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How to Separate Users from Multiple Domains in Viva Engage

Huda Qurayshi Oct 10, 2026 869 views

Question details

The user wants to limit visibility between users from different domains within Viva Engage while still allowing access to the All Company community.

How to Separate Users from Multiple Domains in Viva Engage

Product: Microsoft Viva Engage
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: Managing user visibility and collaboration boundaries across multiple domains operating within a single Microsoft 365 tenant.
Observed behavior: Standard Viva Engage features do not currently allow full separation or visibility limits between users from different domains in a single tenant.

Before you start

Verify your Microsoft 365 tenant architecture and ensure you have administrative permissions to create and manage private communities or configure Microsoft Teams for your organization.

Solution 1Recommended

Implement Private Communities and Microsoft Teams

Since standard features cannot fully separate domain users in one tenant, utilize private communities for specific organizations and use Teams for deeper collaboration.

Viva Engage is built on a single-tenant design philosophy intended for broad collaboration. To create separation, you must rely on strict access controls rather than global directory masking.

Create private communities

In Viva Engage, create distinct private communities for each specific domain or company to restrict general access.

Manage community members

Invite only the relevant users from the specific domain to their designated private community, ensuring outsiders cannot view the discussions.

Repurpose All Company

Keep the default 'All Company' community open strictly for broad, tenant-wide announcements that apply to all domains.

Leverage Microsoft Teams

Migrate company-specific, highly separated collaboration tasks to dedicated Microsoft Teams channels where access controls are more granular.

Implement Private Communities and Microsoft Teams

Directory Visibility: While private communities hide conversation content, users from different domains may still be visible to one another in the global directory.

Solution 2

Migrate to a Multi-Tenant Environment

If strict data and visibility separation between organizations is legally or operationally required, a multi-tenant setup is necessary.

Solution 3

Submit Feature Feedback to Microsoft

Request native domain separation features directly from Microsoft's development team.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Can I hide specific users from the Viva Engage directory based on their domain?

No, standard Viva Engage features do not support hiding specific domain users from the global directory within a single tenant. Everyone in the tenant can generally see the directory.

Is there a way to limit the 'All Company' community to a single domain?

The 'All Company' community is designed to include everyone in the tenant by default. You cannot restrict it to only one domain if multiple domains exist within the same tenant.

Why can't Viva Engage separate users by domain?

Viva Engage is primarily built on a single-tenant design philosophy intended to foster broad, cross-organizational communication rather than providing strict data or user separation.

Does Microsoft Teams offer better domain separation than Viva Engage?

Yes, Microsoft Teams allows for more granular access controls through private channels and specific team memberships, making it much better suited for strict, company-specific collaboration.

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