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

Re: Microsoft 365 now tracks you in real time?

#291

Post by jwrallie » Fri, Jan 30, 2026, 11:00 PM UTC

absqueued wrote: post #280

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…

What happens if I only use the Teams in Firefox browser? Can a browser also identify SSID?

I’m pretty sure that and uninstalling it in your phone should do the trick.

The scary part is that your boss can question why you are the only one without location info.

Re: Microsoft 365 now tracks you in real time?

#292

Post by fsckboy » Sat, Jan 31, 2026, 12:27 AM UTC

lijok wrote: post #126

observationist wrote: post #29

Installed Linux on my work computer, completely uninstalled microsoft software from my phone. I'm deliberately excluding Microsoft wherever possible. Switch to Linux, it's better to ask forgiveness than permission. Say it's a security measure against spyware by malicious and hostile entities online.

Classic prisoner's dilemma

how is there a prisoner's dilemma pattern of payoffs here?

Re: Microsoft 365 now tracks you in real time?

#293

Post by LordGrey » Sat, Jan 31, 2026, 12:39 AM UTC

cptskippy wrote: post #242

TavsiE9s wrote: post #224

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

> ...what building they're in... Given that not every device has built in GPS, it sounds like the Network Team is going to have to provide the locations of APs for that to work. Curious how Teams will resolve that. If you're on your phone using a VPN back to your home network will it know or show you as at home? What happens if you have multiple APs at home?

Or you set up a local router with an SSID that matches one from the corporate internal network.

That actually sounds like fun. The result, I mean; not the whole setting-up-a-router bit.

Re: Microsoft 365 now tracks you in real time?

#294

Post by hsbauauvhabzb » Sat, Jan 31, 2026, 12:40 AM UTC

smeej wrote: post #176

> Remember when you could text Dave from the office to turn your PC on because you were stuck in traffic? I don't understand why this doesn't still work. If Dave from the office has access to your PC, presumably Dave and your PC are in the office, connected to your office's network, and thus it would appear that you are in the office? Or is the assumption that you're carrying another device with you that would give y…

Most people I know who wfh use laptops.

Re: Microsoft 365 now tracks you in real time?

#295

Post by saltwatercowboy » Sat, Jan 31, 2026, 2:02 AM UTC

ajcp wrote: post #123

lastofthemojito wrote: post #28

Some of my neighbors have some rather colorful Wifi SSIDs. I've seen some silly ones like "FBI SURVEILLANCE" as well as at least one crudely expressing their opinion of the current US President. Probably won't be long now before we see someone get fired because their boss saw the name of their home Wifi network.

My go-to SSID will always be "Robert'); DROP TABLE Students;--". For all others I just use a ship name from The Culture universe[0] like "Of Course I Still Love You" or "Just Read the Instructions". 0. https://theculture.fandom.com/wiki/List_of_spacecraft

My SSID similarly used to be "Two For Flinching" :)

Re: Microsoft 365 now tracks you in real time?

#296

Post by zamadatix » Sat, Jan 31, 2026, 2:26 AM UTC

LordGrey wrote: post #293

cptskippy wrote: post #242

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> ...what building they're in... Given that not every device has built in GPS, it sounds like the Network Team is going to have to provide the locations of APs for that to work. Curious how Teams will resolve that. If you're on your phone using a VPN back to your home network will it know or show you as at home? What happens if you have multiple APs at home?

Or you set up a local router with an SSID that matches one from the corporate internal network. That actually sounds like fun. The result, I mean; not the whole setting-up-a-router bit.

You'd probably want to clone the BSSID of one of the APs, the SSID is unlikely to be used as it gives zero context to which office it's at most of the time.

Re: Microsoft 365 now tracks you in real time?

#297

Post by zamadatix » Sat, Jan 31, 2026, 2:30 AM UTC

cptskippy wrote: post #242

TavsiE9s wrote: post #224

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

> ...what building they're in... Given that not every device has built in GPS, it sounds like the Network Team is going to have to provide the locations of APs for that to work. Curious how Teams will resolve that. If you're on your phone using a VPN back to your home network will it know or show you as at home? What happens if you have multiple APs at home?

Assuming this is how it functions, the network team would export the list of BSSIDs (I.e. AP+SSID+Band specific wireless MAC used) by location and then there's really nothing about being VPNed in or even having a remote work device which advertises the work Wi-Fi that would create some problem needing to be resolved.

Re: Microsoft 365 now tracks you in real time?

#298

Post by al_borland » Sat, Jan 31, 2026, 2:41 AM UTC

mosselman wrote: post #31

al_borland wrote: post #5

It looks like MS Teams will never be getting installed on my phone. I don’t even allow location sharing with my own family on and ongoing basis.

Some people don't have a choice. Of course they could choose to lose their job over it, but for some that is not an option. I also totally don't get why you would want to share your location, even with family. I don't want to know where they are either.

They could do the two phone thing. I did that for many years. I'd probably go back to it if my company tried to force this on me.

Re: Microsoft 365 now tracks you in real time?

#299

Post by relaxing » Sat, Jan 31, 2026, 3:08 AM UTC

dehrmann wrote: post #16

> Teams on Mac > And obviously, the mobile app (your pocket spy). Don't these ask for location permissions? This story is light on details.

Teams on iOS doesn’t appear to use location services at all. The option to turn it on or off just isn’t there.

Re: Microsoft 365 now tracks you in real time?

#300

Post by zamadatix » Sat, Jan 31, 2026, 3:22 AM 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…

I appreciate you having the guts to comment on working on Teams :)

What do you think the coolest small thing coming to Teams people probably aren't aware of is? Anything cool you've worked on that you're allowed to publicly brag about? How'd you end up working on Teams, just the way things kind of went or something along the lines of what you aimed for?