While Microsoft Teams does allow some anonymity, it doesn't allow someone without a linked Microsoft account to perform certain actions. However, Microsoft has confirmed that it will allow an anonymous person to present a meeting in the near future.

Microsoft Teams' Anonymous Presenters

We spotted this feature announcement over on the Microsoft 365 Roadmap. The Roadmap is the best way to stay up-to-date on what Microsoft is working on behind the scenes; for instance, we were tipped off about the new Microsoft Teams offline message queue from the Roadmap.

The new feature on the Roadmap is called "Microsoft Teams: Anonymous Presenter Support for Live Events" and has the Feature ID 70559. The description goes as follows:

You may allow an anonymous user who does not have and [sic] MSA or AAD identity to be a presenter in your live event.

In case you're wondering, an MSA identity is a Microsoft Account. This account type is what you make when you want to use Microsoft's online services, like Outlook. An AAD is an Azure Active Directory account and usually appears in enterprise environments.

These account types ask for personal information, which some Teams presenters may be uncomfortable sharing with the attendees. This may be due to the presenter discussing sensitive or personal content that they don't want to be attributed to their name.

Not only that, but this feature is handy for bringing in people who cannot or has not made an MSA or AAD account. These people currently cannot be promoted to the presenter level in a meeting. Once this update is released, the presenter can connect without an account and set their username to be their real name to avoid confusion.

It'll be a little wait until we see this useful feature on our computers, though. Microsoft is currently working on it, and it hopes it can push it out sometime in March 2021.

Giving a Voice to the Unknown

While the feature isn't ready yet, Microsoft is planning to allow people without Microsoft or Azure accounts to present a meeting. This is very handy for preserving privacy for the protected or allowing someone without said accounts to join in. If you're interested, keep your eyes peeled around March 2021 for a release.

If you're one to jump into a meeting with strangers without protecting your identity, you may want to consider it in the future. There are a good number of reasons to preserving your privacy, such as preventing personal harassment.

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