Overview
- Microsoft moved Workplace Check‑in to general availability in mid‑June, and the feature can automatically mark a user as ‘in the office’ when their device connects to a configured corporate Wi‑Fi network.
- Microsoft says the signal is an in‑the‑moment workplace presence and not a stored location history, and that the Teams client only generates the signal while connected to configured corporate networks.
- Tenant administrators must opt in and configure the feature, including linking Microsoft Places and specific Wi‑Fi identifiers (BSSIDs), and admins can choose whether the end‑user experience is opt‑in or opt‑out.
- Individual users must grant OS‑level and Teams app‑level permissions for the check‑in to work, and Microsoft notes IT policy cannot override a denied OS location permission.
- Privacy advocates and labor groups warn that employer policy choices could make the feature effectively mandatory and prompt scrutiny or legal challenges as adoption grows.