Microsoft 365 now tracks you in real time? • Hacker News Board

Re: Microsoft 365 now tracks you in real time?

#221

Post by ghaff » Fri, Jan 30, 2026, 7:06 PM UTC

Ar-Curunir wrote: post #169

bnchrch wrote: post #99

I truly believe our industry needs to elevate our own anti-awards, like others have (Razzies, Worst Game of the Year, etc.) to shame those responsible for building the regressive tech that corporations and governments push. There's already the Big Brother Awards [0] and EFF's smattering of Worst Government and Worst Data Breach articles each year. [1] But I think we need more. Personally I would love to nominate: - M…

Calling out anonymity researchers for showing that "anonymization" schemes don't work well is a stupid and dumb idea. If they hadn't done it, you can bet that bad guys would have done it instead (and maybe were already doing it). What the researchers did is publicly show that the existing schemes were broken, hence motivating the design of better schemes. Like, you fundamentally misunderstand computer security resear…

You can argue about the timing of disclosing specific vulnerabilities vs. when fixes are available. But the idea that we should all be (shh) don't tell anyone that this broad practice is vulnerable to bad actors is idiotic.

Re: Microsoft 365 now tracks you in real time?

#222

Post by cvoss » Fri, Jan 30, 2026, 7:07 PM UTC

kevinh wrote: post #19

This article is like 300 words. Would it have killed them to not generate it using AI?

I'm so embarrassed to say that I read it and didn't notice. But now that you pointed it out, I reread it and you are so right. It is clearly generated.

I have flagged this article on principle. Idk if it it's in the spirit of HN to do that or not, but the button's there, and I'm going to use it.

Re: Microsoft 365 now tracks you in real time?

#223

Post by BrouteMinou » Fri, Jan 30, 2026, 7:08 PM UTC

I think the only outrageous people here are the paranoid and the slackers...

My manager has called me when I was doing a mid-day grocery and I just told him: "sorry for the noise, I am at the grocery store at the moment". This is absolutely no problem at all, he asked if I wanted to call back when I got home...

It's pretty much making a storm in a glass of water here.

That's karma farming by bitching the ebil Microsoft...

Re: Microsoft 365 now tracks you in real time?

#224

Post by TavsiE9s » Fri, Jan 30, 2026, 7:08 PM UTC

charles_f wrote: post #206

I work on Teams (I know, I know... please don't hit me, it's not my fault) 1. I don't speak authoritatively and 2. I don't have knowledge of the whole product - there's always a rogue team here and there doing stuff. We've had that feature turned on at MSFT for some time now. It does not allow your manager to see that you're at Starbucks, at home, on the shitter or anything like that. There's a new toggle in the cale…

Great. Can you share how exactly someone's location is being derived?

Re: Microsoft 365 now tracks you in real time?

#225

Post by voldemolt » Fri, Jan 30, 2026, 7:09 PM UTC

There was an article here not too long ago about someone decrying a fellow cow-worker for their rather liberal usage of AI and how their manager would see it and promote it, changing company process in the meantime. The writer found this revulsive. But what I found interesting is what was not discussed. This “Microsoft just did X” is another entry in that.

Folks, let’s not beat around the bush: if you’re not your own boss, you don’t have agency and ultimately you have no control over the situation. The frustration is rooted in the lack of control, or at the very least in the lack of perception of cooperation that is a temporary substitute for agency and control (until the rug gets pulled from underneath them). It’s not Microsoft, it’s not Teams, it’s not AI. It’s not the person being promoted for doing this. It’s you. If it was your company, you could have put an end to it and changed the processes immediately. But it isn’t. So for having the privilege of working at whatever company you’re at, and getting paid whatever money you’re paid, you have to eat shit. This is the price you pay.

If you don’t want to eat shit from your bosses, you have to be your own boss. I think that’s as succinct and straightforward of a solution to things like these that you can find.

Re: Microsoft 365 now tracks you in real time?

#226

Post by LollipopYakuza » Fri, Jan 30, 2026, 7:09 PM UTC

jama211 wrote: post #209

bri3d wrote: post #11

Here's the actual "roadmap" feature (scroll to the bottom where the filtered list is): https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/roadmap?search... The actual feature brief is: "When users connect to their organization's Wi-Fi, Teams will soon be able to automatically update their work location to reflect the building they're working from. This feature will be off by default. Tenant admins will decide whether to e…

That’s ok, if my work cared enough about whether I was online or at my desk at any specific moment they’d have complained already. I have teams quit completely half the time. I get my work done, my performance reviews are good, I turn up to meetings on time, that’s all that should ever matter. Also if they cared so much about where I was to punish me for it, I’d quit that company. The only companies I will work for a…

And I am glad you can afford that choice. But there are a ton of people out there who can't.

Re: Microsoft 365 now tracks you in real time?

#227

Post by mystifyingpoi » Fri, Jan 30, 2026, 7:12 PM UTC

iberator wrote: post #191

marekful wrote: post #2

It's so pathetic that people actually put up with this. There are so many ways to stop that tracking from working and no, your boss doesn't have the right to track you.

Why pathetic? People were breaking the rules, not working, going for walks and making dinners during WORK TIME. Lazy and fraudulent people destroyed WFH. Should be banned forever. 20% people working, 80% slacking

> going for walks and making dinners during WORK TIME

Yet, when in the office, drinking coffee, watercooler smalltalk and smoking at the entrance is somehow considered work time.

Leave us alone. The output is all that matters.

Re: Microsoft 365 now tracks you in real time?

#228

Post by hsbauauvhabzb » Fri, Jan 30, 2026, 7:12 PM UTC

BrouteMinou wrote: post #223

I think the only outrageous people here are the paranoid and the slackers... My manager has called me when I was doing a mid-day grocery and I just told him: "sorry for the noise, I am at the grocery store at the moment". This is absolutely no problem at all, he asked if I wanted to call back when I got home... It's pretty much making a storm in a glass of water here. That's karma farming by bitching the ebil Microso…

Sounds like you work in a nice place. Most organisations are not nice places.

Re: Microsoft 365 now tracks you in real time?

#229

Post by mcny » Fri, Jan 30, 2026, 7:14 PM UTC

charles_f wrote: post #206

I work on Teams (I know, I know... please don't hit me, it's not my fault) 1. I don't speak authoritatively and 2. I don't have knowledge of the whole product - there's always a rogue team here and there doing stuff. We've had that feature turned on at MSFT for some time now. It does not allow your manager to see that you're at Starbucks, at home, on the shitter or anything like that. There's a new toggle in the cale…

Can you please allow me to disable Ctrl plus Shift plus C shortcut? I've been begging for years at this point...

Re: Microsoft 365 now tracks you in real time?

#230

Post by api » Fri, Jan 30, 2026, 7:14 PM UTC

Microsoft really seems to be tripling and quadrupling down on total surveillance of the user's "own" system. If you haven't ditched MS yet, I'd consider it now.

Linux is becoming more and more viable for a gaming PC. For business uses a Linux desktop is usable but probably not ideal, but you also have macOS. I'd pick anything but Windows and MS stuff.