💡 Our Technical Review in summary
Microsoft is updating the behavior of inactive channel management in Microsoft Teams (Roadmap ID 325780). Based on administrator feedback, the system will move to an “opt-in suggestions” model rather than automated hiding. Teams will identify channels a user hasn’t visited recently and prompt the user to review and hide them manually. This update ensures that users maintain full control over their sidebar visibility while receiving intelligent recommendations to reduce clutter.
Impact
- User Experience: Users will receive a “coach mark” notification stating, “Looks like you haven’t visited some channels lately. Hide them to help you focus.”
- Manual Review: Users can select “Review and Hide” to see a list of inactive channels, including the date of their last visit, before deciding which ones to hide.
- Channel Threshold: The suggestion logic only triggers for users who have more than 25 shown channels. Users with 25 or fewer channels will not receive suggestions.
- Frequency: Users can manually trigger a suggestion check via the “Get Suggestions” button in Settings once every 24 hours.
- Control Settings: A new toggle, “Suggestions for hiding inactive channels,” will be added to Teams Settings > General. The feature is enabled by default.
- Timeline: While Targeted Release is currently available, General Availability (Worldwide, GCC, GCC High, DoD) is scheduled to begin in January 2026.
Action Required
- Admin Notification: No direct administrative action is required in the Microsoft 365 Admin Center as there are no tenant-wide controls for this specific feature; it is managed at the user level.
- Documentation: Update internal help desk documentation or training materials to reflect the new “Suggestions for hiding inactive channels” setting in the Teams client.
- User Awareness: Inform “power users” who manage a high volume of channels about the 25-channel threshold and the manual “Get Suggestions” button to help them maintain an organized workspace.
Microsoft Official Update
Service: N/A
Category: planForChange
Severity: normal
Updated October 16, 2025: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience.
As a follow up to MC804771, based on Admin feedback, we are updating the behavior for automated hiding of inactive channels to be opt-in (suggestions) only. With this update, Teams will offer users suggestions on channels that are inactive, and the user is prompted to review their inactive channels and hide them only if they choose. The user will also be able to view when they last visited the channel to help them decide if they would like to hide the channel. The settings support this opt-in workflow and there are no changes to the on demand hiding process.
This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID: 325780
[When this will happen:]
Targeted Release: Available now.
General Availability (Worldwide, GCC, GCC High, DoD): We will begin rolling out in January 2026.
[How this will affect your organization:]
Before this rollout:
Users had to manually manage their relevant channels list by hiding inactive and irrelevant channels.
After this rollout:
Manage preferences for automated suggestions via Teams Settings
If users prefer to manage channels manually, they can opt out of the auto-suggestions process. Simply go to Teams settings, select General, and toggle off “Suggestions for hiding inactive channels.”
Hide inactive channels on demand when needed
Users can manually view which channels are inactive and choose to hide some or all of them whenever you need. This can be done from Settings, under General, by clicking the “Get Suggestions” button. Note that this action can be performed once every 24 hours.
Automated suggestions of inactive channels
With this, Teams will suggest channels that have been inactive for the user. Once the inactive channels are identified, the user is notified with the coach mark message, “Looks like you haven’t visited some channels lately. Hide them to help you focus.”
The user can select Review and Hide to see the details and decide which channels they would like to hide. The user can choose not hide any channels by selecting Not Now.
If a user has less than or equal to 25 shown channels, no channels will be suggested for that user. This feature is on by default and all Teams users on the affected platforms will have access to it.
[What you need to do to prepare:]
Admins need to be aware of this feature, but no additional action is needed.
