Microsoft Teams Is Going To Start Spying On You At Work - Here's How - BGR

"Microsoft is rolling out a host of new productivity features for its Teams, Microsoft 365, and Copilot applications, ranging from introducing "vibe working" AI agents to configurable keyboard shortcuts. One update, however, has users worried that their employers will begin tracking their locations at work. According to a recent development roadmap published by Microsoft, Teams will soon use users' Wi-Fi connections to determine their locations, allowing employers to see where users are whenever they tap into their network."

"The change is intended to enhance company synergy by enabling team members to see each other's locations, potentially boosting productivity. Critics, however, worry that the feature will enable surveillance at work, potentially threatening the autonomy and privacy of users. The update is part of a broader push by Microsoft to enhance the productivity features of its enterprise solutions. With 320 million global users, Teams is one of the world's most popular collaborative platforms, serving as a videoconferencing, instant messaging, joint calendar, and document sharing application."

"Competing with the likes of Google, Zoom, and Salesforce's Slack, Microsoft has steadily expanded its collaborative application's functionalities, with a vigorous AI push at the center of these efforts. Whether the Teams' location update will stir as much controversy as the Copilot AI-spurred price hike of Microsoft 365, however, remains to be seen. As it stands, the update is expected to begin in December 2025, giving users a few months to enjoy geographic anonymity in the workplace."

Microsoft is adding a Teams feature that uses users' connections to an organization's Wi-Fi to determine and automatically update employee locations. Employers will be able to view where employees are when they connect to the corporate network. Microsoft positions the feature as a productivity and synergy tool to let team members see each other's locations. Critics warn that the capability could enable workplace surveillance and undermine employee autonomy and privacy. Teams has 320 million global users and is expanding collaborative and AI-driven functionalities. Microsoft plans to roll out the location update beginning December 2025, though technical details remain unclear.

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