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Microsoft 365 now tracks you in real time?

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Re: Microsoft 365 now tracks you in real time?

#41

Post by bri3d »

black_puppydog wrote: post #12

I'm surprised this would be even legal in most European countries... Then again, MS might not care any more. Companies who are not looking for alternatives today won't ever be looking.

The implementation details are sketchy/weak in all sources I can find, but I don't think it's pure (coordinates based) location tracking, but rather a "feature" that will show which WiFi network you're connected to as your Teams status. It's pitched as "what building you're in at the office," which seems like a stretch.

It's also kind of unclear whether the blog post is correct that it would show the name of another network if you connect to it - I'd sort of assume it would just show "Out of Office" instead of "connected to YO_MAMAS_WIFI" or whatever, but who knows.

Re: Microsoft 365 now tracks you in real time?

#42

Post by loloquwowndueo »

dangus wrote: post #20
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.

Does UPS have the right to know the location of its drivers? Of course it does. I don’t know that we can draw broad conclusions about worker rights on this issue. My company probably DOES need to know that I’m not taking company information to certain locations like overseas if I work in certain industries like if I am in healthcare covered by HIPAA and I’m handling PHI. Hyperbolic example, but if I’m taking a teams…

UPS has a right to know the location of their trucks.

Re: Microsoft 365 now tracks you in real time?

#43

Post by pixl97 »

marekful wrote: post #6
toomuchtodo wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Until there is a law, there is nothing to stop them. So you need the law. First person to reach out to would be Ron Wyden, he has been a reliable advocate in this space. https://www.wyden.senate.gov/

Nothing legal prevents them from trying but if you block the tracking then your not in the wrong, and if you prove they tracked you in your lunch break and after work, you might have a good chance at winning in court for invasion of privacy.

Most of this will be under 'tracking the corporate asset'. They aren't tracking you as a person, but instead a laptop or phone of which they own or control. That's going to be much harder to defeat in the US.

Re: Microsoft 365 now tracks you in real time?

#44

Post by abdullahkhalids »

dangus wrote: post #20
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.

Does UPS have the right to know the location of its drivers? Of course it does. I don’t know that we can draw broad conclusions about worker rights on this issue. My company probably DOES need to know that I’m not taking company information to certain locations like overseas if I work in certain industries like if I am in healthcare covered by HIPAA and I’m handling PHI. Hyperbolic example, but if I’m taking a teams…

Before computers and internet, a manager might have been allowed to take work files home to work on them. Or workers on the road, might have stacks of company files with them in their car.

How did companies enforce the worker not taking the files with them on their international trip? Just by punishment when it was discovered after the fact. Things worked fine. It was good enough.

There is no need for additional surveillance, just because computers and internet can be used to do it.

Re: Microsoft 365 now tracks you in real time?

#45

Post by mortenjorck »

kevinh wrote: post #19

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

I don't know how much of it was hand-edited and how much was direct output, but this article has that unmistakable LLM voice. The rhythm, the rhetorical flourishes; it's all there even if it's diffused through some human revision.

The really weird thing is going to be when people start internalizing the LLM voice and writing that way. It's probably happening already.

Re: Microsoft 365 now tracks you in real time?

#46

Post by semiquaver »

bri3d wrote: post #41
black_puppydog wrote: post #12

I'm surprised this would be even legal in most European countries... Then again, MS might not care any more. Companies who are not looking for alternatives today won't ever be looking.

The implementation details are sketchy/weak in all sources I can find, but I don't think it's pure (coordinates based) location tracking, but rather a "feature" that will show which WiFi network you're connected to as your Teams status. It's pitched as "what building you're in at the office," which seems like a stretch. It's also kind of unclear whether the blog post is correct that it would show the name of another…

  > what building you're in at the office
This makes no sense. Every multi-building campus I’ve ever seen uses the same SSID for all APs across buildings.

Re: Microsoft 365 now tracks you in real time?

#47

Post by gmueckl »

tjoff wrote: post #26
black_puppydog wrote: post #12

I'm surprised this would be even legal in most European countries... Then again, MS might not care any more. Companies who are not looking for alternatives today won't ever be looking.

It is not. Best guess is that this is reserved for the land of the free.

I still expect this feature to roll out worldwide with some legalese fine print that the customer is responsible for configuring and operating the product "in accordance with local laws". I'd be really surprised if MS handles this differently.

Re: Microsoft 365 now tracks you in real time?

#50

Post by JellyPlan »

bri3d wrote: post #41
black_puppydog wrote: post #12

I'm surprised this would be even legal in most European countries... Then again, MS might not care any more. Companies who are not looking for alternatives today won't ever be looking.

The implementation details are sketchy/weak in all sources I can find, but I don't think it's pure (coordinates based) location tracking, but rather a "feature" that will show which WiFi network you're connected to as your Teams status. It's pitched as "what building you're in at the office," which seems like a stretch. It's also kind of unclear whether the blog post is correct that it would show the name of another…

Why not get a portable hotspot and call it "[your work's wifi name]"
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