MC1162276 – (Updated) Microsoft Teams: Trust Indicators – a new way of representing users outside your organization

Product:

Teams

Platform:

Android, iOS, Mac, Online, US Instances, Windows Desktop, World tenant

Status:

Feature Rollout Status Not Supported

Change type:

Admin impact, New feature, Updated message, User impact

Links:

515169

Details:

Summary:
Microsoft Teams will introduce Trust Indicators—visual badges identifying external, guest, or anonymous users—to reduce oversharing risks. Public preview starts late September 2025; general rollout begins mid-February 2026. The feature is on by default, requires no admin action, and appears across multiple Teams surfaces.

Details:
Updated December 11, 2025: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience.
[Introduction:]
To help users quickly identify external participants in Microsoft Teams and reduce the risk of oversharing sensitive information, we're introducing Trust Indicators-visual labels (badges or icons) next to people's names. These indicators signal whether someone is external to your organization, a guest, or an anonymous meeting participant.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 515169.
[When this will happen:]
Public Preview: Begins rolling out late September 2025; expected completion by late November 2025.
General Availability (Worldwide, GCC, GCC High, DoD): Begins rolling out mid-February 2026 (previously mid-January); expected completion by early March 2026 (previously early February).

Change Category:
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Scope:
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Release Phase:

Created:
2025-09-30

updated:
2025-12-12

Task Type

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Docu to Check

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MS How does it affect me

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MS Preperations

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summary for non-techies**

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Direct effects for Operations**

User Confusion
Without prior preparation, users may misinterpret the Trust Indicators, leading to confusion about the status of external participants and potentially oversharing sensitive information.
   - roles: End Users, Team Leaders
   - references: https://learn.microsoft.com/MicrosoftTeams/trust-indicators, https://www.microsoft.com/microsoft-365/roadmap?filters=&searchterms=515169

Increased Support Requests
The introduction of Trust Indicators without adequate communication may result in a spike in support requests as users seek clarification on the new feature and its implications.
   - roles: Helpdesk Support, IT Support Staff
   - references: https://learn.microsoft.com/MicrosoftTeams/trust-indicators, https://www.microsoft.com/microsoft-365/roadmap?filters=&searchterms=515169

Configutation Options**

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Data Protection**

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IT Security**

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explanation for non-techies**

Microsoft Teams is introducing a new feature called Trust Indicators, which are visual badges or icons that will appear next to the names of people in your Teams meetings. Think of these indicators like name tags at a conference. Just as a name tag might show someone's company or role, these badges will show whether someone is from outside your organization, a guest, or an anonymous participant. This is designed to help you quickly understand who you're communicating with, reducing the chance of accidentally sharing sensitive information with someone who shouldn't have access to it.

Imagine you're hosting a dinner party and you've invited friends, family, and a few people you don't know very well. You might give everyone a different colored name tag to help identify them: blue for family, green for friends, and yellow for new acquaintances. This way, you can easily tell who you might want to share personal stories with and who you might want to keep things more general with. Similarly, Trust Indicators in Teams will help you see at a glance who is internal to your organization and who is not, so you can adjust your communication accordingly.

The rollout of this feature will begin with a public preview in late September 2025 and is expected to be available to everyone by mid-February 2026. It's important to note that this feature will be turned on by default, so there's no need for IT administrators to take any action to enable it. However, it might be helpful for organizations to inform their teams about this change, so everyone is aware of the new badges and what they mean.

Overall, Trust Indicators are like a visual cue to help ensure that your conversations in Teams are appropriate for the audience, just like knowing who you're talking to at a party helps guide what you say. This feature aims to make collaboration across different organizations smoother and more secure.