New storage location for Whiteboards created from the Teams channel app

Microsoft announced an important update regarding the storage location for Whiteboards created from the Teams channel app.

Whiteboard app in Teams channels
Whiteboard app in Teams channels

Until now, these Whiteboards have been saved in the initiator’s OneDrive, which led to access issues due to various sharing settings, information barriers, or conditional access policies.
To see the current storage location, just share the Whiteboard with someone in your organization or use “Copy link”. The sharing link includes the storage location (which is currently a OneDrive site collection).

To enhance accessibility and align with the behavior of other Microsoft 365 applications, Whiteboards initiated from the Teams channel app will soon be stored in the corresponding SharePoint site of the Teams channel (also known as the channel site). This change ensures seamless access for all channel members while adhering to established policies.

Timeline

The rollout should be completed in April 2025.

Update from 19 April 2025:
The rollout should be completed in May.

Update from 14 June 2025:
The rollout should be completed in June.

Impact on your organization

This update will facilitate seamless functionality of Whiteboard files for all channel members, ensuring compliance with set policies. All channel members who have access to these Whiteboards will be able to discover them from their board picker.

Some additional information:

  • It’s important to note that the existing Whiteboard files will stay in OneDrive. After the rollout has been completed in your tenant, this update impacts only newly created Teams channel Whiteboards.
  • It’s still not possible to add an existing Whiteboard to Teams channels. Whiteboard always creates a new Whiteboard file if you add the Whiteboard channel app
  • If you move a Whiteboard file to another storage location (e.g., from OneDrive to the Teams channel site), the existing Whiteboard returns an error in the Teams channel app. Welcome to the productivity world of Microsoft. 🤷‍♂️
Have fun with Whiteboard
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About the Author

Tobias Asböck

Tobias Asböck

Tobias is a Senior System Engineer with more than 10 years of professional experience with Microsoft 365 products such as SharePoint Online, OneDrive for Business, Teams Collaboration, Entra ID, Information Protection, Universal Print, and Microsoft 365 Licensing. He also has 15+ years of experience planning, administering, and operating SharePoint Server environments. In his spare time, Tobias is busy with updates in the Microsoft 365 world or on the road with his road bike and other sports activities. If you have additional questions, please contact me via LinkedIn or support@topedia.com.

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