Is Microsoft Teams really going to start tracking employee locations? - Engadget

A new "Workspace Check-in" feature rolled out last month. Microsoft's new Workplace Check-in feature for Teams has officially rolled out, making it possible to automatically update an employee's work location using Wi-Fi or desk peripheral connections. It may be off by default, requiring admin enablement and employee consent, but "voluntary" opt-in isn't as free a choice as it sounds in the workplace. Microsoft Teams is used by 93 of the Fortune 100 companies, and its new Workplace Check-in tool is packaged as a feature that's supposed to make employees' life easier by automatically checking them in once they get to work and connect to the company Wi-Fi, a replacement for physical check-in peripherals. It's also supposed to reduce the need to manually update your status and enable co-workers to know they can coordinate in-person meetings with you. As much as Microsoft tries to push this update as a straightforward, opt-in feature that can be oh-so-helpful for employees, there's an endless list of concerns regarding privacy, social surveillance and the weaponization of presence in an age when return-to-office policies are suffocating the workforce. Workplace Check-in is a Teams feat