Microsoft Teams: When Office Software Becomes Attendance Control

Starting December 2025, Microsoft will enhance its collaboration platform Teams with a feature that automatically detects the actual work location of employees. The software is designed to determine if a user is connected to the company’s Wi-Fi and infer whether they are physically in the office.

Officially, the feature is intended to facilitate hybrid collaboration. In large office complexes or with distributed teams, it can make it visible who is on-site and who is working from home. However, the technical basis—the collection of location data via the corporate network—raises concerns.

According to Microsoft, the feature will not be activated automatically. Companies must specifically enable it, and employees must consent. The company also emphasizes that there is no permanent location tracking, only an association with the registered Wi-Fi network.

Nevertheless, the debate remains sensitive. The technical step is small, but the societal one is significant. The supposed convenience feature could easily become a tool for control—especially if companies use location data to monitor presence times or measure work discipline.

Legally, the situation in Europe is clearer than in the USA: Automatic detection of the work location touches on fundamental rights. In Germany, for example, a works agreement would be mandatory, as such data collection is subject to co-determination. Without voluntary employee consent and transparent rules for data usage, the feature would hardly be compatible with GDPR and labor law.

Privacy experts also warn of the gradual loss of voluntariness. Where hierarchies exist, consent is rarely free from pressure. The idea that software could soon log not only communication behavior but also physical presence fundamentally changes the trust relationship in the workplace.

Microsoft is not the first company to offer technical possibilities for location control—but the integration into an ubiquitous platform like Teams makes the difference. The software is already deeply embedded in the daily routine of many organizations. A new control tool in this system thus has societal relevance far beyond individual cases.

Europe once again stands at a crossroads: between digital efficiency and the protection of individual autonomy. Trust cannot be digitized—and neither can it be automated.

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