How to set up Team Chat external contacts

Zoom Team Chat allows you to communicate with external users, providing better collaboration and visibility with external accounts. To set up Team Chat for external contacts, you’ll need to configure account-level settings, and potentially configure settings at the external company/account level for customized interactions. This guide walks you through the steps to enable and manage external contacts in Zoom Team Chat.

Prerequisites

• You must be an account owner or admin in Zoom.
• You need a paid Zoom account to configure these settings.
• Complete initial deployment of contact groups and Zoom Team Chat channels.

Enabling External Contacts at the Account Level

1. Sign in to the Zoom web portal as an administrator.
2. In the navigation menu, click Account Management, then Team Chat Settings.
3. Navigate to the External Communications section.
4. Locate the Allow external users to be added to group chats and channels setting.
5. Toggle the switch to enable external contacts. If prompted, confirm your choice.
6. Configure the additional settings as needed:
   • Allow users to add external contacts: Choose if all users or only admins can add external contacts.
   • Require approval for external contacts: Enable this to require admin approval for any external contacts added by users. If enabled, you will need to approve requests in the Zoom web portal.
   • Notify users when an external contact is added: Turn this on to inform users when someone adds an external contact to the channel or chat group.
   • Domain Allow List: Specify allowed external domains for communication. Only users from these domains can be added as external contacts.
   • Domain Block List: Specify external domains that are blocked from communication. Users from these domains cannot be added.
7. Click Save to apply your changes.

Configuring Settings at the External Company/Account Level

This allows for customized interactions with different companies and accounts.

1. Sign in to the Zoom web portal as an administrator.
2. In the navigation menu, click Account Management, then Team Chat Settings.
3. Navigate to the External Communications section.
4. Click Manage External Accounts.
5. Click Add Account.
6. Enter the email domain of the external account (e.g., example.com).
7. Configure specific settings for this external account:
   • Allow Team Chat with this Account: Enable or disable chat functionality with users in this account.
   • Channel access: Specify which channels users from this account can access.
   • File sharing: Control file sharing permissions for external users in this account.
   • Meeting scheduling: Determine if users from this account can schedule meetings with your users.
8. Click Save to apply the specific settings for this external account.

Managing Existing External Contacts

1. Sign in to the Zoom web portal as an administrator.
2. In the navigation menu, click User Management, then Users.
3. Identify external users. External contacts are generally marked with an “External” tag.
4. To manage an external contact, click the user’s name.
5. You can then view their profile information, including their email address and associated groups/channels.
6. From here, you can remove them from groups/channels or entirely remove their access to Zoom Team Chat within your organization.
7. Alternatively, you can manage external contacts from the Team Chat Settings page under the External Communications section. Click Manage External Contacts to view and edit settings for existing external users.

Understanding Team Chat Channel Privileges for External Users

External users have different privileges than internal users within Team Chat channels. Be aware of these differences and adjust settings as needed to maintain security and control.

• Refer to the “Team Chat channel privileges for external users” documentation to understand the granular permissions. Key differences exist around features like message deletion, editing, and adding/removing members.
• Regularly review channel membership and privileges to ensure appropriate access for external users.

Common Issues

• External users cannot join channels: Ensure the “Allow external users to be added to group chats and channels” setting is enabled at the account level. Also, check if the external user’s domain is on the domain allow list.
• Users are adding unauthorized external contacts: Enable “Require approval for external contacts” to control which external users are added.
• File sharing with external users is not working: Review the file sharing settings within the specific channel and at the account level to ensure external users have the necessary permissions.
• Loss of Chat History: Be aware of retention policies, external users may not see chat history depending on the account and channel settings.
• Users from specific domains cannot be added: Verify that the domain is not on the domain block list. If it is, remove the domain from the block list.