Created a Townhall, but fail to turn off "Anonymous User" from Q&A

DDPang 0 Reputation points
2026-09-09T03:48:26.0666667+00:00

Created a Townhall event (using the new experience mode). Attendees without TEAMS account can join the event and type in their name when signing in.

However, even the attendees type in their name, they appear as "Anonymous User" when putting a question in Q&A.

Anything wrong with the settings? I want to show the name of attendees in Q&A.

Thank you!

Microsoft Teams | Microsoft Teams for business | Meetings and calls | Other
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  1. AI answer

    2026-09-09T03:48:42.5966667+00:00

    Nothing is wrong with the town hall join flow. In Teams, anonymous attendees can join a town hall and type a name when entering, but Q&A posts can still be anonymous if the Anonymous posts setting is enabled.

    To show attendee names in Q&A, check the event’s Q&A settings:

    1. Open the town hall event window.
    2. Select Q&A.
    3. Select Q&A settings.
    4. Turn Anonymous posts off.
    5. Select Save.

    Important details:

    • If Anonymous posts is on, attendees can post questions anonymously.
    • In Teams Q&A, only posts are anonymized by that setting; replies and reactions are not anonymous.
    • If attendee names are being hidden for privacy, Q&A names can also appear anonymous unless Anonymous posts is turned off.

    If the attendees are joining without a Teams account, they are treated as anonymous attendees for event access, but the Q&A display behavior is controlled by the Q&A settings above.

    AI-generated content may be incorrect. Read our transparency notes for more information.

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  2. Ana Le 2,345 Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2026-09-09T04:31:58.2366667+00:00

    Hi DDPang,

    As the forum’s AI recommended, please first check the Q&A-specific setting. Microsoft documents that the Anonymous posts option allows attendees to submit Q&A questions anonymously.

    As the organizer or co-organizer:

    1. Open or join the town hall.
    2. Select Q&A.
    3. Select Q&A settings or Admin settings.
    4. Turn Anonymous posts off.
    5. Select Save, then ask an attendee to submit a new test question.

    Questions that were submitted anonymously before this setting was turned off will remain anonymous, so please use a newly submitted question for testing.

    There is also an important distinction between entering a display name and signing in. Microsoft defines anonymous participants as users whose identities have not been verified, including users who are not signed in to Teams with a work or school account. Therefore, entering a name on the join screen does not make that attendee an authenticated user.

    Turning off Anonymous posts prevents attendees from choosing to submit a Q&A post anonymously. However, Microsoft’s public documentation does not explicitly confirm that a self-entered join name will always be used as the Q&A author name for an unauthenticated attendee.

    If new questions still appear as Anonymous User after the setting is turned off, please test the following separately:

    • One attendee joining without signing in.
    • One attendee joining while signed in.

    If signed-in attendees display their names but unsigned attendees do not, the behavior is related to the attendees’ authentication status. If you require identifiable Q&A authors, attendees should join using authenticated accounts. Restricting Who can attend to users in the organization and guests is also possible, but this would prevent anonymous public attendees from joining.

    If signed-in attendees also appear as Anonymous User while Anonymous posts is off, the Microsoft 365 administrator should open a support request for further investigation.

    Official references:

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