🔰 Microsoft Teams : What Are Trust Indicators and Why They Matter for Your Security [Infographic]

New features are coming fast on Microsoft 365 and you have trouble following the official roadmap ?

👀 Every month, I publish a new infographic presenting a tip, a new feature on Microsoft teams / Microsoft Viva / Microsoft Loop / Microsoft 365 solutions that you can use today on your platform. Today is about Trust Indicators in Microsoft Teams.

In Microsoft Teams, how can you quickly determine whether someone you're interacting with—whether in a meeting, chat, group chat, or channel—is an internal colleague, an external user, or a guest ?

Imagine this :

You’re in a Teams meeting with 50 participants, and the discussion turns to sensitive financial data. Do you know for sure who’s internal and who’s an external consultant?

Or picture this : You’re about to share a confidential file in a group chat, but you’re not certain if everyone in the conversation works for your company.

Until now, Microsoft Teams made it hard to answer these questions quickly. Collaboration has exploded—across organizations, with partners, vendors, and even anonymous attendees in webinars and town halls.

This flexibility is great for productivity, but it also introduces risk. Users often struggle to identify whether someone is internal, external, a guest, or completely anonymous before hitting “Send.”

The result ?

Accidental data leaks, compliance violations, and awkward security incidents.

Microsoft’s new feature, Trust Indicators, changes the game..

What Are Trust Indicators in Microsoft Teams ?

Trust Indicators are visual cues—badges or icons—that appear next to people’s names across Microsoft Teams. Their purpose is simple but powerful: to help you instantly understand the trust level of the person you’re interacting with.

These indicators tell you whether someone is internal to your organization, an external participant, a guest, or an anonymous user.

You’ll see these badges in many places where identity matters most:

• Chats and message bubbles

• Participant lists in meetings

• Channel conversations

• Search results and notifications

• Activity feed

• Profile cards

Because Teams surfaces vary in size, Microsoft designed three badge formats to keep the experience clear and consistent without cluttering the interface:

-- Full Badge

What it looks like : Icon + full text label (e.g., “External” or “Guest”).

Where you’ll see it: In areas with plenty of space for details, such as:

• Profile cards (when you hover over a name)

• Participant lists in meetings

• Expanded user details in search results

-- Truncated Badge

What it looks like : Icon + shortened text (e.g., “Ext.”).

Where you’ll see it: In medium-sized spaces where some text fits, like:

• Chat headers (top of a conversation)

• Notifications (toast alerts or activity feed)

• Compact participant lists in side panels

-- Icon-Only Badge

What it looks like: Just the icon, no text.

Where you’ll see it: In tight spaces where text would clutter the layout, such as:

• Chat message bubbles

• Compact participant lists (especially on mobile)

• Activity feed or condensed search results

What Are the 6 categories ?

Microsoft Teams uses five trust categories to help you instantly identify who you’re collaborating with. Here’s what each one means, with examples and admin reminders :

🏷️ 1. External-Familiar

Who they are :

Someone outside your organization that your organization trusts or recognizes.

Examples :

✅ A member of a trusted partner organization (configured in your allowlist).

✅ A person in a shared channel with your organization.

✅ A user from an organization with a cross-cloud trust arrangement.

✅ A phone number you added as a contact.

✅ A user accessing via an ACS app trusted by your organization.

Quick reminders :

⚪Definition of Trusted Microsoft 365 organizations :

A trusted Microsoft 365 organization is an external organization that your tenant explicitly allows for collaboration through Teams external access policies or cross-tenant access settings in Microsoft Entra.

⚪Definition of B2B Direct Connect :

B2B Direct Connect is an Entra feature that lets two organizations establish mutual trust for seamless collaboration in Teams shared channels without creating guest accounts.

⚪Definition of Cross-cloud meeting connection :

Cross-cloud meeting connection allows Microsoft 365 tenants in different clouds (Commercial, GCC, etc.) to join meetings seamlessly

⚠️ Attention for admins :

1. If a tenant is allowed in Teams but blocked in Entra, Entra wins.

2. If you add a tenant ID for cross-cloud meetings in Teams but block it in Entra, the meeting connection fails.

3. If you block a tenant in External Identities, Direct Connect cannot work.

Best practice: Align Entra allow/block lists with Teams Admin Center and B2B configurations to avoid conflicts.

