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ThomasHuth's avatar
ThomasHuth
Brass Contributor
Feb 12, 2024

Why is Teams tracking user activity?

I recognized a change in (new) Teams behavior. 
Now the new Teams client changes my status from busy to away after I'm not active on the PC. 
Not something I want, because I have to work on a separate customer PC and yes it's my intention to show I'm busy in my tenant, while working in a different one..
Despite this, under German law, user monitoring isn't as easy as in the US. 

It is subject to co-determination and I think this function is interpreted by works councils as monitoring and can therefore prevent the use of teams.

Any suggestions how this behavior can be switched off?  
(Yes, when set to appear offline, it doesn't change the status. But this is not helpful)
microsoft teams
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  • LeonPavesic's avatar
    LeonPavesic
    Silver Contributor
    Feb 12, 2024

    Servus ThomasHuth,

    Microsoft Teams changes your status based on what you're doing to show if you're available to your colleagues. It's handy for remote work but might not be suitable for everyone (like in your case).

    Regarding your concern about user monitoring, this automatic status change is not intended for monitoring purposes, but rather for improving communication and collaboration within a team.

    However, I understand your concerns.

    Unfortunately, there isn’t a built-in feature in Teams to permanently disable this automatic status.
    change feature.

    You might want to provide feedback to Microsoft about this issue. You can do that by clicking on ... > Help > Give Feedback in you Microsoft Teams desktop app:

    or you can post about this issue on the Microsoft Feedback Portal:
    Microsoft Teams · Community


    Please click Mark as Best Response & Like if my post helped you to solve your issue.
    This will help others to find the correct solution easily. It also closes the item.


    If the post was useful in other ways, please consider giving it Like.


    Kindest regards,


    Leon Pavesic
    (LinkedIn)
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    • ThomasHuth's avatar
      ThomasHuth
      Brass Contributor
      Feb 12, 2024

      The issue I have, it was possible for a long time to set myself "busy" and this status was active the whole day (8:00 to 17:00) and then change to free as it was supposed. It changed only a short time ago. I’m pretty sure because I have worked for over 2 years for a customer which requires me to use their hardware and M365 Tenant.
      I am pretty sure that work councils will see this behavior as critical, because it makes it possible to monitor someone, even when it must be done manually.

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