Configuring Zoom Team Chat admin settings


After deploying Zoom Team Chat basics such as user groups, pre-defined chat channels, and account-level settings, you can create additional user groups, change user group settings, and create channels for specific teams, projects, or topics.

Once you’ve completed initial deployment of contact groups and Zoom Team Chat channels, you adjust how Zoom Team Chat functions for your users, chat security settings, and what services you use to store your messages and files sent through Team Chat.

This article covers:

Prerequisites for admin management of Zoom Team Chat settings

How to configure Zoom Team Chat settings

Zoom Team Chat has account-level settings that apply to all users. You can enable or disable certain chat features like file transfer and code snippets. The following steps are a few of the settings you can enable or disable.

Learn more about all the available account-level settings.

Change Zoom Team Chat settings for sharing

  1. Sign in to the Zoom web portal.
  2. In the navigation menu, click Account Management then Account Settings.
  3. Click the Team Chat tab.
  4. In the Sharing section, change these settings as needed:

*Note: You can also configure these settings at the group level, so that different groups of users on your account have different features and access.

Change Zoom Team Chat visibility settings

These visibility settings are only available at the account level.

  1. Sign in to the Zoom web portal.
  2. In the navigation menu, click Account Management then Account Settings.
  3. Click the Team Chat tab.
  4. In the Visibility section, change these settings to get started:
    • Set Chat as a default tab for first-time users: Upon first sign-in to the client, the Team Chat tab is the default, instead of the Home tab.
    • Announcements
    • Auto-archive channels or group chats: After archiving, the chat history will be retained, accessible to users via search, and can be unarchived by the channel owner.
    • Suppress deleted or deactivated user notice in group chats and channels: When a user is deleted or deactivated from the account, display no message in any group chats or channels where they were members.
    • Enable read receipts: Show when messages have been viewed by recipients in chats and channels with fewer than 20 members.

Change Zoom Team Chat security settings

Zoom Team Chat security settings can be configured for the entire account through Account Settings, or at the Group Settings level for more granular control for different users groups or departments. Some of the the following settings are only available at the Group-level.

  1. Sign in to the Zoom web portal.
  2. In the navigation menu, click Account Management then Account Settings.
  3. Click the Team Chat tab.
  4. In the Security section, change these settings as needed:
    • Enable advanced chat encryption
      • Note: For users to access the Team Chat tab on the Zoom Web App, admins must ensure that the Advanced chat encryption setting is disabled.
    • Enable Personal channel in Chat window: Provides a personal chat space for each user, for keeping notes and sending themselves reminders.
    • Allow users to manage apps in Channels: Disabling this option will prevent users from adding apps to Channels.
    • Allow users to create Shared Spaces: Users can create shared spaces to effortlessly share channels with other users or teams.
    • Share links to messages and channels in Team Chat: Users can create a link directly to a specific chat channel or message in a channel.
    • Allow hyperlinks in Team Chat:Users can send and click on hyperlinks in Team Chat.
    • Schedule a meeting from chat or channel: Users can quickly schedule meetings with members of a chat or channel in Team Chat.
    • Chat Etiquette Tool: Allows admins to create policies to prevent unwanted sharing of sensitive information based on defined keywords and text patterns/regular expressions (such as account numbers and social security numbers).
    • Allow channel owner and admin(s) to remove messages of other members: Allows admins to remove messages from other members when necessary. 
      The affected members will see their message removed, and the admin will view the original message in the chat history report.

*Note: These settings are only available at the Group-level settings.
**Note: These settings can also be configured at the Group-level, so that different groups of users on your account have different features and access.

Change Zoom Team Chat external settings

You can adjust Zoom Team Chat external settings for the entire account via Account Settings or at the Group level for specific user groups or departments, allowing for more detailed control. Some settings are exclusively accessible at the Group-level.

  1. Sign in to the Zoom web portal.
  2. In the navigation menu, click Account Management then Account Settings.
  3. Click the Team Chat tab.
  4. In the External section, change these settings as needed:
    • Allow users to direct messages with others: Choosing 'In the same organization' means users might still be able to chat with external users if they're added to channels or group chats involving external users.
    • Users can share files in chats and channels: Enable users in this account to send and receive files in chats and channels. When disabled, users can still capture and share screenshots.
      • Note: To enable access to the Team Chat tab on the Zoom Web App, admins must ensure that the setting for Users can share files in chats and channels is either disabled or set to "Anyone." The Team Chat will work when this setting is disabled, and if users choose to enable it, they should exclusively set it to "Anyone."
    • Inviting external users into group chats and channels*: Individuals authorized to invite external users.
    • Members of your organization joining group chats or channels*: Allow users to join group chat and channels owned by external users. This setting applies to all internal users.
  5. Click Save.

*Note: These settings to not apply to Continuous meeting chat channels. 

Change Zoom Team Chat storage settings

You can choose how long chat messages are stored in the Zoom cloud and on local devices. This will delete all messages after the designated time frame.

  1. Sign in to the Zoom web portal.
  2. In the navigation menu, click Account Management then Account Settings.
  3. Click the Team Chat tab.
  4. In the Storage section, change these settings as needed:
    • *Set retention period for messages and files in Zoom's cloud: Automatically save all persistent chat messages to the cloud.
      You can specify the retention settings based on the type of chat, distinguishing between direct messages/group conversations and channels. After the specified cloud retention period, Zoom will remove all persistent chat messages and metadata from the cloud. 
      Admin can also configure their chat channels to utilize Box or SharePoint for file storage and creation.
    • *Store messages on local devices (excluding personal channel messages): Automatically delete all persistent chat messages and metadata on the local device after the specified retention period. Attachments will still save on the local device. You can specify the time period messages are stored on the desktop or mobile device running Zoom settings based on the type of chat, distinguishing between direct messages/group conversations and channels. 
      Note: Users that manually download files or images can still access them on their local device.
    • Store edited and deleted message revisions: Store edited/deleted messages (as well as the original version) in the cloud.
    • Store files from channels in third-party storage: Upon configuration, only newly created channels will store files in the third-party account. Establish a message and file retention period in Zoom's cloud to enable third-party storage.
    • Send data to third-party archiving service*: Store and backup Zoom Team Chat with a 3rd-party service.
  5. Click Save.

Notes:

Learn more about chat storage settings and view chat history.