How to Hide Message Previews in Microsoft Teams

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Stop Teams from showing the content of your messages
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While it can be helpful to see chat message previews in Teams, sometimes you might want to keep them hidden for privacy reasons. In this article, we’ll explain how to hide or disable content previews for Teams messages in your chat sidebar or in message notifications. We’ll also go over how to customize the way Teams notifications appear on your computer or mobile device.

How to Hide Teams Chat Previews

Section 1 of 4:

Disabling Previews in the Chat Sidebar

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  1. Step 1 Click the ••• menu icon.
    It’s located at the top right corner of the Teams window next to your user icon.
    • This technique will limit what information is visible about chats in the left-hand sidebar of the chat window.
  2. Step 2 Click Settings.
    It’s near the top of the menu.
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  3. Step 3 Select Appearance.
    This option is in the left-hand menu bar.
  4. Step 4 Toggle off Show message previews in your chat list.
    You’ll still see a list of chats to the left of the main chat window, but you won’t see any information other than the name of the chat.
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Section 2 of 4:

Hiding Previews in Notifications

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  1. Step 1 Click the ••• menu icon.
    It’s located at the top right corner of the Teams window next to your user icon.
    • This method will allow you to disable previews in chat notifications within the Teams app. However, note that the options described here are not available in all versions of Teams.
  2. Step 2 Click Settings.
    It’s near the top of the menu.
  3. Step 3 Select Notifications and activity.
    It’s in the left-hand menu bar.
  4. Step 4 Uncheck the option to Show message and content previews in notifications.
    This should be located under theDisplay header.[1]
    • To make sure your selection worked, click the Test notification button. This is also under the Display header.[2]
    • If your version of Teams doesn’t support turning off notification previews, you can turn off chat notifications altogether in the same menu.
      • Under Display, uncheck Show notifications during calls and meetings.
      • Under Chat, use the dropdown to set Chat message notifications to Off.
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Section 3 of 4:

Turning Off Notification Previews on Your Device

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  1. Step 1 Windows
    If you have notifications from Teams enabled on your PC, you can adjust how they appear when they pop up on your screen. Use these steps to prevent or limit content previews in Teams message notifications on Windows:[3]
    • Go to Start > Settings > System > Notifications (Windows 11) or Start > Settings > System > Notifications & actions (Windows 10).
    • Under Notifications from apps and other senders (or Get notifications from these senders in Windows 10), select Teams.
    • Enable the option to Hide content when notifications are on lock screen. This will turn off Teams message previews while your PC is locked.
    • Configure other notification settings the way you like. For example, you can turn them off altogether, turn off notification banners, or turn off notifications in the Action Center.
  2. Step 2 Mac
    You can customize system-wide app notifications for Teams in your Mac’s System Settings. Here’s how to do it:[4]
  3. Step 3 Android
    On Android, you can hide notification previews on your Lock Screen. The exact method may vary depending on your phone model, but you can generally do this by going to Settings > App & notifications > Notifications and turning off Sensitive notifications under Lock screen.[5]
    • You can also turn off Teams notifications altogether by going to Settings > Notifications > App notifications > All apps > Teams and disabling notifications. You may be able to just disable message notifications instead of all notifications from Teams.
  4. Step 4 iPhone/iPad
    You can customize how Teams notifications appear on your iOS device in the Settings app. Here’s how:[6]
    • Open the Settings app, scroll down, and tap Notifications.
    • Scroll down to the Notification Style header and find Teams in the list of apps. Tap it to open a new menu.
    • Under the Lock Screen Appearance header, tap Show Previews and select Never or When Unlocked.
    • Go back to the main Teams menu to make any other adjustments you’d like. For example, you can turn off notifications altogether or restrict where and how they appear on your screen.
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Section 4 of 4:

Frequently Asked Questions

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  1. 1
    How do I hide a chat completely? To hide a Teams chat, go to the Chats tab and click ••• next to the chat in question. Click Hide in the pop-up menu.[7]
    • You can also hide chats in the mobile app by swiping left on the chat, then tapping More > Hide.
    • The chat will reappear if someone sends a new message. You can also unhide the chat by searching for the name of the person you were chatting with, then clicking ••• > Unhide next to the name of the conversation in the search results.
  2. 2
    How can I mute notifications for a chat? Click ••• next to the chat in the Chats sidebar, then select Mute. In the mobile app, swipe left on the chat, then select More > Mute.[8]
    • You can unmute the chat at any time in the •••/More menu.
  3. 3
    Why do I still see message previews in my other account(s)? If you use multiple accounts in Teams, changes to your message preview settings may only apply to one account at a time. You’ll need to log into each account and change the settings separately.[9]
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Tips

  • The Teams mobile app doesn’t let you disable previews within the app, but you can turn off in-app chat notifications. Tap your user icon in the top left corner, then select Notifications > General Activity and toggle off Messages.
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References

  1. ↑ https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/preview-messages-in-microsoft-teams-dadbcb44-b82a-48af-9665-1320893dbfff
  2. ↑ https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/manage-notifications-in-microsoft-teams-1cc31834-5fe5-412b-8edb-43fecc78413d#id0ebd=mac
  3. ↑ https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/notifications-and-do-not-disturb-in-windows-feeca47f-0baf-5680-16f0-8801db1a8466
  4. ↑ https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/change-notifications-settings-on-mac-mchl205da693/mac
  5. ↑ https://support.google.com/android/answer/9079661?hl=en
  6. ↑ https://support.apple.com/en-us/108781
  7. ↑ https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/hide-unhide-mute-add-a-chat-to-favorites-or-mark-a-chat-as-unread-in-microsoft-teams-9aee02ef-713d-495b-8a73-9762d8e4b066#id0ebd=desktop
  8. ↑ https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/hide-unhide-mute-add-a-chat-to-favorites-or-mark-a-chat-as-unread-in-microsoft-teams-9aee02ef-713d-495b-8a73-9762d8e4b066#id0ebd=desktop
  9. ↑ https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/preview-messages-in-microsoft-teams-dadbcb44-b82a-48af-9665-1320893dbfff

About This Article

Megaera Lorenz, PhD
Written by:
Megaera Lorenz, PhD
wikiHow Staff Writer
This article was co-authored by wikiHow staff writer, Megaera Lorenz, PhD. Megaera Lorenz is an Egyptologist and Writer with over 20 years of experience in public education. In 2017, she graduated with her PhD in Egyptology from The University of Chicago, where she served for several years as a content advisor and program facilitator for the Oriental Institute Museum’s Public Education office. She has also developed and taught Egyptology courses at The University of Chicago and Loyola University Chicago.
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Updated: March 2, 2026
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Categories: Microsoft Office
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