How to See What Employees Are Doing on Their Computers
Managers ask this question for different reasons. Some need to understand where a remote team's time goes. Some need to protect company data. Some are preparing for a performance conversation and want facts rather than impressions. The right way to see what employees are doing on their computers depends on which of those questions you are trying to answer.
Hybrid work makes the question harder to answer just by looking around the office. In Microsoft's 2022 survey of more than 20,000 workers, 85% of leaders said the shift to hybrid work had made it hard to be confident that employees are being productive, while 87% of employees said they were productive at work (Microsoft Work Trend Index, 2022, checked September 30, 2026). Good data can close that gap; the wrong kind of monitoring widens it.
The short answer: on company-owned computers, use employee monitoring software, tell employees in writing what it collects, and choose a tool that answers your question with the least intrusive data. This guide walks through the options, what each one actually shows, what US law says, and how to roll monitoring out without damaging trust.
This is general information, not legal advice. Laws vary by location and change often; consult your own counsel before acting on it.
Table of Contents
- Start With the Question You Need Answered
- Five Ways to See Employee Computer Activity
- What US Law Says
- How to Monitor Computer Activity Without Eroding Trust
- How It Works in Intelogos
- Frequently Asked Questions
Start With the Question You Need Answered
Different questions call for different data. Collecting more than you need adds risk without adding insight.
| If you need to know... | Useful data | Usually unnecessary |
|---|---|---|
| Where the team's time goes | Applications and websites used, time per tool | Screenshots |
| Whether work is sustainable | Work hours, breaks, after-hours activity | Keystroke content |
| Whether people are actively working | Active vs. idle time | Continuous screen recording |
| How a specific task was done | Window-level activity timeline for that period | Monitoring personal devices |
| Whether company data is at risk | Security and data loss prevention tools | Productivity scoring |
Five Ways to See Employee Computer Activity
1. Employee Monitoring Software
This is what most people mean by employee monitoring. A small agent installed on each computer records which applications and websites are used, for how long, and whether the person was actively using the keyboard and mouse. The data rolls up into dashboards for teams and individuals.
Tools in this category differ a lot. Some are privacy-first and work from activity metadata: tool names, time, window titles and activity levels. Others add screenshots, screen recording or keystroke logging. For most productivity questions, metadata is enough, and it carries far less privacy risk. For a comparison of tools, see the best employee monitoring software in 2026.
2. Screenshots and Screen Recording
Some tools capture screenshots at intervals or record the screen. They show exactly what was on screen at a moment in time, which is why they are popular for proof-of-work.
The downsides are significant. Screenshots capture personal information by accident, they are time-consuming to review, and employees tend to experience them as surveillance. We cover the trade-offs in employee monitoring without screenshots.
3. Network and Web Filtering Logs
Firewalls and web filters can log which domains company devices connect to. This is useful for security and for enforcing acceptable-use policies, but it says little about how work is going, and it misses activity on devices that are off the company network, such as those of remote employees.
4. Time Tracking and Attendance Tools
Time trackers show when people start and stop work and, depending on the tool, which projects the time went to. They answer "how much time?" well but not "what happened in that time?". See our guide to time tracking tools for remote teams.
5. Check-Ins and Work Output
The simplest method needs no software at all: regular one-to-ones, written updates and a look at the work itself. It remains the most important one. Activity data is most useful as a starting point for these conversations, not a replacement for them.
What US Law Says
There is no single US law on monitoring employees' computers. These are the rules that come up most often:
- Federal law restricts intercepting communications. The federal Wiretap Act, Title I of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, prohibits intentionally intercepting wire, oral or electronic communications, with exceptions that include prior consent from one of the parties (18 U.S.C. § 2511 and the Bureau of Justice Assistance overview, checked September 30, 2026).
- Some states require notice. Connecticut requires employers that engage in electronic monitoring, which the statute defines as collecting information on the employer's premises by means other than direct observation, to give prior written notice to employees who may be affected; a notice posted in a conspicuous place counts (Conn. Gen. Stat. § 31-48d, checked September 30, 2026). Delaware requires either a daily electronic notice or a one-time notice acknowledged by the employee before an employer monitors a Delaware employee's phone, email or internet use (Del. Code tit. 19, § 705, checked September 30, 2026). New York requires written notice at hiring, acknowledged by the employee, and a posted notice (N.Y. Civil Rights Law § 52-c, checked September 30, 2026). Maine's employer surveillance law, which became law in January 2026, requires employers to inform employees before surveillance begins, to give current employees written notice at least once a year and to tell job candidates during interviews (Maine Legislature summary of Public Law 2025, chapter 524, checked September 30, 2026).
- Each statute sets its own scope. Delaware's, for example, applies to employers with a place of business in Delaware, and New York's to employers with a place of business in New York. If your team works from several states, check the rules in each of them.
