One of the most common questions I am asked is ‘Where is my Microsoft Teams data stored’?
Why is this? In short, Microsoft Teams is not an individual application, it is a productivity hub that utilises many applications and services across Microsoft 365. Therefore Teams stores data across multiple locations.
Why do I need to know where my data is stored?
For several reasons. Knowing where your data stored helps you address the following questions:
- Which geographic location is my Teams data stored?
- How can I govern Teams when I don’t know what is stored where?
- Can I control who has access to my Teams data?
- What information protection can I apply to my Teams data?
- Where do I need to apply retention policies?
- How to ensure my eDiscovery searches are scoped to include the right locations?
Let’s dig deeper into Microsoft Teams and see where your data is being stored.
Microsoft Teams and the dependant services
Microsoft Teams uses:
- Azure Chat services to store the persistent chat records
- Azure media services to mange images and videos
- SharePoint Online and OneDrive for Business to store files
- Exchange Online to store the compliance records
- Microsoft 365 Groups to provide the membership management
- Streams to store meeting recordings. However from 1st March 2021 all meeting recordings will be stored in OneDrive and SharePoint. Note for Educational customers this will be 1 Jul 2021
- In addition Teams provides access to other Microsoft 365 apps such as Forms, WhiteBoard, Planner and Power BI; these apps will store data in their own repositories
- Finally Teams can also add in third party apps, bots, and connectors. In this scenario you will need to check what data is being shared with the third party
So What data is stored where?
The diagram below illustrates what data is being stored where. The rules are complex and depend on what activity you are undertaking in Teams.
I have excluded Microsoft Teams custom and 3rd party Apps as each app has its own privacy policy and terms of use. I recommend that before you implement any third-party apps you assess the app’s security and governance posture.
Where are my Teams One-to-one and Group Chats stored?
A One-to-One or Group Chat is started from the Chat menu. If guest or federated access is enabled, then guests and federated users can also be added to the chat. When a chat contains an external participant, the file share opinion is unavailable.
In Teams chats the Users in the chats are the Owners of the data. The table below details the rules for ‘Where is my Teams One-to-one and Group Chat stored?
| Data Type | One to One and Group Chats |
|---|---|
| URL to a third-party service | Azure Chat Service |
| Chat inline images, emojis & stickers | Azure Media Services (not SharePoint) |
| Chat GIFs | DiscoveryHolds (Hidden folder) in Exchange Online mailboxes for all users in the chat 1, 2, 3 |
| Files shared | File sharer’s OneDrive for Business; in the folder ‘Teams Chat files’ The default sharing permission is internal only. This means external users need to request access to the files |
| Chat message & adaptive card compliance record (for eDiscovery searches) | DiscoveryHolds (Hidden folder) in Exchange Online mailboxes for all users in chat 1, 2, 3 |
Where are my Teams conversations and files stored?
Understanding where your data is stored in a Team will depend on whether you’re working in standard, private or shared channels.
Standard channel
In a standard channel, all members of the Team, including guests, can access the conversations and files. In this scenario,
- Files are stored in the SharePoint site associated with the team.
- The Azure chat service manages realtime channel collaboration.
- Compliance copies of the standard channel conversations are sent to a mailbox that’s associated with the parent team.
Private channel
A private channel is restricted to a subset of the members of the Team, so access to the channel conversations and files is restricted to the members in the private channel. In this scenario.
- Files are restricted to members of the private channel and are stored in a new (but related) SharePoint site.
- The Azure chat service manages realtime channel collaboration.
- Compliance copies of the private channel conversations are sent to the mailboxes of the members of the private channel rather than the group mailbox associated with the team.
Shared channel
- Files are restricted to members of the shared channel and are stored in a new (but related) SharePoint site.
- The Azure chat service manages realtime channel collaboration.
- Compliance copies of the private channel conversations are sent to a special hidden mailbox that’s associated with the parent team.
