Yes, I think we know this: how else do they think it's possible for Teams (or other videoconferencing app) to warn you that you're muted when you start talking

Yes, I think we know this: how else do they think it's possible for Teams (or other videoconferencing app) to warn you that you're muted when you start talking whilst muted without the mic being switched on? I'm not saying there's definitely not anything sinister happening here in the case of every videoconferencing app, but there are legitimate reasons for leaving the mic on that are about improving user experience, not spying on you.