- Personal devices raise more questions. Maine's law lets employees decline an employer's request to install data collection or transmission apps on their personal devices for employer surveillance. Monitoring only company-owned computers avoids asking employees to install anything on their own devices.
This is general information, not legal advice. Laws vary by location and change often; consult your own counsel before acting on it.
For more states and details, see employee monitoring laws by state.
How to Monitor Computer Activity Without Eroding Trust
How you introduce monitoring matters as much as which tool you choose.
- Explain why. Tie monitoring to clear purposes, such as understanding workload, supporting remote teams or meeting a compliance need.
- Say exactly what is collected, and what isn't. For example: applications, websites and activity levels are tracked; screenshots and keystroke content are not.
- Let people see their own data. It turns monitoring into a tool they can use too.
- Start with team-level patterns. Look at individual detail when there is a specific reason.
- Use data to open conversations. Ask what is behind a number before drawing conclusions.
- Apply it consistently, including to managers.
We go deeper on this in employee monitoring done right.
How It Works in Intelogos
Intelogos shows what employees are working on through activity analytics rather than surveillance:
- Tracking agents collect the data. Employees can install a visible desktop agent, or admins can deploy background agents across company-owned computers. See understanding agents.
- Chronicle gives the detail. For a specific user, Chronicle lists every tool and window used, with total and active time and keyboard and mouse activity, and you can filter, group, search and export the data. Only owners, and admins and managers with Chronicle permission, can open it. See the Chronicle guide.
- Dashboards give the big picture. KPIs such as Engagement, Productivity and Availability show patterns across teams, and the Tools page lets you classify applications and websites by how important they are to the work.
- It is privacy-first. Intelogos does not take screenshots, record screens or log keystrokes.
Learn more about employee monitoring software, remote employee monitoring and Intelogos for IT and security teams.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it legal to see what employees are doing on their computers?
US law has no single answer. The federal Wiretap Act restricts intercepting electronic communications, with exceptions that include prior consent from one of the parties, and some states, including Connecticut, Delaware, New York and Maine, require employers to notify employees about electronic monitoring. Monitoring personal devices raises more questions than monitoring company-owned computers. Check the rules in each state where you have a place of business or employees, and see our state-by-state guide.
This is general information, not legal advice. Laws vary by location and change often; consult your own counsel before acting on it.
Can I see what employees are doing on their computers without them knowing?
Some agents, including Intelogos background agents, run without a visible timer or icon. That doesn't remove the need to tell employees: Connecticut, Delaware, New York and Maine require employers to notify employees about electronic monitoring, and covert monitoring damages trust when it is discovered. Tell employees what is monitored and why.
This is general information, not legal advice. Laws vary by location and change often; consult your own counsel before acting on it.
Can employers see what employees type?
Tools with keystroke logging can record what is typed, including personal messages, which makes it one of the most intrusive forms of monitoring. Intelogos records how much keyboard and mouse activity there was, not the content of what was typed.
Can I see which websites employees visit?
Yes. Many employee monitoring tools, including Intelogos, record which websites were used and for how long. Network logs can also show domains for devices on the company network.
What is the best software to monitor employee computers?
It depends on what you need to know. For productivity and performance insight, privacy-first analytics tools are usually the better fit. For insider-threat investigations, security-focused tools go deeper. Our employee monitoring software comparison covers 15 options.
Want to see how your team works, without screenshots or keystroke logging? Start a free Intelogos trial or explore how it works.
Sources
- Hybrid Work Is Just Work. Are We Doing It Wrong? (Microsoft Work Trend Index, 2022): 85% of leaders finding it hard to be confident employees are productive, and 87% of employees saying they are productive. Checked September 30, 2026.
- 18 U.S.C. § 2511 (U.S. Code, via GovInfo): the federal prohibition on intercepting wire, oral or electronic communications and the prior-consent exception in subsection (2)(d). Checked September 30, 2026.
- Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986 (Bureau of Justice Assistance, U.S. Department of Justice): Title I of the ECPA as the Wiretap Act. Checked September 30, 2026.
- Conn. Gen. Stat. § 31-48d (Connecticut General Assembly): prior written notice of electronic monitoring and the posted-notice option. Checked September 30, 2026.
- Del. Code tit. 19, § 705 (Delaware Code Online): daily electronic notice or one-time acknowledged notice before monitoring phone, email or internet use. Checked September 30, 2026.
- N.Y. Civil Rights Law § 52-c (New York State Senate): written notice at hiring, employee acknowledgment and posted notice for electronic monitoring. Checked September 30, 2026.
- Joint Standing Committee on Labor, enacted law summaries, May 2026 (Maine Legislature): Public Law 2025, chapter 524, on employer surveillance notice, interview disclosure and personal devices. Checked September 30, 2026.