November 3, 2025, 7:04 am | Read time: 4 minutes
The communication platform Microsoft Teams, primarily used in professional settings, is set to receive a new feature soon: a type of location sharing. By the end of this year, the software will automatically detect if employees have logged into the office Wi-Fi. This information, indicating they are working from the company address, will then be displayed in the system—visible to both colleagues and supervisors. When this announcement circulated earlier this week, privacy concerns were raised. The question arises: Is Teams even allowed to do this? TECHBOOK posed this question to an expert in internet and media law.
“When users connect to their company’s Wi-Fi, Teams can automatically update their work location and display the building they are in.” This is stated in the Microsoft 365 Roadmap, the publicly accessible overview of new features within the productivity platform. The location sharing is disabled by default. IT administrators can manually enable it, according to Microsoft, to improve collaboration and transparency within the company.
There is certainly some truth to that. Imagine you are working from home and want to know if someone is on-site at the office and thus has access to certain physical documents you need information from. In this case, the new feature could be useful for you. But at what cost?
Teams’ Location Sharing Raises Privacy Concerns
Privacy concerns are pressing. Critics warn that the feature could be used to monitor work locations. Concerns are also being raised regarding a return to in-person work. After all, Microsoft itself is planning such a return. Starting next February, company employees are expected to work in the office at least three days a week, provided they live within 50 miles.
But is the whole thing even legal? TECHBOOK reached out with this question to Professor Christian Solmecke, an attorney specializing in media and IT law.
Legal Expert Assesses New Teams Feature in Terms of Privacy Law
According to the expert, Microsoft’s new Teams feature stands on shaky legal ground. “The automatic collection of location data is a significant intrusion into the fundamental right to informational self-determination,” says Professor Solmecke. It involves personal data, which can only be processed under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) on a clear legal basis.
Two legal bases are generally considered: voluntary and informed consent of the employees (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR) or a legitimate interest of the employer (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR). However, according to the jurist, the latter is usually insufficient. “The employees’ interest in their privacy is likely to outweigh it, as tracking is not strictly necessary to fulfill employment obligations,” he explains.
Exceptions might be conceivable only if there is a specific suspicion of misconduct–similar to covert video surveillance, which is only permitted in special cases. The same applies to automatic location sharing, which essentially serves to check if employees are in the office.
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Expert: “A Written Supplementary Agreement Is Required”
“A mere IT policy is not sufficient to legitimize such an intrusive data processing as location tracking,” the expert continues. Pre-formulated consent declarations in employment contracts are also usually not considered voluntary. “In my opinion, a separate written supplementary agreement is required, which one can also opt out of without fearing negative consequences.”
Furthermore, the works council—if available—must also be involved. According to § 87 para. 1 no. 6 of the Works Constitution Act, it is a technical device for performance or behavior control, whose introduction is subject to co-determination. Only if such consent or a corresponding works agreement is in place would location sharing be permissible under privacy law.
What Does This Mean for Employees?
Microsoft plans to roll out the new Teams feature later this year. Employees in companies where the tool is used apparently do not need to fear that their location will be shared without their knowledge from that point on. According to attorney Solmecke, this would hardly be tenable under privacy law. Employers are not allowed to automatically capture and internally display their employees’ locations—unless they actively and voluntarily consent.