1 April 2026

Are you the sole owner of a team in Microsoft Teams? If so, you will have received an automatic email from Microsoft advising you to add a second owner. This message is legitimate – it is not a spam or phishing email.

What you need to do

Add a second owner in your MS Teams environment. The knowledge item in the Helpdesk Portal gives you step-by-step instructions on how to do this.

If your team does not currently have an active owner, then all team members will receive this email. Together, you need to decide who takes on the role of owner and manages the team for the time being.

Why two owners?

Having just one team owner comes with risks. If this person leaves the organisation, falls ill or loses access to the team, nobody else will be able to manage or make changes to the team. Microsoft advises having two owners per team to keep it safe, accessible and organised at all times. This helps ensure the continuity and security of collaboration within the university.

Good to know

From now on, the automatic reminder emails will be sent out monthly. Once a second owner has been assigned, the emails will stop from the following month onwards.