--- title: Microsoft Teams now lets admins block external bots from... description: Microsoft is rolling out a new Teams meeting protection policy letting administrators automatically block all identified external bots from joining meetings,... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/microsoft-teams-now-lets-admins-block-external-bots-from-meetings-1mdtnruke twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: Microsoft Teams now lets admins block external bots from meetings | daily.dev og:description: Microsoft is rolling out a new Teams meeting protection policy letting administrators automatically block all identified external bots from joining meetings,... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/microsoft-teams-now-lets-admins-block-external-bots-from-meetings-1mdtnruke og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/1mdTnRuke.png og:image:alt: Microsoft Teams now lets admins block external bots from meetings og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Microsoft Teams now lets admins block external bots from meetings **[BleepingComputer](https://daily.dev/sources/bleepingcomputer)** · 3 min read · 0 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary Microsoft is rolling out a new Teams meeting protection policy letting administrators automatically block all identified external bots from joining meetings, without requiring organizer approval. This builds on a June policy that flagged bots in the lobby for manual approval. The feature sits under "Manage bots" settings in the Teams admin center, is off by default, and can be assigned to specific users or groups. Targeted release runs through end of August with general availability expected worldwide by late September. The move addresses risks from third-party bots and malicious apps controlled by threat actors, amid a broader surge in Teams-based social engineering and helpdesk impersonation attacks. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Questions this post answers ### How do I block external bots from joining Microsoft Teams meetings? Microsoft Teams now offers an admin policy under the "Manage bots" meeting protection settings in the Teams admin center that automatically blocks all identified external bots from joining meetings, without requiring organizer approval. It is off by default and must be enabled by an admin, then assigned to specific users or groups via existing Teams meeting policy management. It is rolling out as a targeted release through end of August, reaching general availability worldwide by late September. _daily.dev helps IT admins track Teams security policy rollouts like automatic bot blocking as they reach general availability._ ### What is the difference between the new Teams bot-blocking policy and the bot lobby approval feature from June? The June policy tagged detected bots in the meeting lobby and required organizer approval before they could join, while the new policy goes further by automatically blocking all identified external bots outright, with no organizer confirmation step needed. Both are part of the "Manage bots" meeting protection settings, and Microsoft plans further controls like allow lists for approved bots and audit logs. _Teams admins weighing manual approval versus automatic blocking can follow policy updates like this on daily.dev._ ### Why is Microsoft adding bot blocking controls to Teams meetings? Microsoft added the controls to reduce organizational risk from third-party bots and malicious apps controlled by threat actors joining meetings unnoticed. This follows warnings from April about surging attacks abusing Teams for helpdesk impersonation and lateral movement, and complements a December feature letting admins block external users via the Defender portal to stop ransomware groups and other cybercrime gangs abusing Teams for social engineering. _Security teams tracking Teams-based social engineering threats can follow these defenses evolve on daily.dev._ ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [Microsoft Teams will let admins block custom file extensions](https://daily.dev/posts/microsoft-teams-will-let-admins-block-custom-file-extensions-45faefivp) · BleepingComputer · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Microsoft Teams to get support for third-party deepfake detection tools](https://daily.dev/posts/microsoft-teams-to-get-support-for-third-party-deepfake-detection-tools-xy8a8kvom) · BleepingComputer · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Microsoft responds to Teams privacy concerns by adding a way to disable its AI mid-meeting](https://daily.dev/posts/microsoft-responds-to-teams-privacy-concerns-by-adding-a-way-to-disable-its-ai-mid-meeting-qdkjblayt) · XDA Developers · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [When “Hi, This Is IT” Comes Through Microsoft Teams](https://daily.dev/posts/when-hi-this-is-it-comes-through-microsoft-teams-teyqlhqzj) · Unit 42 · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Building Agents for Teams: Turning conversations into outcomes](https://daily.dev/posts/building-agents-for-teams-turning-conversations-into-outcomes-vwjipf7m8) · DevBlogs · 3 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#security](https://daily.dev/tags/security) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/microsoft-teams-now-lets-admins-block-external-bots-from-meetings-1mdtnruke) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"Microsoft Teams now lets admins block external bots from meetings","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/microsoft-teams-now-lets-admins-block-external-bots-from-meetings-1mdtnruke","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/microsoft-teams-now-lets-admins-block-external-bots-from-meetings-1mdtnruke"},"datePublished":"2026-08-24T14:02:02.408Z","dateModified":"2026-08-24T14:02:26.598Z","description":"Microsoft is rolling out a new Teams meeting protection policy letting administrators automatically block all identified external bots from joining meetings,...","image":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/9bf3694e91e255516a0b19cd5262079e?_a=AQAEuop","thumbnailUrl":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/9bf3694e91e255516a0b19cd5262079e?_a=AQAEuop","isAccessibleForFree":true,"articleSection":"BleepingComputer","inLanguage":"en","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180}},"author":{"@type":"Organization","name":"BleepingComputer","logo":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/s--as8nJ3qy--/f_auto,q_auto/v1774959951/logos/bleepingcomputer?_a=BAMAMiWQ0","url":"https://daily.dev/sources/bleepingcomputer"},"commentCount":0,"discussionUrl":"https://daily.dev/posts/microsoft-teams-now-lets-admins-block-external-bots-from-meetings-1mdtnruke","interactionStatistic":[{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":0},{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"CommentAction"},"userInteractionCount":0}],"keywords":"security","timeRequired":"PT3M"} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://daily.dev"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"BleepingComputer","item":"https://daily.dev/sources/bleepingcomputer"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Microsoft Teams now lets admins block external bots from meetings"}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"FAQPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/microsoft-teams-now-lets-admins-block-external-bots-from-meetings-1mdtnruke#faq","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"How do I block external bots from joining Microsoft Teams meetings?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Microsoft Teams now offers an admin policy under the \"Manage bots\" meeting protection settings in the Teams admin center that automatically blocks all identified external bots from joining meetings, without requiring organizer approval. 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