Find and export
your Microsoft Teams data.

1. 1Sign in to the Microsoft 365 admin center with a reports role, such as Reports Reader or Teams Administrator.
2. 2Open Reports → Usage → Microsoft Teams → User activity. Select the longest available period, up to 180 days.
3. 3Select Export and sum Team Chat Message Count and Private Chat Message Count in the CSV. Keep the dates beside the total.
4. 4For older history, ask your Microsoft 365 administrator to obtain search statistics or an export from Microsoft Purview eDiscovery.

Report in messages, with channel messages and private chats identified separately where possible. State whether the figure comes from a usage report or retained message history.

Use the oldest retained conversation to establish the years covered. Include the licensed users represented in the dataset. An estimate based on recent activity should show the period and calculation.

1. 1Have an administrator confirm the required eDiscovery permissions and Microsoft 365 license for the person exporting.
2. 2In Microsoft Purview → eDiscovery → Cases, open a case and create a search for the people, teams and dates you plan to include.
3. 3Run the search, choose Export, and select the conversation and message formats required. Review options for shared channels and departed users.
4. 4Use Process manager to download the export packages. Collect relevant OneDrive and SharePoint files alongside the messages.

Search export packages expire after 14 days. A developer can also collect retained messages through the Microsoft Graph Teams export APIs, subject to application permissions.

Files shared in chats generally live in OneDrive; channel files live in SharePoint. Preserve their links to the conversations and check for duplicate chat copies.

Teams conversations show how a request moves through colleagues and departments. Channel membership, replies and timestamps provide context for systems learning to coordinate work.

Messages linked to project documents and meetings can explain why a decision was made and what happened next.

Choose the teams, users and periods in scope. Private chats can be reviewed separately from channel discussions.

Telegraph Lab reviews the proposed material with you and agrees how sensitive information will be handled. Preparation can include excluding material, redacting details and replacing personal identifiers. Your company keeps ownership; the licensing agreement defines the material, permitted uses and authorized recipients.