Free Microsoft Teams privacy upgrade is tedious but essential

Microsoft Teams continues its run of updates with the latest roadmap entry showing that the collaboration platform will soon require users to enable device permissions.

The update means Microsoft Teams users will have to manually toggle-on permissions for each third-party app they want to use via the web client. Users who want to use the new security settings will have to opt-in. Users typically see their camera or microphone asking them to allow access when used on some of the best laptop devices. Now, you will manually opt-in.

Microsoft has rolled out a number of updates to the Teams platform recently, including a shortcut for muting and unmuting during calls, as well as a bundle of new organization features. These features are aimed at improving the user experience, whilst this latest update aims to improve users' overall security when using the platform. 

The new permissions settings already exist in the mobile and desktop versions of Microsoft Teams, with the company now set to add them to the web client. Microsoft says that requiring users to enable permissions on an individual app basis will improve the security of Teams whenever other apps ask for native device permissions to use webcams, microphones, and location data.

More secure

According to the new Microsoft 365 roadmap entry, Microsoft says that it has decided to introduce the settings to the web client "in order to better secure Microsoft Teams third-party applications." This makes sense considering that native device permissions are core system assets.

The new security feature will begin rolling out to Teams web users worldwide in February 2022. There are lots of interesting developments happening in the Teams world at the moment. Microsoft is also looking to add virtual avatars and environments to the collaboration platform to spice up those tedious work meetings, so keep a lookout for other futuristic updates arriving soon.