Microsoft postpones introduction of Teams location and office time tracking
Microsoft Teams is to automatically record office presence in the future. Microsoft has now presented an updated schedule.
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Microsoft is equipping Teams with a function for recording work location. The introduction was originally planned for December 2025. Now Microsoft is presenting an updated timeline for the function.
Microsoft has published an entry in the Microsoft 365 Admin Center for this purpose (MC1081568, copy at merill.net). According to this, Microsoft has decided to introduce the function only from March 2026. “Microsoft Teams will enable users to automatically set their work location based on connections to Wi-Fi networks or other organizational peripherals,” the developers write there. “This optional (opt-in) function improves location accuracy and requires configuration by admins. It takes working hours into account and will be available for Teams on Mac and Windows desktops,” Microsoft further explains.
Updated Schedule
While early plans still envisioned a start in December, Microsoft has now pushed back the worldwide general availability. “We will start the rollout in early March 2026 (previously early February) and expect to complete it by mid-March 2026 (previously mid-February),” the company explains the updated schedule. However, Microsoft does not comment on the reasons.
“With this function, you can assign Wi-Fi networks and devices to buildings so that the user's work location is automatically updated when they connect. This is a significant improvement over the current approach, where end-users have to manually set their work location,” Microsoft's developers explain the function. “The function can use the mapping between building names and Wi-Fi networks to set the user's work location to the correct building. It can also use mappings to specific peripherals, such as monitors.”
Microsoft wants to ensure some privacy: “Teams will not update users' locations when they connect after their working hours (which they can configure in their Microsoft Outlook calendar). Furthermore, their work location will be deleted at the end of their working hours.”
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In addition, Microsoft ships the function with the default setting set to “off.” IT managers will therefore have to take action if they want to use the function.
(dmk)