🏷️ 2. External-Unfamiliar

Who they are :

Someone outside your organization that your organization does NOT explicitly trust or recognize.

Examples :

✅ A person from outside your organization whose domain is neither explicitly allowed nor blocked by your organization’s policies

✅ A person from an organization that your organization has blocked.

✅ A person from an organization that has blocked your organization.

✅ An unmanaged account.

✅ A phone number that’s not in your contacts

✅ An email-based user not on Teams

Quick reminders :

⚪Definition of Unmanaged account :

An unmanaged account is an identity that is not governed by an organization’s Azure Active Directory (Entra ID) policies.

1. Example: john.doe@outlook.com, jane.smith@hotmail.com.

2. Example: A person joining a webinar as “Guest123” without authentication.

3. Example: A user from a small business using only personal accounts for Teams access.

🏷️ 3. Guest

Who they are :

A user who has been invited as a guest in your tenant using Microsoft Entra B2B guest access.

Examples :

✅ A consultant added as a guest in your Teams tenant.

✅ A vendor who logs in with their own Microsoft account but is provisioned as a guest in your directory.

Quick reminder :

⚪Definition of a guest :

A Guest is a user who has been explicitly invited to your organization’s Microsoft Teams environment using Microsoft Entra B2B guest access (formerly Azure AD B2B). This means they have accepted an invitation and have a guest account in your directory, allowing them to participate in Teams channels, chats, and meetings.

🏷️ 4. Unverified

Who they are :

An anonymous participant or someone who joined without signing in (e.g., via a meeting link).

Examples :

✅ A person joining a meeting through a browser without authentication.

✅ Someone using a temporary name in a webinar or town hall.

Quick reminder :

⚪Definition of Anonymous person :

An anonymous person in Teams is someone who joins a meeting without signing in to any Microsoft account or organizational account. They are not authenticated and have no identity verification.

1. Example: Clicks a Teams link and joins via browser without credentials.

2. Example: Joins using the Teams app in guest mode without credentials.

🏷️ 5. Group Trust Indicator

Who they are :

A group trust indicator appears when you interact with a group (such as a Teams group chat or channel) that includes external participants—people outside your organization, guests, or anonymous users.

Examples :

✅ A group chat that includes both internal colleagues and external partners.

✅ A Teams channel conversation where guests or external users are present.

✅ A meeting or webinar chat with a mix of internal, external, guest, and anonymous participants.

🏷️ 6. Email Verified

Who they are :

An external participant who joined anonymously but verified their email address during the join process.

Examples :

✅ An external participant verifies their email (e.g., via a one-time passcode) before joining a meeting.

Quick reminder for admins :

Email verification is a Teams Premium feature and it applies only to meetings, webinars, and town halls, not chats or channels.

What important points should I be aware of

as a Teams user ?

External = Caution.

Trust Indicators are not just visual cues—they’re decision-making tools. No matter the badge—External-Familiar, Guest, Email Verified—external users are never internal.

Here’s some questions you should ask yourself :

❓ External-Familiar

Even with External-Familiar, the person is still external to your organization.

Therefore, keep these questions in mind :

1. Is this collaboration part of an approved partnership or project ?

2. Are there any contractual or compliance boundaries I should respect with this partner ?

3. Am I sharing information that’s appropriate for a trusted external partner, but not for the general public ?

❓ External-Unfamiliar

Even with External-Unfamiliar, the person is still external and not trusted or recognized.

Therefore, keep these questions in mind :

1. Do I recognize this person or their organization, or is this a first-time interaction ?

2. Could this be a phishing attempt or social engineering ?

3. Should I verify their identity through another channel before engaging further ?

❓ Guest

Even with Guest, the person is still external to your organization.

Therefore, keep these questions in mind :

1. Has this guest’s access been reviewed recently, or is it still necessary ?

2. Are there Teams or channels where this guest should not have access ?

3. Am I following my organization’s process for onboarding and offboarding guests ?

❓ Unverified

Even with Unverified, the person is still external and completely unauthenticated.

