How to Leave and Remove a Team You’re In on Microsoft Teams

Microsoft Teams is a popular collaboration platform that allows teams to chat, meet, call, and collaborate on files and projects. As teams and priorities shift within an organization, you may find yourself needing to leave a team you no longer need to be part of. Additionally, as a team owner, you may need to remove members who should no longer have access. Here is a guide on how to leave and remove members from a team on Microsoft Teams.

Leaving a Team You Have Joined

If you are a regular member of a team and wish to leave, the process is straightforward:

On Desktop

  1. Click on the “Teams” icon in the sidebar and select the team you want to leave
  2. Click on the “More options” menu (the 3 dots) next to the team name
  3. Select “Leave team”
  4. Confirm you want to leave the team

The team will now disappear from your Teams sidebar.

On Mobile

  1. Tap on the “Teams” tab at the bottom
  2. Tap on the team you want to leave
  3. Tap the “More options” menu next to the team name
  4. Tap “Leave team”
  5. Confirm you want to leave the team

The team will now disappear from your Teams list.

Note: You can leave a team yourself through the steps above. However, only a team owner or admin can remove you from an organization-wide or admin-created team.

Removing Members From a Team You Own

If you are the owner of a team, you can remove members as needed:

On Desktop

  1. Click the “More options” menu next to the team name
  2. Choose “Manage team”
  3. On the Members tab, find the member you want to remove
  4. Click the “X” icon next to their name
  5. Confirm you want to remove them

On Mobile

  1. Tap the “More options” menu next to the team name
  2. Tap “Manage team”
  3. Tap the Members tab
  4. Tap the “X” icon next to the member you want to remove
  5. Confirm you want to remove them

The member will now be removed from the team and will no longer be able to access team conversations, files, or meetings.

What Happens When You Leave or Get Removed From a Team

  • You will no longer have access to view or edit team conversations, files, notebooks, or meetings.
  • Your previous messages and file contributions will remain visible to current team members.
  • If you get removed by an admin from an org-wide team, you will need to contact them to re-join.
  • You can re-join a regular team if the owner re-sends an invite or makes it public for you to join.

Tips for Managing Team Membership

Here are some best practices around managing Microsoft Teams membership:

  • Audit membership regularly: Review who has access and remove former employees or members that no longer need access.
  • Leverage dynamic membership: Use existing Office 365 groups to automatically manage user access.
  • Make team purpose and membership rules clear: Document the intended purpose of a team and rules around granting/revoking access.

Conclusion

Leaving or removing team members on Microsoft Teams is simple through the desktop or mobile apps. Just be aware that only admins can remove members from certain org-wide teams. Managing membership appropriately ensures the right people have access to sensitive information.

My Experience Using Microsoft Teams

As an IT consultant, I have used Microsoft Teams extensively to collaborate with clients. I appreciate how easy it is to create focused teams and channels to organize projects and discussions. I also leverage Teams to meet with clients both internally and externally. Teams has greatly improved our ability to get feedback and make decisions faster. The ability to easily leave teams when a project wraps up helps keep our Teams environment tidy.