Microsoft Teams will finally silence its most annoying channel — and give you back hours of your working day

Microsoft Teams
(Image credit: Shutterstock / monticello)

Finding some peace from the constant stream of Microsoft Teams notifications and alerts may soon be a bit easier as the company rolls out a new update.

As first reported earlier this year, the video conferencing service will now allow users to hide any general channels in their workplace or organization, which Microsoft says will go some way to, "helping you focus on the channels that matter most to you".

Now listed in the official Microsoft 365 roadmap as rolling out to all users, the feature should certainly help improve productivity for Microsoft Teams users everywhere, hopefully cutting down on unhelpful or disruptive notifications or pings.

Microsoft Teams channels

The update is available to users across Windows, Mac and web, as well as mobile users on Android and iOS, and will also be available across multiple cloud instances alike general availability users.

The rollout marks the latest in a series of recent amendments and upgrades released for Microsoft Teams as the company looks to continue making the service more intuitive and less intrusive for users.

This includes a recent update that will allow users to manage calendar notifications directly within their Microsoft Teams Activity Feed, meaning there should no longer be a bit of a scramble between apps and services to hush an annoying pop-up or alert.

Microsoft also announced it is working on giving users the ability to redirect an incoming call to voicemail without having to accept or reject it, meaning you can easily focus on the call, or work project you need to, rather than being distracted by Microsoft Teams meetings or calls disrupting your day.

The platform also recently revealed it is rolling out the ability to forward messages between Microsoft Teams chats with just a click, saving users time when trying to pass on important notes or alerts.

Alongside this, a new Windows 11 build is set to bring Microsoft Teams reminders into the recommended section of the Start menu, meaning alerts for video conferencing calls will be much more obvious, hopefully meaning you never miss or forget a meeting ever again.

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Mike Moore
Deputy Editor, TechRadar Pro

Mike Moore is Deputy Editor at TechRadar Pro. He has worked as a B2B and B2C tech journalist for nearly a decade, including at one of the UK's leading national newspapers and fellow Future title ITProPortal, and when he's not keeping track of all the latest enterprise and workplace trends, can most likely be found watching, following or taking part in some kind of sport.

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