In summary, the rules for ‘Where is my data stored?’ will change depending on whether you are using a standard or private channel. The table below details the rules for ‘Where are my Teams conversations and files stored?‘
| Data Type | Standard Channel | Private Channel | Shared channel |
|---|---|---|---|
| Persistent chat messages and voice memos | Azure Chat Service | Azure Chat Service | Azure Chat Service |
| Adaptive card messages in channel from apps | Azure Chat Service | N/A | |
| Chat inline images, emojis & stickers | Azure Media Services | Azure Media Services | |
| Chat GIFs | Third-party service | Third-party service | |
| Files shared and stored | Document library of the Team’s SharePoint site. All members of the Team, including guests have access | Document library of the separate (but related) Private SharePoint site. (Site type TEAMCHANNEL#1). Permissions are restricted to just the members of the Private channel. | Document library of the separate (but related) Shared SharePoint site. (Site type TEAMCHANNEL#1). Permissions are restricted to just the members of the Shared channel. |
| Emails with attachments sent to channel | Team’s SharePoint site. Emails are stored in a separate folder for each month e.g. EmailMessages_2_2021 | Private Channel’s SharePoint site. Emails are stored in a separate folder for each month e.g. EmailMessages_2_2021 | |
| Default Team OneNote NoteBook | Team’s SharePoint site | N/A | N/A |
| Additional OneNote NoteBooks for channels | Team’s SharePoint site | Private channel’s SharePoint site | Shared channel’s SharePoint site |
| Compliance copies of Channel conversations & adaptive cards (for eDiscovery searches) | Hidden folder in Exchange Online mailbox for the associated with the parent team 1, 2 | Hidden folder in Exchange Online mailboxes for all members of the private channel 1 | Special, hidden mailbox associated with the parent team. |
Where is my Teams Meeting data stored?
There are three types of Teams meetings:
- Private Teams meetings are scheduled by a user so the user is the meeting organiser.
- Channel Teams meetings are scheduled from a channel in a Team so the Team is the meeting organiser.
- Private Channels only permit ‘Meet Now’ meetings. These are held in the private channel in a Team so the private channel is the meeting organiser.
The type of Teams meeting you are running will determine where your data is stored.
In summary, the rules for ‘Where is my data stored?’ will change depending on the type of meeting you are holding. The table below details the rules for ‘Where is my Teams conversations and files stored?‘
| Data Type | Private Meetings (Meet Now & scheduled) | Channel Meetings (Meet Now & scheduled) | Private Channel Meetings (Meet Now only) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Persistent chat messages and voice memos | Azure Chat Service | Azure Chat Service | Azure Chat Service |
| Files shared | File sharer’s OneDrive for Business; in the folder ‘Teams Chat files’ | Team’s SharePoint site; in the Channel folder within the Document library | Private Channel’s SharePoint site; in the Channel folder within the Document library |
| Chat inline images, emojis & stickers | Azure Media Services | Azure Media Services | Azure Media Services |
| Meeting recording encoding & streaming | Azure Media Services | Azure Media Services | N/A |
| Meeting recording (new) | OneDrive for Business for the person initiating recording 5 | Teams’ SharePoint; in the Channel folder within the Document library 5 | N/A |
| Meeting recording (being deprecated July 2021) | Stream 5 | Stream 5 | N/A |
| Meeting Notes | Meeting organiser’s OneDrive for Business; in folder Microsoft Teams Data | Team’s SharePoint Teams; in the Channel folder within the Teams Wiki Data | N/A |
| Meeting polls | Poll creator’s Forms | Poll creator’s Forms | N/A |
| Whiteboard drawing | Whiteboard App | Whiteboard App | Whiteboard App |
| Meeting chat compliance record | DiscoveryHolds (Hidden folder) in Exchange Online mailboxes of users in Meeting chat 1, 2, 3, 4 | DiscoveryHolds (Hidden folder) in Group online mailbox for the Team (in hidden folder) | DiscoveryHolds (Hidden folder) in Exchange Online mailboxes of all members of the private channel 1, 2 |
| Meeting Call Detail Record (for compliance) | DiscoveryHolds (Hidden folder) in Exchange Online mailboxes of all meeting participants 1, 2, 3, 4 | DiscoveryHolds (Hidden folder) in Exchange Online mailboxes of all meeting participants 1, 2 | N/A |
Where is my Teams Live Events data stored?
