Starting from 2026, Microsoft Teams will introduce one function which will signal if an employee is physically in the office via the company Wi-Fi connection. new aims to improve internal organization, team management and meeting planning, but raises important questions about the privacy of workers and on respect for Italian regulations.
Microsoft Teams 2026: How the new office presence feature works
The function is activated when a device connects to a WIFI network registered by the company. At that point it will appear a label indicating the status "In Office" or similar, chosen by the organization. There are no real-time geolocation systems or continuous monitoring, so tracking is limited to the network connection. The option will be disabled by default and it can be activated only by IT administrators, while workers must individually confirm activation for it to be effective. The update will be available on Windows e MacOS, without an official release date.
What changes with the new Microsoft Teams feature
Thanks to this feature, employers will be able to quickly know who is present in the office and those who work remotely, making it easier to schedule meetings and group activities. However, even limited control like this increases the possibility of digital surveillance, especially in companies that already use employee activity monitoring tools, known as “bossware”.
The activation of the function can be configured as remote control, regulated by the Italian lawTo introduce it legally, companies must have trade union agreements or authorization from the National Labor InspectorateWithout these steps, enabling non-essential monitoring may result in violazioni privacy. The mere possibility of control can already constitute a violation, even if the feature is not actively used.
European precedents and data management
In Europe, some companies have been fined for practices of excessive surveillance: Amazon UK received a fine of 34 million euros and H&M Germany €35 million for improper collection and handling of employee data. Another aspect to consider is data management: Teams is an American platform, so it's important to determine whether the information is stored on EU servers or transferred abroad, which could have significant legal implications.
