What is Private Content Mode?
Private Content Mode in Viva Engage is an admin-only setting that allows administrators to view private messages between users and posts in private groups they are not members of. You can find it only in the classic Admin Center of Viva Engage.
Deprecated
Viva Engage will no longer support private content mode, present within the classic Yammer admin center. Verified admins will no longer be able to enable or disable this feature. If the feature was left on by a verified admin, then it will be disabled for them.
Alternatives
Global Administrator or Groups Administrator can search for private communities in Engage and join them without needing explicit approval. This makes the Private Content Mode functionality redundant and is probably one of the reasons why the feature will not be migrated to the new Admin Center and eventually deprecated.
Message ID: MC1045211
Viva Engage will no longer support private content mode, present within the classic Yammer admin center. Verified admins will no longer be able to enable or disable this feature. If the feature was left on by a verified admin, then it will be disabled for them. There are alternative methods that can fulfill the needs previously met by private content mode: Viewing private community content without being a member: Users with the Global Administrator or Groups Administrator role can search for private communities within Engage and join these communities without requiring explicit approvals. Viewing community admins and members for private communities without being a member: Since Engage Communities are backed by Microsoft 365 groups, the list of group owners and group members are visible within Entra ID for all users. Handling legal/audit cases in Engage: Compliance administrators, eDiscovery managers, and eDiscovery administrators can access, search, and export private community and private message content on Viva Engage. Learn more about our eDiscovery standard solution here. Admins are also able to perform network data exports which can be manipulated to handle other advanced use cases.
What you need to do to prepare
There will be no exceptions to the retirement which will be done on June 30th, 2025. We recommend you communicate clearly and early to admins of this impending change and coordinate an effort to understand the alternative solutions proposed above.