Last year, a controversial feature shipping to Microsoft Teams raised concerns and even sparked backlash from users. It's expected to automatically update a user's location when they connect their device to an office Wi-Fi network. As a result, your manager or boss can tell whether you're working from the office.
Shortly after this concept went viral across the web, Microsoft updated how the feature works, further indicating that it's an opt-in experience, which will ship disabled by default.
I speculated that the controversial feature aligns closely with Microsoft's return-to-office plan, prompting questions about whether this is merely coincidental or a deliberate effort to intensify workplace surveillance and micromanagement. The software giant also announced that it had first pushed the feature's rollout to broad availability from December 2025 to January 2026.
As it happens, Microsoft has updated the timeline status again. Now, this Wi-Fi location tracking feature is expected to roll out to broad availability by mid-March this year (via Forbes).
The company hasn't provided an explanation for the delayed rollout of the feature. Perhaps it is using the additional time to address some of the concerns and kinks raised by users.
According to UC Today:
"On paper, auto-setting work location sounds like straightforward UX housekeeping. It’s one less field for users to maintain manually, one less friction point for already overloaded employees. In practice, it sits squarely on a fault line that tech buyers increasingly recognize: hybrid work is governed as much by trust as by tooling."
To that end, the company has emphasized the importance of user controls and guardrails. It's also worth noting that the Wi-Fi location tracking feature won't update the location after working hours. What's more, the work location will also be cleared at the end of the workday.
Do you think the Wi-Fi location tracking feature is a useful addition to Teams? Share your thoughts in the comments and cast your vote!
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As you may know, Microsoft Teams has been under scrutiny for bundling Teams with Office 365, with rivals like Salesforce's Slack citing anticompetitive business practices. In 2023, the tech giant caved to antitrust pressure, forcing it to unbundle Teams from Office 365. This means users can purchase Office plans without Teams or Teams as a standalone service.
More recently, Microsoft dodged a hefty fine from the European Commission by changing the pricing of Office 365 and Microsoft 365. Both services will now be provided without Teams at a lower cost. For context, you'll have to purchase Teams as a standalone service for approximately $5.50 (€5) per user per month.
As it happens, Microsoft is currently working on a new Teams feature that will use Wi-Fi network connections to pinpoint a user's exact location. For context, Teams will automatically update a user's work location when they connect their device to an office Wi-Fi network (via TechRadar).
The feature is poised to reduce confusion at the workplace, allowing managers and employees to identify each other's location in the office. According to the Microsoft 365 roadmap post announcing the new feature, "when users connect to their organization's Wi-Fi, Teams will automatically set their work location to reflect the building they are working in."
To that end, the feature is still in the development phase, but it is expected to ship to broad availability later in December 2025. It's not yet clear what advantage this feature will serve.
It can be a productivity booster, meaning you'll no longer have to manually look for your counterparts at the office or even give them a call; you can easily pinpoint their location via Teams as long as they are connected to the office's Wi-Fi network.
On the other hand, it can also be used to identify who's not working from the office. This news comes after many organizations are rapidly ditching work-from-home and hybrid work arrangements.
In September, Microsoft announced that employees who work within 50 miles of a Microsoft office will be expected to work onsite three days per week by the end of February 2026. The company further indicated that employees work best when collaborating in person.
However, the move has raised concern among employees who claim that the mandatory return to office could be a type of stealth layoffs.
Elsewhere, Microsoft recently shipped a new feature to Microsoft's Copilot Dashboard in Viva Insights called Benchmarks. It is designed to help Copilot identify relevant data, allowing it to track AI adoption rates at your company. This allows management to keep track of how much AI you're using.
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