Messaging & calls app
Microsoft Teams
Microsoft’s app for chat, video meetings and shared files at work and at home.
Microsoft Teams brings chat, video meetings and shared files into one app. At work it is organised into teams and channels, with Word, Excel and PowerPoint files opening inside the conversation, and meetings scheduled from Outlook. At home, the free version works as a messenger and video call app for family and friends.
Microsoft launched Teams in March 2017. It replaced Skype for Business in 2021 and took over from Skype itself when Skype closed in May 2025. Most people use Teams through an employer or school, where an administrator manages the accounts and decides what is kept. The free version needs only a Microsoft account and limits group meetings to 60 minutes.
01Is Microsoft Teams free?
Microsoft Teams (free) needs only a Microsoft account. It covers chat, one-to-one calls and group meetings of up to 60 minutes with up to 100 people, and 5 GB of cloud storage per person. Businesses pay per user for Teams Essentials or for a Microsoft 365 business plan that includes Teams, which allow longer and larger meetings. Most people who use Teams at work get it through their employer.
02How to start using Microsoft Teams
- 1
For work or school, sign in with the account your organisation gave you. For personal use, sign in with a free Microsoft account, or create one at teams.microsoft.com.
- 2
Install the Teams app on your computer and phone. You can also use it in a web browser at teams.microsoft.com.
- 3
Check your camera, microphone and speaker under Settings, Devices before your first meeting.
- 4
To join a meeting, click the link in the invitation. Guests can join from a browser without installing anything.
- 5
Set your status and quiet hours under Settings, Notifications, so messages wait until you are back.
03Is Microsoft Teams safe?
Who can see your chats
On a work or school account, your organisation manages Teams. Admins can keep, search and export chats and files under the organisation’s policies, so treat them as company records.
Meeting gatecrashers
Use the lobby in meeting options, so people from outside your organisation wait until someone lets them in.
Fake messages from outside
Scammers can message Teams users from external accounts. Teams labels them External; do not open links or files from people you do not know.
