We’re now almost three years into the COVID-19 pandemic. And, if there is one thing that this pandemic has taught us, then that is Social Distancing.
To follow all the safety protocols, offices, and academic institutions around the world shifted to live video conferencing apps which provided them a cost-efficient, quick, and easy way to stay connected with their peers, and friends.
This also introduced us to many new video conferencing apps. And, one of the most widely used apps of them all is Microsoft Teams (MS Teams). Microsoft Teams is an extremely popular communication platform developed by Microsoft.
In this post, we are going to talk about Microsoft Teams, and also take a look at its location-sharing features. Let’s get started!
Introduction to Microsoft Teams
Microsoft Teams is a mobile, and web-based application that offers great workspace chat, and videoconferencing features. Other than that, users also get file storage, and application integration features.
Since many of us have now moved to a virtual environment, the popularity of Teams has skyrocketed in the past year with over 145 million users as of 2021. Teams was announced by Microsoft at an event in New York, and was launched worldwide on March 14, 2017.
Since it is an app meant to help people communicate, it is obvious that Teams comes with chat Features.
Unlike Skype, and other apps, Chats in Teams are persistent which eliminates the need to check the conversation history. With Teams, you can send text messages, convey emotions through emojis, and GIFs.
You can also mark important messages as “urgent” or “important”. This will show the marked message with a red side border, and an exclamation mark. Moreover, these urgent messages will be notified to the other users at regular intervals until the users see them.
Teams also allow you to create a Group Chat, and even create call-in groups. You can also share files of a variety of formats through chats. You can send specific URLs or invitations to others to invite them to your meetings.
Teams for Education also comes with other handy features. For example, teachers can set up specific teams for classes, assign assignments, provide a platform to turn in assignments, provide feedback, grade student assignments, assign quizzes, and more.
Members of a team can also set up channels that are individual topics of conversation. These channels allow you to communicate with other team members without the use of email or group SMS (texting).
Microsoft Teams also provides you with calling features. The calling features are enabled by: instant messaging, Voice over IP, and video conferencing inside the client software.
Teams Live Events is also a great plus point for Teams as it allows its users to broadcast to 10,000 participants on Teams, Microsoft Stream, or Yammer.
Microsoft Teams is also all set to receive support for push-to-talk “Walkie Talking” on mobile. The feature is also coming to the desktop version of Teams. The feature will be directly integrated into the Teams desktop app. Other interesting features that are soon to be added to teams are polling, and search features.
Did you know that Microsoft Teams also comes with a Location Sharing option? Yes, with the help of Microsoft Teams you can easily share your location with other users. The location-sharing feature is an exclusive feature of the Microsoft Teams mobile app.
And guess what? It is very easy to use! Follow these steps to share your location using the Teams app.
To begin with, open a chatbox. After opening the chatbox, select the “…” option which will open the more options menu. From the more options menu, select Location.
You now have two location-sharing options. You can either share your current location OR you can search, and change the location to a specific address, and then share that location. By default, you will find a marker placed at your current physical location.
Use any of the two options discussed above, and click on Share Location. And that’s it!
- First, select the chat where you want to share your Live location.
- Now, click on the Plus icon, and then select Location.
- Now, to share your live location, tap the “Share your live location” option, and then select the duration for which you want the location to be displayed. You can select 30 minutes, 1 day, or Always on. Your location will appear in the selected chat for the selected duration.
How to stop sharing your location on Microsoft Teams?
If you want to stop sharing your location on Teams, there are a few ways to do so.
If you wish to stop sharing your location from within the chat, just go to the chat where you have shared the location. Then, click on the plus icon, and then select Location. Now, click on Stop Sharing to stop sharing the location.
You can also stop sharing your location by clicking on the location banner at the top of the chat, and then choosing the Stop Sharing option.
You can also stop sharing your location from the chat’s Dashboard, Open the chat in which you’re sharing your location, and then click on Dashboard. Now, simply click on your location, and then select “Stop sharing”.
Remember that even a blocked contact will be able to see your location shared on a 1:1 chat with them or if the blocked contact is in a group where you’ve shared the location.
Can others see my location on Microsoft Teams?
Since sharing your location information is your personal choice, the answer is simple. No, other users simply cannot see your location on Microsoft Teams. People can see your location only when you share your location with them.
Moreover, your location information will not be traded or sold to third parties. Microsoft only uses your location information to provide its users a rich, and consistent experience.
How can I opt-out of consistent location-based experiences on Microsoft Teams?
