Microsoft Teams: Can You See Who Opened a File?

The quickest way to share files on Microsoft Teams is via the Files tab. All you need to do is upload your files, and the other team members can instantly access them. But how do you know if someone has opened and viewed the files you shared in the Files section? Let’s find out!

Can You See Who Viewed Files on MS Teams?

Check SharePoint File Details

As a quick reminder, your Teams files are actually stored in SharePoint. To check how many people have opened a specific file, open the file details on SharePoint.

1. Go to your Teams channel.
2. Click on the Files tab.
3. Click on Open in SharePoint.
4. Sign in to your SharePoint account in a new browser tab.
5. Then, please select the file you want to check but don’t click on its name.
6. Click the Info icon to open the file details.
7. You can see how many people opened the individual file.

Depending on your organization’s settings, you can also see who opened specific files. If you’re a site owner, you can edit your organization-level sharing settings to let people know who viewed files or pages on the site. Follow the steps below to get the job done.

1. Go to your SharePoint site.
2. Click on the Settings icon.
3. Select Site information.
4. Then, click on View all site settings.
5. Under Site Actions, click on Manage site features.
6. Scroll down to SharePoint Viewers.
7. Select Activate to enable the file card that displays information about viewers and file activities.

To open the file card, go to Document library, hover over a file, or click on the three-dots. The file card appears next to the respective file.

⇒ Note: After enabling the “SharePoint Viewers” option, you may need to wait for 10 to 30 minutes for the file cards to become available.

Use the Digital Activity Report From Insights

Alternatively, you can use the Insights app to check whether people have opened a file or not. Use the Digital Activity Report tool to check if users opened and edited a file, attended a meeting, visited a channel, and so on.

Use filters to customize your reports depending on your needs. For example, you can use the Student filter to narrow the data down to individual students and specific time frames. You can also use the Activity filter to view data related to file use, assignments, meetings, and so on. The best part is that you can export data from the Digital Activity Report to Excel.

By the way, if the Insights app won’t work, be sure to enable the Engagement report and update Teams.

Conclusion

To check who opened a file on Microsoft Teams, install the Insights app and use the Digital Activity Report. The tool can retrieve a wide variety of data, including information about who opened and edited specific files. Alternatively, you can also check the file details on SharePoint.

Did you find other ways to check who viewed the files you shared on Microsoft Teams? Share your ideas in the comments below.