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(Updated) Viva Engage: Community feeds improvements

Message ID
MC1187781
View in Message Center
Service
Microsoft Viva
Category
Stay Informed
Tags
New featureUser impactAdmin impact
Rollout
May 2026
Roadmap ID
513275
View in M365 Roadmap
Platform
Web

Summary

Viva Engage will introduce a new default community feed view sorted by recent posts instead of recent activity, rolling out worldwide from May 2026. Users can still choose their preferred sorting and filtering, with settings remembered across communities. No action or compliance concerns are required.

Details

Updated March 26, 2026: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience. 

[Introduction:]

We’re introducing a simpler way to view conversations in Viva Engage communities, organized by recent posts rather than recent activity. This new view is designed to make it easier for users to follow discussions and will be available as an option, alongside the current system, for those who prefer sorting by recent activity and filtering to new conversations only.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 513275.

[When this will happen:]

General Availability (Worldwide): We will begin rolling out in May 2026 (previously February).

[How this will affect your organization:]

This change should align better with how people expect to browse and engage with content in their communities, while still preserving the triage flow for those who prefer it.

Who is affected: All Viva Engage users in your organization.

Current experience:

  • Communities default to “new” and “recent activity” if there’s any new content (posts or replies).
  • If there’s no new content, the feed falls back to “all.”
  • Unread indicators on content only exist in the “new” feed.

New experience:

  • The feature will be ON by default.
  • Communities will default to “all” and “recent posts”:
  •  user settings

  • Unread indicators will exist in both the “new” and “all” feeds.
  • A sticky user preference will be introduced:
    • If someone changes the feed (new/all) or sort order (recent posts/recent activity), we will maintain that setting across their communities.
    • If someone picks “new” and there’s no new content in the next community, we will fall back to “all” for that community visit, but “new” will remain the preference for that user.

      [What you can do to prepare:]

      No action is required.

      [Compliance considerations:]

      No compliance considerations identified, review as appropriate

      Change History

      Show
      March 26, 2026 at 10:30 PM Updated
      Summary
      Previous
      Viva Engage communities will default to viewing conversations by recent posts instead of recent activity starting February 2026. The new view is on by default, includes unread indicators in all feeds, and preserves user feed preferences across communities. No action or compliance changes are needed.
      New
      Viva Engage will introduce a new default community feed view sorted by recent posts instead of recent activity, rolling out worldwide from May 2026. Users can still choose their preferred sorting and filtering, with settings remembered across communities. No action or compliance concerns are required.
      Last Updated Date
      Previous
      2026-01-27T17:49:31.280Z
      New
      2026-03-26T20:26:02.960Z
      Body Content
      Previous

      Updated January 27, 2026: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience. 

      [Introduction:]

      We’re introducing a simpler way to view conversations in Viva Engage communities, organized by recent posts rather than recent activity. This new view is designed to make it easier for users to follow discussions and will be available as an option, alongside the current system, for those who prefer sorting by recent activity and filtering to new conversations only.

      This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 513275.

      [When this will happen:]

      General Availability (Worldwide): We will begin rolling out in February 2026 (previously January).

      [How this will affect your organization:]

      This change should align better with how people expect to browse and engage with content in their communities, while still preserving the triage flow for those who prefer it.

      Who is affected: All Viva Engage users in your organization.

      Current experience:

      • Communities default to “new” and “recent activity” if there’s any new content (posts or replies).
      • If there’s no new content, the feed falls back to “all.”
      • Unread indicators on content only exist in the “new” feed.

      New experience:

      • The feature will be ON by default.
      • Communities will default to “all” and “recent posts”:
      •  user settings

      • Unread indicators will exist in both the “new” and “all” feeds.
      • A sticky user preference will be introduced:
        • If someone changes the feed (new/all) or sort order (recent posts/recent activity), we will maintain that setting across their communities.
        • If someone picks “new” and there’s no new content in the next community, we will fall back to “all” for that community visit, but “new” will remain the preference for that user.

          [What you can do to prepare:]

          No action is required.

          [Compliance considerations:]

          No compliance considerations identified, review as appropriate

          New

          Updated March 26, 2026: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience. 

          [Introduction:]

          We’re introducing a simpler way to view conversations in Viva Engage communities, organized by recent posts rather than recent activity. This new view is designed to make it easier for users to follow discussions and will be available as an option, alongside the current system, for those who prefer sorting by recent activity and filtering to new conversations only.

          This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 513275.

          [When this will happen:]

          General Availability (Worldwide): We will begin rolling out in May 2026 (previously February).

          [How this will affect your organization:]

          This change should align better with how people expect to browse and engage with content in their communities, while still preserving the triage flow for those who prefer it.