On any device, you have the option to determine the location settings for individual apps. This implies, that you can always adjust the location permissions of an application, and decide whether that app can access your location or not.
Similarly, if you want Microsoft Teams to stop using your current location, you can find the settings of the app on your phone, and adjust the location permissions. If you turn off location permissions, your device does not allow that app to collect any new location information from your phone.
To completely stop Microsoft Teams from accessing your location information, follow these steps:
On iOS devices, go to Privacy. Then, go to Location Services, and then select Teams. Turn off the permissions for Location Sharing.
On Android devices, go to Settings, and select Apps. From the list of Apps, select Teams. After doing so, select the Permissions options, and Turn off Location.
How can I delete my Location Information on Microsoft Teams?
Microsoft stores your location information for up to 90 days. However, you can still delete your location information anytime.
To do so, go to the Microsoft privacy dashboard and choose “My activity”. Now click on the Filter by data type option, and select Locations. Click on the “Clear activity” option to delete your location information.
What location information is collected by Microsoft Teams?
You might be wondering what location information is collected when you give Microsoft Teams permission to access your location. When you consent to do so, Microsoft Teams may collect latitude, longitude, and motion data from your device using various methods like Wi-Fi, GPS, cellular network, and Bluetooth.
How can I see my location information on Microsoft Teams?
If you wish to see the location information associated with your account, you can Go to the Microsoft privacy dashboard.
After signing in with your personal or home Microsoft account, go to the “My Activity” section, and select Locations. The app will show you all the location information associated with your account.
Apart from sharing your location with your contacts, Microsoft Teams also allows you to share places, and set notifications when someone arrives at or leaves from that shared place.
The app will send you a notification when that specific contact arrives or leaves the concerned location. However, it also requires the other contact to be sharing their location with Teams.
To use the Share Places feature, you, and your contact(s) will first have to first enable location sharing, and give Microsoft Teams access to your location.
Select the desired chat box where you want to set a shared place. After selecting the chatbox, tap the plus button, and then select the “location” option.
Now, you’ll see the “Only while using the app” option. Select this option to allow Microsoft teams to share your location with the other contact(s). Now, choose “Share Live Location”.
Now, Teams will allow you to select a location, and set up notifications for the same. To select a location, simply click on the plus icon again, and then select a location.
Now, using the search places field, find the location you want to input, drag the map, and pin the location, or use a place from the suggested places at the bottom of the screen. When you’ve found the location you want to use, select Send Map Pin.
Now, select the More icon, and then select Add to shared places. This will add your location to shared places.
Now, after clicking the icon for the shared place, select “Add Notification”. You will now be presented with notification options. You can select whether you want to be notified the next time your selected contact is at that location or every time.
Now to select a user, simply click on “Select a user”, and choose all the contacts you want to add to that shared place. You can select whether you want to be notified when the contact(s) Arrives, Leaves, or arrives or Leaves. To end the process, simply select done. And, that’s it!
This will also send out a notification to the member(s) who you have selected, in their activity feed.
To use the Share places feature, also ensure that your contacts have enabled their location. You can use the Share places feature by following these steps.
First, open the chat where you want to share your location. Now, click on the plus icon, and then select the Location option. Now, select “Share live location”. Remember to allow Teams to access your phone’s device location, and set the Location to Always.
Now, go back to the Microsoft Teams app>Select Always on> Select Send live location. Now, you will be able to select a location, and set up notifications for that place.
To do so, select the plus icon that you used earlier, and then tap location. A Search places field will appear. Use the field to find the desired location. Just like on Android, you can also use the map to drag the pin to the desired location or use one of the Suggested Places.
Now, to add this place to Shared Places, simply Select the More icon which will be appearing right next to the selected place. Click on “Add to shared places button”.
Now, to set notifications for this place, tap the More icon for the shared place. This will now prompt you to select whether you want to get a notification the next time your contact is at that place or every time your contact accesses that shared place.
Now, to select a contact, click to add a user, and then select the contacts you want to add to that shared place. Lastly, click on Done.
Summing up Microsoft Teams
So, that was it for this article. In this post, we discussed Microsoft Teams, and also talked about its various features. Moreover, we also talked about how to share your location on Microsoft Teams, and how to use its Share Places Feature. Microsoft definitely comes in very handy with all its extensive features.
We hope that this article helped you in getting a clear picture of Microsoft Teams, and all its location sharing features. However, if we have missed anything, feel free to tell us in the comments section down below! For more such interesting posts, don’t forget to check out our blog here. Ciao!
