Microsoft Teams which pave the way for an innovative way of communication in today's hybrid work atmosphere has some bad news for its free users.
Microsoft is planning to shut down the free Microsoft Teams app. The classic and free Microsoft Teams will no longer be available for users and small businesses as of April 12, 2023. This means that users will now have to pay to maintain access to their chats and data.
This announcement comes after the recent introduction of a premium tier of Teams, which includes features like personalized highlights, customized meeting templates, and auto-generated meeting notes. It is believed that users won’t be given any direct migration path from the classic version of Teams to the new (free) version. They will have to switch to the paid version of Teams to maintain access to their data and continue using the platform.
“After the switch, however, you’ll have access to a different set of features than you did with Teams Free (classic), and your data won’t be retained (including data for existing channels, chats, and recurring meetings). If you want to keep your data and continue using Teams, consider upgrading to Teams Essentials,” Microsoft mentions in its FAQ section on its Support page.
Microsoft has introduced two paid tiers for Teams - Teams Essentials and Microsoft 365.