Microsoft Teams Live Events allow you to schedule and produce events that stream to large online audiences.
There are two types of Teams Live Events:
- Public: anyone who has the link can attend without logging in
- Private: restricted to your org or to specific people and groups, attendees will need to log in to join
The rule for data storage are the same for both public and private event.
| Data Type | Teams Live Event |
|---|---|
| Live event recording encoding & streaming | Azure Media Services |
| Live Event Recording, Live Event Transcription, Q&A Report & Attendee Report | Azure Media Services held for 90 days with option for the producer to download |
Where is my Teams Calling data stored?
Calls to other Skype for Business and Microsoft Teams users including federated users and guests uses Voice over IP (VOIP) telephony.
Optionally Teams also allows you to have a phone number and to make and receive calls from regular phones.
The table below details the rules for Where is my Teams calling data stored?
| Data Type | Teams to Teams Calls | PSTN calls |
|---|---|---|
| Call recording encoding & streaming | Azure Media Services | N/A |
| Call recording (from 1 March 2021) | OneDrive for Business of the person initiating recording | N/A |
| Call recording (Legacy) being deprecated March 2021 | Stream | N/A |
| Voicemail & transcription | Receiver’s Exchange mailbox (cloud or hybrid) | Receiver’s Exchange mailbox (cloud or hybrid) |
| Call Detail Record (for compliance) | DiscoveryHolds (Hidden folder) in Exchange Online mailboxes of all users in call 1, 2, 3 | Hidden folder in Exchange Online mailboxes of all users in call 1 |
Summary
In conclusion the answer to ‘Where is my data stored?’ will depend on what functionality you are using within Teams.
It is important to explain ‘Where is my Team’s data stored‘ to all users as part of the user adoption plan for Teams. This is to ensure that users know when to use One-to-One and Groups Chats as opposed to using a Teams channel.
- Data shared in a Team will last until the Team is deleted. It does not matter if the originator has left the organisation or if someone gets added or removed from the Team.
- Data shared via One-to-One and Group Chats from a user’s OneDrive will be deleted when the user’s account is deleted.
Finally knowing where the data is stored is critical for people undertaking eDiscovery searches. If the scope of the search includes Teams that have private channels then the scope must be extended to include the private channel SharePoint sites and the individual user mailboxes, in addition to the Team’s SharePoint site and Group mailbox.
Notes for the tables
- Exchange hybrid users with an on-premise mailbox store their compliance records in a shadow online mailbox
- Guests with Azure B2B account store their compliance records in a shadow online online mailbox created for the guest
- Federated users store their compliance records in their own mailbox outside of tenant
- No compliance records are stored for anonymous meeting participants
- Meeting recordings have been historically stored in Stream. However Microsoft are moving meeting recording storage to SharePoint Online and OneDrive for Business. From July 2021 you will only be able to store meeting recording in SharePoint Online and OneDrive for Business.
Microsoft Reference Documents
- Welcome to Microsoft Teams – Microsoft Teams | Microsoft Docs
- Overview of teams and channels in Microsoft Teams – Microsoft Teams | Microsoft Docs
- How SharePoint Online and OneDrive for Business interact with Microsoft Teams – Microsoft Teams | Microsoft Docs
- Teams cloud meeting recording – Microsoft Teams | Microsoft Docs
- Microsoft Teams IT architecture and telephony solutions posters – Microsoft Teams | Microsoft Docs
- Location of data in Microsoft Teams – Microsoft Teams | Microsoft Docs
- Microsoft 365 data locations – Microsoft 365 Enterprise | Microsoft Docs
- Data locations for the European Union – Microsoft 365 Enterprise | Microsoft Docs
- Conduct an eDiscovery investigation of content – Microsoft Teams | Microsoft Docs
- Microsoft Teams launches eDiscovery for calls and meetings | Microsoft Docs
- Search for Teams chat data for on-premises users – Microsoft 365 Compliance | Microsoft Docs