Dear colleagues,

Following on the May 29,2024 memo on Teams Chat Retention, the University of Toronto will be implementing a 30-day retention protocol for all individual Teams chat messages. These are messages that occur outside of Microsoft Teams Channel.

Please note: Based on community feedback, the new retention protocol will be postponed by 2 weeks and will take effect on September 30, 2024.

Based on questions from the community, we are providing additional guidance on preparing for the change.

• • First, note that once the retention protocol is implemented, all chats that take place outside of a Teams channel will be subject to the 30-day retention rule. These messages will have a 30-day lifespan and will then be automatically deleted. For those who have the 7-day retention rule already, this retention schedule will continue as before.
  • In preparation for the protocol’s implementation, please take the time to search your chat history and ensure that you copy and save those threads that are important to you. All messages older than 30 days will be affected.
  • Community members asked if there were bulk mechanisms available to save chat threads. At present, there are no such tools. There are some simple methods to save chats, for example:
  • To save a specific message from your Teams chat, hover over the message and click on the three-dot icon.
  • Then, select the “Share to Outlook” option to send an email to the individual you had the conversation with or to yourself, ensuring the message is saved as an email.
  • Any files or document links shared in one-on-one chats will remain accessible. To access these files, go to the specific Teams chat, then click on the Files tab next to the Chat tab.
  • As chats inside Teams channel are not affected by this protocol, community members have asked how to obtain a Team. Teams may be requested by sending an email to the support group at need.team@utoronto.ca with the desired Team name, and the Team owner(s). Teams are subject to an institutional naming convention. More details on Team creation are available in this knowledge base article — Teams & Channels: Request to set up a new Team.
  • We were asked what happens to chat threads that occur during a meeting.
    • If you intend to save chats from Teams meetings, it is best to create the meeting from inside a Team channel. These chats are not affected by the new retention protocol. Please refer to the knowledge base article, Creating a meeting from a Microsoft Teams Channel, to learn how to create a meeting from inside a Teams Channel.
    • If there is no intent to preserve the meeting chat, it is not necessary to create the meeting inside a Team.

It is essential that you review your chat history and save your important conversations that need to be preserved.

Thank you for your attention to this matter. We appreciate your understanding as we work to enhance security, promote efficient communication practices, and support good records management practices.

Kind regards,