operating system logos are displayed on laptop screens.

Many were hoping that Windows 10 might still get another lease on life, but alas -- that doesn't seem to be the case. Microsoft has just started sending out emails to users who are still running Windows 10, and those emails make it quite clear that the end-of-life (EOL) period of the beloved operating system is coming to an end. Microsoft's advice? Upgrade to Windows 11 ASAP.

Windows Latest received an email from Microsoft, titled: "End of support for Windows -- what you need to know." This message was likely sent out to many more users, and may keep popping into people's mailboxes as Microsoft keeps rolling out the alert.

Read more
Microsoft might make your PC specs easier to understand
A command in the Command Prompt in Windows 11.

Microsoft released another preview build of Windows 11 this week, and someone has noticed an interesting addition to the system settings. There is now a FAQ section beneath the device specifications list, providing handy information about the practical impacts of your specs.

https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:lld3hsasiketetu767uagr6m/post/3lkmdy5p35s2g?ref_src=embed&ref_url=https%253A%252F%252Fwww.theverge.com%252Fnews%252F632327%252Fmicrosoft-windows-11-system-device-specs-recommendations

Read more
Microsoft is working on making it easier to talk to your PC
The Surface Pro 11 on a white table in front of a window.

Windows 11 has support for voice commands like "Open Edge" largely for accessibility purposes but with the latest Insider preview build, it's taking a step toward going full Star Trek. Instead of remembering set phrases, Microsoft wants to enable users to give commands in more natural language.

This means you can open the Edge browser with just about any intuitive phrase that expresses your intent to "open Edge." You could say "Can you open Edge?", "Open Edge please," or "Switch to the Edge app," along with other variations. If Windows happens to get confused, it will show real-time command suggestions based on what it thinks you want so you can direct it successfully.

Read more