          Who is affected: All Viva Engage users in your organization.

          Current experience:

          • Communities default to “new” and “recent activity” if there’s any new content (posts or replies).
          • If there’s no new content, the feed falls back to “all.”
          • Unread indicators on content only exist in the “new” feed.

          New experience:

          • The feature will be ON by default.
          • Communities will default to “all” and “recent posts”:
          •  user settings

          • Unread indicators will exist in both the “new” and “all” feeds.
          • A sticky user preference will be introduced:
            • If someone changes the feed (new/all) or sort order (recent posts/recent activity), we will maintain that setting across their communities.
            • If someone picks “new” and there’s no new content in the next community, we will fall back to “all” for that community visit, but “new” will remain the preference for that user.

              [What you can do to prepare:]

              No action is required.

              [Compliance considerations:]

              No compliance considerations identified, review as appropriate

              January 27, 2026 at 6:30 PM Updated
              Title
              Previous
              Viva Engage: Community feeds improvements
              New
              (Updated) Viva Engage: Community feeds improvements
              Summary
              Previous
              Viva Engage communities will default to viewing conversations by recent posts instead of recent activity starting January 2026. The new view is on by default, includes unread indicators in all feeds, and preserves user preferences across communities. No action or compliance changes are needed.
              New
              Viva Engage communities will default to viewing conversations by recent posts instead of recent activity starting February 2026. The new view is on by default, includes unread indicators in all feeds, and preserves user feed preferences across communities. No action or compliance changes are needed.
              Last Updated Date
              Previous
              2025-11-18T20:37:12.397Z
              New
              2026-01-27T17:49:31.280Z
              Tags
              Previous
              New feature,User impact,Admin impact
              New
              Updated message,New feature,User impact,Admin impact
              Body Content
              Previous

              [Introduction:]

              We’re introducing a simpler way to view conversations in Viva Engage communities, organized by recent posts rather than recent activity. This new view is designed to make it easier for users to follow discussions and will be available as an option, alongside the current system, for those who prefer sorting by recent activity and filtering to new conversations only.

              This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 513275.

              [When this will happen:]

              General Availability (Worldwide): We will begin rolling out in January 2026.

              [How this will affect your organization:]

              This change should align better with how people expect to browse and engage with content in their communities, while still preserving the triage flow for those who prefer it.

              Who is affected: All Viva Engage users in your organization.

              Current experience:

              • Communities default to “new” and “recent activity” if there’s any new content (posts or replies).
              • If there’s no new content, the feed falls back to “all.”
              • Unread indicators on content only exist in the “new” feed.

              New experience:

              • The feature will be ON by default.
              • Communities will default to “all” and “recent posts”:
              •  user settings

              • Unread indicators will exist in both the “new” and “all” feeds.
              • A sticky user preference will be introduced:
                • If someone changes the feed (new/all) or sort order (recent posts/recent activity), we will maintain that setting across their communities.
                • If someone picks “new” and there’s no new content in the next community, we will fall back to “all” for that community visit, but “new” will remain the preference for that user.

                  [What you can do to prepare:]

                  No action is required.

                  [Compliance considerations:]

                  No compliance considerations identified, review as appropriate

                  New

                  Updated January 27, 2026: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience. 

                  [Introduction:]

                  We’re introducing a simpler way to view conversations in Viva Engage communities, organized by recent posts rather than recent activity. This new view is designed to make it easier for users to follow discussions and will be available as an option, alongside the current system, for those who prefer sorting by recent activity and filtering to new conversations only.

                  This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 513275.

                  [When this will happen:]

                  General Availability (Worldwide): We will begin rolling out in February 2026 (previously January).

                  [How this will affect your organization:]

                  This change should align better with how people expect to browse and engage with content in their communities, while still preserving the triage flow for those who prefer it.

                  Who is affected: All Viva Engage users in your organization.

                  Current experience:

                  • Communities default to “new” and “recent activity” if there’s any new content (posts or replies).
                  • If there’s no new content, the feed falls back to “all.”
                  • Unread indicators on content only exist in the “new” feed.

                  New experience:

                  • The feature will be ON by default.
                  • Communities will default to “all” and “recent posts”:
                  •  user settings

                  • Unread indicators will exist in both the “new” and “all” feeds.
                  • A sticky user preference will be introduced:
                    • If someone changes the feed (new/all) or sort order (recent posts/recent activity), we will maintain that setting across their communities.
                    • If someone picks “new” and there’s no new content in the next community, we will fall back to “all” for that community visit, but “new” will remain the preference for that user.

                      [What you can do to prepare:]

                      No action is required.

                      [Compliance considerations:]

                      No compliance considerations identified, review as appropriate

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