The update

Microsoft Teams will introduce the office presence label: impact on privacy and Italian law

The new function planned for 2026 reveals the presence of employees on site via Wi-Fi. The stated aim is to improve organisation, but privacy concerns remain

by Massimo De Laurentiis

15 November 2025

3' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

3' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

Microsoft is preparing an update to Teams that is already causing discussion. From 2026, the platform will be able to notify employers if an employee is physically in the office, thanks to a label that appears when the user connects to the company Wi-Fi.

This new function is based on connection to the company's internal network, and will not include real-time geolocation systems. The stated aim is to improve efficiency: understanding who is on site should facilitate the scheduling of meetings, group activities and team coordination. The big tech announcement, however, has raised doubts about the legitimacy of this function and compatibility with privacy regulations.

Dopo 22 anni addio Skype, Microsoft punta su Teams

The Italian regulations

'Data protection in the work context in Europe is the competence of individual states, in Italy the Workers' Statute is in force, especially Article 4, which regulates remote control', comments Filiberto Brozzetti, researcher and lecturer in data protection law at Luiss University.

'The question is whether this tool can constitute a form of remote control and, above all, whether it is essential to carry out the work performance. The Ministry of Labour and the Garante are very restrictive in defining what is essential, and in this case the conditions do not seem to be met'.

The update is expected to arrive next year on Windows and MacOS, although an exact release date has not yet been given. The company also clarified that the option will be deactivated by default. The decision on activation is left to the organisation's administrator, with workers being asked to adopt this feature individually to make it operational.

A detail, this, that does not shield companies from possible objections: 'In the employment context, the consent of the individual worker is never conceived as being given in a fully free manner,' explains Brozzetti, 'the Garante does not welcome asymmetrical situations such as those in which there is a relationship of dependency.

Brozzetti points out that status indicators already exist in Microsoft Teams that suggest information on employee activity. Moreover, the presence or absence of an employee is data that should already be in the possession of the employer. Also for this reason, according to Brozzetti, companies will have no particular interest in activating this option.

However, should a company decide to introduce the new Teams functionality, a trade union agreement or, in the absence of representation, an authorisation from the National Labour Inspectorate will be required. Without one of these conditions, the employer may not activate functions involving remote control that are not considered essential.

Previous in Europe

In recent years in Europe there have been a few cases of companies being sanctioned for excessive monitoring practices. In 2024 Amazon France was fined EUR 34 million for using work pace monitoring systems deemed excessive by the authorities. Even earlier, in Germany, the clothing chain H&M received a EUR 35 million fine for storing personal information of employees, including aspects of their private lives.

In the case of the Teams update, Brozzetti also highlights another issue that needs to be addressed: 'Since this is an American-owned platform, it needs to be clarified whether the information collected by the new function remains on site or is moved to servers outside the EU. In the case of transferring data to countries outside the Union, there are a number of special conditions of lawfulness to be assessed'.

Efficiency in exchange for privacy?

For Brozzetti, the difficulties mainly concern small companies without major technical resources and legal expertise: 'These realities, often lacking full knowledge of the regulations, could activate the option without realising it and face disputes. Remember that for the Garante, the mere potential of control is sufficient, not actual use'.