How to Remove “Important” from Teams Messages Before & After Sending

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Easily set your message delivery options in Teams with our full guide

Co-authored by Hunter Rising Reviewed by Stan Kats

Last Updated: November 21, 2025 Fact Checked

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Removing Before Sending

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Removing After Sending

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Troubleshooting

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What Important Tags Do

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When to Use

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Video

If you accidentally labeled a Teams message as “Important,” recent updates to the program have hidden the option in the menus. Luckily, it’s still easy to remove the tag before or after you send it. Keep reading, and we’ll cover where to find the setting and its keyboard shortcut. We’ll also help you troubleshoot why you may not be able to remove the tag.

Easy Steps to Remove the Important Tag on Teams

To remove the Important tag before sending the message, press Ctrl + Shift + i, or click the plus sign (+), choose Set delivery options, and switch the option to Standard. If you already sent the message, click Edit and make the change, or delete the original message and resend it.

Section 1 of 5:

Removing the Important Tag from a Teams Message before Sending

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1
Click on the plus sign (+) to change your message’s delivery tag. If you’re still typing up your message and accidentally set the Important tag, it’s easy to remove with a few clicks.^{[1]
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- Select the plus sign icon (+) next to the text box to access the Actions and apps menu.
- Click Set delivery options.
- Choose Standard from the available options.
- If you’re on mobile, tap the plus sign icon in the text box, select Priority with the exclamation point icon, and select Standard from the list.
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Press Ctrl+⇧ Shift+i to remove the tag with your keyboard. If you don’t want to navigate through the different menus, push Ctrl + Shift + I to remove the Important tag. The red “IMPORTANT!” text will disappear from the text box.^{[2]
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- If you’re using a Mac computer, then hold down Command + Shift + I to toggle the Important tag.

Section 2 of 5:

Removing the Important Tag from a Teams Message after Sending

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Edit the message to change the delivery options. If you realize a message you sent doesn’t need the Important tag, editing it lets you change the text and the delivery. Once you remove the tag, the exclamation point and word “IMPORTANT!” will disappear from the chat.^{[3]
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- Hover over the message and click the Edit option with the pencil icon.
- Click on the + sign below the textbox to open the Actions and apps menu.
- Select Set delivery options from the list.
- Switch the tag to Standard to remove the Important tag.
- If you’re using Teams on mobile, hold your finger on the message and select Edit. Tap the plus sign next to the text box, select Priority with the exclamation point icon, and switch the message to Standard.
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Delete and resend the message if you don’t have editing access. If your editing access is restricted, you cannot remove the Important tag after sending. Instead, hover over the message and click the 3 dots (...) to access More options. Select Delete from the list of options. Then, just retype your message to send it without the Important tag.^{[4]
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- Copy and paste the old message into the chat before deleting it if you want to save a little time.
- To delete a message on mobile, tap and hold on the message you want to delete. Click the 3 dots icon and select Delete from the list.

Section 3 of 5:

Why can't I remove the Important tag from a Teams message?

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The administrator blocked editing or deleting messages. If you use Teams for work, your IT administrator can change the permissions that you have in chat. If your administrator deselected the edit and delete message options, then you won’t be able to get rid of the Important tag on a message you already sent.^{[5]
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- If you think it’s important to have access to the feature, contact the admin for your Teams chat and request that they change the settings.
When you have 20 or more people in a private chat or group, the “Set Delivery Options” menu gets turned off. This helps prevent people in the chat from spamming messages and causing others to get tons of unnecessary notifications.^{[6]
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Section 4 of 5:

What does marking a message as Important do?

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Using the Important tag flags your message so it’s more visible to others. When you label a Teams message as Important, the word “IMPORTANT!” appears above it in large red letters. The chat name in the sidebar will also be highlighted and have an exclamation point next to it to let users know there is important information to read.
- Marking a message with the Urgent tag sends a notification every 2 minutes for 20 minutes, or until a user checks it.

Section 5 of 5:

When should you use the Important tag?

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Use the tag for essential information and messages that need replies. If the information you’re sending is vital for other users to see, such as changes to a project or crucial details to include, mark your message as Important. Otherwise, you can probably get away with sending your message without a tag.
- Avoid overusing the Important tag because it might make your messages seem spammy, and it could cause people to miss critical information.