Microsoft details "major" Teams change for third-party apps' settings but you might miss out

Last month, Microsoft shared several "major change" update messages on its Microsoft 365 Admin Center. One of those is related to Microsoft 365 (M365) unified apps management which the company has put "on hold."

Speaking of app management, Microsoft, at the end of last month, announced another Teams-related app management "major change" as it will be rolling out rule-based enablement of third-party certified Teams apps soon for the Teams Admin Center in order improve security (can be accessed on this dedicated page).

Microsoft added the feature earlier this year in March on the Microsoft 365 Roadmap under ID 485712 and expects the rollout to begin mid-July 2025 and to complete the process by early August 2025.

Here is what the description of the entry titled "Microsoft Teams: Rules-Based Enablement of Third-Party Teams Apps in Teams Admin Center" says: "This feature allows M365 administrators to define specific criteria for approving third-party Teams applications within their tenant. Administrators can select from a list of predefined, safe criteria, ensuring that only trusted and compliant applications are made available under this rule."

The tech giant adds that the feature will be enabled by default and thus admins will not have to take any specific action regarding this upcoming change, although it does recommend updating any necessary documentation and assessing the potential impact the move could have on their organizations.

Microsoft has explained how the new org-wide settings will differ from the current third-party app management that is controlled by their respective tenant settings. It writes:

Before this rollout, you cannot manage at bulk the availability of Microsoft 365 certified apps. They are only controlled by third-party app tenant settings.

After this rollout, you can manage Microsoft 365 certified apps availability from org-wide settings in the Teams admin center at Manage apps > Actions > Org-wide app settings > Microsoft 365 certified apps. The All apps available option will be on by default after this rollout.

Users who have access to the M365 Admin Center portal can find the message under ID MC1085133.

Interestingly, Microsoft had previously said that the feature will be available for F licenses and will later roll out to others like the E license, presumably. It stated: "This feature is available for F licenses. Other license types will be supported in the future." However, this line has since been modified on the support documentation on its Learn website. Presently it only says "This feature is available for F licenses."

Thus those without the F (frontline) license may miss out on it. Microsoft, however, does say that it will be updated later, so we are not sure if the upcoming update will be related to this.