Therefore, keep these questions in mind :

1. Should I avoid discussing confidential or sensitive topics in this meeting ?

2. Is it safer to disable file sharing or restrict screen sharing for this session ?

3. Do I need to alert the meeting organizer or IT about the presence of unverified participants ?

❓ Email Verified

Even with Email Verified, the person is still external to your organization.

Therefore, keep these questions in mind :

1. Does this person’s verified email match the organization or individual I expect ?

2. Am I relying too much on email verification for trust, or should I seek additional confirmation ?

3. Is there a safer way to share sensitive documents, such as using secure links with expiration or limited permissions ?

With the rollout of Trust Indicators in Microsoft Teams, some users may have futher questions. I’ve selected for you the most frequently asked questions that could arise for both end-users and administrators.

💬 Will I see these badges in a 1:1 chat or in a group chat in Teams ?

Yes. Trust Indicators are visible in 1:1 chats just like in group chats. When you receive a message from someone who is external, a guest, or anonymous, you’ll see an icon-only badge next to their name in the message bubble (because space is limited). In the chat header or profile card, you may see the Truncated or Full badge for more clarity.

📅 Will I see these badges in a meeting chat in Teams ?

Yes. Trust Indicators appear in meeting chats whenever external, guest, or anonymous participants send messages. In the message bubble, you’ll typically see an icon-only badge next to the sender’s name (due to limited space). In larger contexts like the participant list, profile card, or meeting details, you may see Truncated or Full badges for more clarity.

Additionally, Teams often displays an alert banner above the compose box in meeting chats warning that external participants are present, helping prevent accidental oversharing.

👤 Will I see these badges in profile cards ?

Yes. Trust Indicators appear in profile cards in Teams whenever you view someone who is external, a guest, or anonymous. In this context, you’ll typically see the Full badge (icon + full text label) because profile cards have enough space for detailed information.

📧 Will I see these badges in Outlook when receiving emails ?

No — Trust Indicators are currently designed for Microsoft Teams only. They appear in Teams surfaces like chat messages, participant lists, calls, notifications, activity feed, and profile cards, but there’s no mention of Outlook integration in Microsoft’s documentation or announcements.

⚙️ Will it be possible to customize these badges ?

No. Trust Indicators in Microsoft Teams cannot be customized by admins or users. They are system-defined and standardized to ensure consistency and security across all organizations. Microsoft explicitly states that the feature is on by default, requires no admin action, and does not provide options for branding or altering badge appearance or text. This is intentional because customization could undermine the clarity and trust purpose of these indicators.

🚫 Will it be possible for an admin to disable these features ?

No. Trust Indicators in Microsoft Teams cannot be disabled by admins. Microsoft has confirmed that this feature is on by default, requires no admin action to enable, and there is no option to turn it off. The reason is that Trust Indicators are considered a core security and transparency feature, helping prevent accidental oversharing and ensuring compliance.

📢 How does the alert banner above the message compose box work ?

The alert banner is part of the Trust Indicators feature and appears whenever you are about to send a message in a chat, channel, or meeting that includes external participants.

Microsoft’s Trust Indicators are a welcome addition to Teams, making it easier to identify who’s who in your conversations and meetings. But while the concept is strong, the execution leaves room for improvement.

👍 What’s Good

1. Quick identification: Finally, users can instantly see if someone is internal, external, a guest, or anonymous—reducing confusion and accidental data leaks.

👎 What Could Be Better

1. Icons and colors aren’t intuitive: Grey vs. black badges may not clearly convey risk levels without training.

   
   

2. No customization: Admins cannot change badge colors, labels, or add organization-specific warnings.

   
   

3. Teams-only limitation: Indicators do not appear in Outlook, SharePoint, or other Microsoft 365 apps—despite collaboration spanning the entire platform.

   
   

4. Banner behavior can be intrusive: The “Replying to external participants” banner reappears every time you return to a conversation.

If you liked this tip and infographic on Microsoft Teams and think it will be useful to others as well, feel free to share it.

Reference for illustrations : https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoftteams/trust-indicators