Microsoft Teams can now turn a connection to office Wi-Fi or a configured desk device into a visible workplace-location signal. Workplace Check-in became generally available in June 2026.
For employers in Singapore, Hong Kong and elsewhere in Asia-Pacific, deployment involves more than switching on a Teams policy. Organizations may need to review employee notices, workplace rules and permitted uses of location data before enabling it.
How Workplace Check-In works
Workplace Check-in updates a user’s “actual work location” when Teams detects an approved corporate network or desk peripheral. If buildings are mapped in Microsoft Places, Teams can display a specific building; otherwise, it shows a broader in-office status.
Following the June 2026 launch, Microsoft’s configuration guidance says Workplace Check-in remains off by default and can be enabled tenant-wide or for selected groups. It requires the Teams desktop app on Windows or macOS. Wi-Fi detection also requires operating-system location permission.
Administrators can use Ask mode, which requires users to opt in, or Inform mode, which enables Wi-Fi check-in unless they opt out. The same policy controls desk-peripheral detection through an on-or-off setting.
Exchange administrators must register corporate SSIDs. Showing a specific building also requires BSSIDs mapped to Microsoft Places. Wi-Fi check-in does not work over Ethernet.
Microsoft says Workplace Check-in does not continuously poll location, track movement or provide attendance reports or historical actual-location records. Detected locations clear at the end of configured working hours, and connections outside those hours do not trigger an update.
Employees can manually change or clear their work location, preventing further automatic check-ins for the rest of the day. Because employees can override the status and technical failures can prevent check-ins, employers should not use it alone for attendance or disciplinary decisions. Coworkers may still see the shared location through profile cards and group-chat lists.
For Microsoft 365 administrators, Workplace Check-in adds another policy surface to test alongside mobile app governance and account access. Employers are also facing greater scrutiny over employee-monitoring technology.
APAC privacy rules shape deployment
Microsoft describes Workplace Check-in as a coordination feature, not an employee-monitoring tool. Employers must still assess whether collecting and displaying workplace-presence data complies with local privacy, employment and consultation rules.
In Singapore, organizations should determine whether consent, an employment-related exception or another basis under the Personal Data Protection Act applies. Official PDPA guidance requires organizations to disclose why they collect, use or share personal data, including data used to manage an employment relationship.
In Hong Kong, employers should assess the feature under the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance and the Privacy Commissioner’s employee-monitoring guidance, which emphasizes transparency, proportionality and limiting employee-data collection.
Multinational organizations should review the setting separately in each jurisdiction rather than apply one global policy. Separate changes pushing Singapore employers toward more auditable workplace compliance also strengthen the case for documented rules governing employment decisions.
IT teams should test network, building and peripheral mappings. HR, legal and privacy teams should document the feature’s purpose, who can see the status and whether managers may use it in attendance, performance or disciplinary decisions.
Workplace Check-in is narrower than continuous location tracking, but it still makes physical office presence visible through Microsoft 365. Employers should complete technical and policy reviews before enabling it and reassess those controls whenever Microsoft updates the feature or its data-handling practices.
Read more: As workplace devices collect more contextual data, organizations may also need to revisit privacy policies for camera-equipped wearable technology.