Private Chats or conversations in Microsoft Teams, what’s really the difference? It looks almost identical and it is more or less identical. It is more about  the target group and access.

The difference can be described as follows.

I want to Inform- and/or or have a dialogue with- or feedback from my Team Members

Each channel in a team has a tab called Conversations.
A conversation is something you want all members of the team to have access to and be able to participate in.

Which Channel shall i start my conversation in?

All teams have a standard channel called General. In this one you can have the dialogue that is not related to any specific channel or main area. Hence the name- “General”.

If you have structured your team properly, you have created channels for the team’s main areas. If you have something you want feedback on or if you want to inform about something that is related to one of these main areas then you start the conversation in the channel in which the conversation belongs.

I want to find my historical conversations

I want to have a confidential chat with one or more people

A chat is private and independent from a team and its members.
A private chat is a dialogue you choose to have with one or a few selected people without others being able to take part in it.

How to Start a Private Chat

I want to find my Chat History

Click on the Chat icon and You will see an overview of your previous chats

How do i search for my previous chats and conversations

In the search field located at the top of Microsoft Teams, you can search for previous chats and conversations.