Microsoft Teams Update Could Show Exactly Where You Are In Office, Experts Call It "Creepy"

A new update to Microsoft Teams is set to introduce a feature that can automatically update an employee's work location within an office building based on their device's connection to the company's Wi-Fi network. The feature, called "Automatic Update of Work Location," is designed to detect where a user is working from and share that information with colleagues in real time.

How will it work?

When an employee's laptop connects to an organisation's Wi-Fi network, Teams will automatically identify and display their location. Depending on how detailed the company's wireless infrastructure is, the system may be able to identify not just whether someone is in the office, but also the specific building, floor, or even a particular room they are in. For example, if someone moves to another part of the office or plugs their laptop into a configured docking station connected to desk peripherals, Teams could update their exact location within the workplace.

The feature was originally expected to roll out in December 2025, but the launch has been delayed several times and is now scheduled for April 2026.

Microsoft's Response

Microsoft says the feature is intended to improve collaboration and help colleagues find each other more easily in hybrid workplaces. The company emphasised that the tool is not meant for monitoring employees.

"This feature is opt-in and intended to help employees coordinate in-person work more smoothly with their teams,” a Microsoft spokesperson told Fortune.

In a statement, a Microsoft spokesperson said the feature "is not a monitoring tool and we do not support employee surveillance in any way," adding that protecting employee privacy remains a core principle in the company's product development.

Workplace Surveillance Concerns

Despite Microsoft's assurances, the update has raised concerns among privacy and workplace surveillance experts. Many argued that such tools could potentially be used by employers to track staff movements within offices, especially as more companies enforce Return-to-Office (RTO) policies and require employees to spend more time at the workplace. Some experts questioned whether such detailed tracking is necessary when employees could simply communicate their location to colleagues directly.

"This is a solution in search of a problem when we already have existing solutions. Do these companies ever put these ideas through a creepy assessment? Like, if you tell this to your partner or to a friend, are they going to be like, ‘That's kind of creepy'?”, University of Maryland professor Jessica Vitak told Fortune. 

The debate also comes amid growing use of digital monitoring tools in workplaces. A study by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) found that four out of five companies monitor remote or hybrid employees in some way. Research by global consulting firm Gartner also suggests that 71% of employees are digitally monitored, which is a sharp increase from about 30% just a year earlier. At the same time, only about half of workers say they trust their employers, raising concerns about transparency and workplace privacy.

Meanwhile, other companies are developing even more advanced workplace tracking technologies. For instance, Cisco's Spaces platform collects massive amounts of location data from office equipment like cameras and conferencing devices to map building occupancy, while Logitech has introduced radar sensors that can detect whether meeting rooms are in use. Experts say the rise of such tools reflects increasing employer demand for AI-driven workplace surveillance technologies, often referred to as "bossware."