Can Microsoft read your Teams chats and meetings?

FAQ: Microsoft Teams data access, AI training, GDPR and residency

Can Microsoft read your Teams chats and meetings?

Yes, unless you enable E2EE: Microsoft's service can decrypt Teams chats, files, recordings and transcripts; E2EE covers only audio, video and screen sharing in one-to-one calls and E2EE meetings. VendorScore rates Microsoft Teams 70/100 overall from public documentation (evidence dated 2026-10-07). Scored configuration: Teams in a Microsoft 365 enterprise tenant with Purview Customer Key (multi-workload DEP), Customer Lockbox, and E2EE enabled for one-to-one VoIP calls and (Teams Premium) meetings that require it.

Is Microsoft Teams end-to-end encrypted?

Only for call and meeting media, and only when turned on. Teams E2EE covers audio, video and video-based screen sharing in one-to-one VoIP calls and in scheduled meetings set to require E2EE (the organizer needs Teams Premium). It never covers chat messages (including meeting chat in an E2EE meeting), group calls, channel meetings, shared files, recordings, transcripts or recap, and PSTN calls are excluded. Call E2EE is off by default; admins must allow it and both participants must turn it on. Everything else uses TLS 1.2+ in transit and BitLocker plus per-file encryption at rest, which Microsoft's service can decrypt. Customer Key can encrypt Teams chat, media messages and recordings in Teams storage with your Azure Key Vault root keys, while Microsoft keeps an availability key.

Can Microsoft employees read my Teams chats?

Not by default. Microsoft says engineers have no default access to cloud customer data and access is granted under oversight when needed. Customer Lockbox lets you approve such requests and covers Teams 1:1, group, channel and meeting chats, files posted to chats, meeting recordings and transcripts. Microsoft's own services still read stored content for search, transcription, DLP, retention, eDiscovery and Copilot.

Does Microsoft train AI on my Teams chats and meetings?

Not foundation models. Microsoft's Copilot documentation says: "Prompts, responses, and data accessed through Microsoft Graph aren't used to train foundation LLMs, including those used by Microsoft Copilot." Teams chats and meetings are Graph content. Optional feedback may be used to improve Copilot but not to train foundation LLMs. Copilot, transcription and intelligent recap are unavailable in E2EE meetings.

Is Microsoft Teams GDPR compliant? Where is the Microsoft DPA?

VendorScore doesn't certify compliance; Microsoft publishes a DPA at https://www.microsoft.com/licensing/docs/view/Microsoft-Products-and-Services-Data-Protection-Addendum-DPA. Microsoft 365, including Teams, is an EU Data Boundary service (see the residency question below).

Who are Microsoft's subprocessors for Teams?

Microsoft publishes its Online Services Subprocessor List through the Service Trust Portal at https://servicetrust.microsoft.com/, a JavaScript app, so we couldn't read the list content. Microsoft says it publishes new subprocessors "at least six months in advance". Copilot features in Teams add AI subprocessors: OpenAI-operated models have been on by default since 2026-07-24, and Anthropic is off by default in the EU/EFTA/UK.

Where is Teams data stored? Can I keep it in the EU?

Yes. Teams stores data in your tenant's geography, including France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland and the EMEA region (some in-country options are for new tenants only), and Microsoft 365 is an EU Data Boundary service. Microsoft's Teams data-location page was last updated 2024-02-29.