How to Set Up a New Team in Microsoft Teams
Creating a new team in Microsoft Teams allows you to organize communication, files, and collaboration around specific projects or departments. You can also apply sensitivity labels to control privacy and compliance settings directly from the Teams creation process.
Follow these steps to set up a new team with the right privacy and sensitivity configurations.
Step 1: Open Microsoft Teams
- Sign in to the Microsoft Teams app using your organization account.
- In the left-hand menu, select Teams.
- Click the + icon or select Create team.
Step 2: Name and Describe Your Team
- Enter a name for your new team.
- Add a short description to help members understand the team’s purpose.
- Choose a privacy setting:
- Private – Only invited users can join.
- Public – Anyone in your organization can join.
Step 3: Adjust Privacy and Sensitivity Settings
When you create a team, you can select a sensitivity label to apply classification and protection rules.
- These labels are managed through Microsoft Purview and control what privacy options are available.
- For example, if you select a label like General, your ability to set the team as Public or Private depends on that label’s configuration.
If the sensitivity label restricts sharing or privacy settings, the options will automatically be limited to what the label allows.
Step 4: Create the Team
- Choose the General sensitivity label and keep the privacy setting as Private.
- Select Create to finish setting up the team.
Once created, the new team will appear in your Teams list with the applied sensitivity label.
Step 5: Verify the Label Assignment
After the team is created:
- Open the team and view any channel under it.
- You’ll see the assigned sensitivity label displayed at the top-right corner of the channel, next to the Meet button.
- This label helps members know what level of data sensitivity applies to the team and ensures compliance with your organization’s policies.
Important Note
Sensitivity labeling for Microsoft 365 Groups and SharePoint sites is not enabled by default.
To use sensitivity labels in Teams, this feature must be explicitly enabled in your Microsoft 365 tenant through the Microsoft Purview compliance portal.
Proper labeling ensures:
- Teams are created with the correct privacy defaults.
- Guest access and sharing rules align with organizational governance.
- Sensitive information remains protected at all times.
