In Communities in Teams, you can invite, remove, or block members to a community that you own. You can then approve your member requests and add community owners.

Notes: 

  • Make sure you comply with local laws and regulations regarding sending emails to invitees.

  • Communities in Teams aren't accessible to minors, including creating and joining communities. 

Community owners can invite people to join their community in two ways: 

  • Share an invite link

  • Send direct invites

To invite a member to a community that you own, follow these steps:

  1. Tap the Communities Teams add group name​​​​​​​ tab in the Teams app.

  2. Tap the community you would like to invite a member to.

  3. Tap the community name at the top of the screen.

  4. You can do one of the following:

    • In the Members section, tap Invite Cross icon at top of the screen. You can search by name, email, phone number, or choose from the list of Suggested contacts. You also have the option to invite by choosing Share join link OD share icon or Share QR Code Teams QR code button

    • Tap Manage > Add people at the top of the screen. You can search by name, email, phone number, or choose from the list of suggested contacts. You also have the option to invite by choosing Share invite link OD share icon or Share QR Code Teams QR code button

  5. After you finish selecting a member to add, tap INVITE at the top of the screen. Then the member you've added receives a notification with the option to accept or decline the invite.

Note: Bulk invite in Teams is only available for iOS users.

As a community owner, bulk invite allows you to easily invite people and grow your community with your phone's camera on iOS. With the power of Microsoft Lens, quickly scan and invite multiple emails or phone numbers using your mobile camera.

  1. Tap the Communities Teams add group name tab in the Teams app. 

  2. Tap the community that you would like to bulk invite members to.

  3. Tap the community name at the top of the screen.

  4. In the Members section, tap Add.

  5. Tap Camera import, then using any of the options, capture an image of your list of phone numbers or email addresses.

    Tip: Be sure to check the country codes if you are importing phone numbers from other countries.

  6. Tap the checkmark to confirm the image, then tap the checkmark again to import the list.

  7. In the Invite members screen, you'll be shown the list to verify the information or to make any corrections if there are any invalid phone numbers or email addresses. Tap the edit button  Teams edit buttonnext to a phone number or email address to make any changes or corrections.

  8. When you're ready, tap Invite, then select Send to confirm that you want the invitations to be sent via email to the list. People you invite will appear in the members list after they accept the invite.

In Communities in Teams, you send member invites that you can send by invitation via link, QR Code, or directly in the Teams app.   

Note: The settings the community owner sets determine if community members canshare a join link or QR code

 To make approve member requests, you can: 

  1. Under Communities, tap the community where you’re the owner to view member requests.

  2. Tap the community name.

  3. Under Pending members​​​​​​​, tap on Invites to view member invites.

  4. There you can see who you invited. Select Remind to approve the request or X to remove.

When a member invite is accepted, you will receive a notification. If the invitation is rejected, it is removed automatically from the pending list with no notification is sent.

Community owners can share invites via link, QR Code, or directly in Teams.  If enabled by community owners, members can also share invites for new members.  

Note: The settings the community owner sets determine if community members can share a join link or QR code.

To make approve member requests, you can:

  1. Under Communities Teams add group name, tap the community where you’re the owner to view member requests.

  2. Tap the community name.

  3. Under Pending members person icon with question mark​​​​​​​, you’ll find two options: 

    1. Requests from new members 

    2. Invites from member you invited  

  4. Under Requests, you can select Approve to approve the request or X to remove. 

When you create a community, you're automatically the owner. You can then make another member, or multiple members, owners as well. 

  1. Tap the Communities Teams add group name tab in the Teams app.

  2. Tap the community that you want to add an owner in.

  3. Tap the community name at the top of the screen.

  4. In the Members section, tap Manage.

  5. Tap the user you want to make an owner.

  6. Tap Make owner. The community member will be notified that they are now an owner. The new owner will have an owner badge added under their name.

  1. Tap the Communities Teams add group name tab in the Teams app.

  2. Tap the community that you want to add an owner in.

  3. Tap the community name at the top of the screen.

  4. In the Members section, tap Manage.

  5. Tap the owner that you want to demote to a member.

  6. Tap Make member.

You have the option to remove a member from a community you own. Here's how:

  1. Tap the Communities Teams add group name tab in the Teams app.

  2. Tap the community that you would like to remove a member.

  3. Tap the community name at the top of the screen.

  4. In the Members section, tap Manage.

  5. Tap the member's name, then tap Remove from community at the bottom of the screen. In the confirmation screen, select Remove again.

The Remove from community option doesn't block a member from rejoining a community. If circumstances require you to block a member permanently, see Remove and Block community member.

Notes: 

  • After a member is removed from the community, they will no longer have access to the community chat history.

  • When a file is shared in the community, everyone in the community can access files with permission settings set to Anyone with this link. When you remove or block a community member, other members can still access ⁠shared and uploaded files. The owner of the file will need to go to OneDrive to ⁠stop or change share permissions.   

In Microsoft Teams Free, you have the option to remove and block a community member. This will prevent them from rejoining or searching for this community.

To remove and block a member from a community you own, follow these steps:

  1. Tap the Communities Teams add group name tab in the Teams app.

  2. Tap the community that you would like to remove and block a member.

  3. Tap the community name at the top of the screen.

  4. In the Members section, tap Manage.

  5. Tap the member's name, the tap Remove from community at the bottom of the screen. In the confirmation screen, select Remove & Block.

Note: When a file is shared in the community, everyone in the community can access files with permission settings set to Anyone with this link. When you remove or block a community member, other members can still access ⁠shared and uploaded files. The owner of the file will need to go to OneDrive to ⁠stop or change share permissions.   

The Remove & block option prevents a member from rejoining a community. Any join links generated will result in an error for blocked members.

If you try to add a blocked member to the community, the member will still show up in the people picker, but when you tap on their picture, you'll receive an error message.

Note: When you remove and block a member, it only blocks the member from the community. It doesn't block them from one-to-one or group chats in Microsoft Teams Free. To learn about the option to block a contact from adding you to a one-to-one chat, adding you to a new group, calling you in Teams, or adding you to a community, see Block a contact in Microsoft Teams Free.

To unblock a member from a community you own, follow these steps:

  1. Tap the Communities Teams add group name tab in the Teams app.

  2. Tab the community that you would like to unblock a community member.

  3. Tap the community name at the top of the screen.

  4. In the Members section, tap Manage.

  5. Scroll to the end of the members list, then tap Blocked.

  6. Tap the member's name you want to unblock, then tap Unblock.

Contact us

For more help, contact support or ask a question in the Microsoft Teams Community.

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