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Hide a shared Mailbox on Teams both name and email

Ashish Keshri 20 Reputation points Microsoft Employee
2026-03-18T05:35:59.6666667+00:00

I would like to check whether it is possible to completely hide a shared mailbox from discovery in Microsoft Teams so that it cannot be found by both name and email address.

I have already hidden the shared mailbox from Outlook; however, it is still discoverable in Microsoft Teams search. I was unable to find an option to hide it from Teams.

Could you please confirm if this is supported? If yes, I would appreciate any official documentation or articles that explain the supported behavior and configuration.

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  1. Q&A Assist
    2026-03-18T05:36:15.9666667+00:00
    AI generated content. This question contains an answer created with AI from Q&A Assist. Learn more

    Hiding a shared mailbox so that it is completely undiscoverable in Microsoft Teams (by both display name and email address) is not fully supported as a simple, mailbox-only setting.

    From the provided information:

    • Hiding a recipient (including shared mailboxes) from address lists in Exchange prevents it from appearing in address lists and GAL-based searches, but it does not guarantee that the object is hidden from all Teams search experiences.
    • Teams directory search behavior can be scoped and limited using:
      • Information barriers in Microsoft Teams
      • Exchange Online address book policies (ABPs)

    When Scope directory search using an Exchange address book policy is turned on in the Teams admin center, “most accounts that are marked as hidden in Exchange don't show up in Teams searches.” However, this is not described as an absolute guarantee, and personal contacts can still appear regardless of the setting.

    Therefore, the supported and documented way to limit discovery of mailboxes (including shared mailboxes) in Teams is:

    1. Hide the shared mailbox from address lists in Exchange Online.
    2. Use Exchange address book policies and/or information barriers, and then enable Search by name scoping in the Teams admin center so Teams respects those policies.

    There is no explicit documentation in the provided material that guarantees a shared mailbox can be made completely undiscoverable in Teams by both name and email alone, only that:

    • Hidden recipients are excluded from address lists and GAL.
    • When Teams directory search is scoped using Exchange ABPs, most hidden accounts do not appear in Teams searches.

    References:

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  1. AlexDN 11,420 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
    2026-03-18T06:20:53.17+00:00

    Dear @Ashish Keshri,
    Welcome to Q&A forum. I appreciate the time and effort you’ve already put into configuring the shared mailbox and hiding it from Outlook. From what you described, I understand that even after doing this, the shared mailbox is still appearing when users search by name or email address in Microsoft Teams, and you’d like to confirm whether it’s possible to fully hide it.

    I’d like to reassure you that your current configuration in Exchange is working as intended. The behavior you’re seeing in Microsoft Teams is expected. Hiding a shared mailbox from the Exchange address list only affects Outlook and Exchange‑based searches. Microsoft Teams uses a separate directory search experience, and at this time there is no supported, mailbox‑only setting that guarantees a shared mailbox can be completely hidden from Teams search by both name and email address.

    I understand this may not be the outcome you were hoping for. At the moment, the supported way to reduce visibility in Teams is through directory‑level controls such as Exchange Address Book Policies or Information Barriers. These options can help limit who users can see in Teams, but they do not provide a full guarantee that a shared mailbox will never appear in search results.

    Moreover, I want you to know that Microsoft deeply values customer experience and feedback. Every single comment matter, and the product teams actively review what customers share to guide decisions and improvements. Your voice is powerful here, and I encourage you to make it heard through the official feedback channels. Therefore, to ensure your feedback reaches the right teams, I highly recommend submitting your feedback directly to Microsoft Ideas · Community, where our product development team can know your requirements and ideas for product improvements. If enough users raise ticket for the same idea, Microsoft may consider adding this feature in the future.

    Note: As Microsoft Community moderators, please note that we are not involved in product design decisions and do not have direct access to the development roadmap, we want to assure you that your feedback has been acknowledged and is valued.

    However, you can rest assured that you are not alone, I’ll continue to monitor this case and will reach out to you with any new updates as soon as possible. If any updates or announcements are made regarding this feature, I will make sure to share them with you as soon as possible.

    I understand this may not be the outcome you were hoping for. I truly appreciate your patience and understanding. If you have any further questions or need further clarification, please feel free to reach out. I'm looking forward to hearing from you.

    Thank you for your cooperation.

    If the answer is helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and kindly upvote it. If you have extra questions about this answer, please click "Comment". 

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