Security Policy Errors

How to Fix Microsoft Defender Safe Links False Positives in Teams

Huma Ashraf Ch Oct 10, 2026 869 views

Question details

Microsoft Teams incorrectly classifies a safe company website link as malicious due to a Safe Links false positive.

How to Fix Microsoft Defender Safe Links False Positives in Teams

Product: Microsoft Defender for Office 365 / Microsoft Teams
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: Users are attempting to open and share a company website link within Microsoft Teams.
Observed behavior: The link is blocked and flagged as malicious in Teams, despite working correctly in other Microsoft 365 applications and on mobile devices.

Before you start

Ensure you have the required Microsoft 365 Defender administrative permissions, such as Security Administrator, before attempting to modify organizational Safe Links policies.

Solution 1Recommended

Update Safe Links Policies and Submit for False-Positive Review

Use the Microsoft 365 Defender portal to bypass the Safe Links block for safe domains and submit the URL for a reputation review.

This issue is often related to the Safe Links service infrastructure rather than the domain itself. By adding the URL to the do-not-rewrite list, you can immediately unblock it for your organization while Microsoft reviews the false positive.

Verify Domain Safety

Confirm with your IT or security team that the flagged website is entirely safe and has not been compromised.

Open Microsoft 365 Defender Portal

Navigate to Safe Links Settings

Go to Policies & rules > Threat policies > Safe Links in the portal navigation menu.

Add URL to the Do-Not-Rewrite List

Edit your active Safe Links policy. Locate the 'Do not rewrite the following URLs' section and add your company domain or specific URL to the allowed list.

Submit for False-Positive Review

Use the Submissions portal in Microsoft Defender to submit the URL to Microsoft as a false positive, which helps correct the URL's global reputation.

Infrastructure Variations: A service-side issue may affect only users routed through specific infrastructure, explaining why the link might work perfectly on mobile applications but fail on the desktop version of Microsoft Teams.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Why does the Safe Links error only appear in Microsoft Teams and not Outlook?

This discrepancy often happens because different Microsoft 365 services might route traffic through different Safe Links infrastructure. A localized service-side issue can cause Teams to flag a URL while Outlook or mobile apps do not.

Will users outside our organization see the malicious link error when clicking our domain?

It depends on the specific infrastructure routing and whether the block is local to your tenant or global. However, if the domain is flagged by Microsoft's general URL reputation service, external users using Teams might also encounter the Safe Links false-positive warning.

How long does it take for a Safe Links false-positive review to process?

Once you submit a URL for false-positive review through the Microsoft Defender portal, it typically takes a few hours to a full business day for Microsoft's automated systems and security analysts to re-evaluate and clear the URL's reputation.

Microsoft Office Security Issues