Tracking & policies

Tracking policies

Start from a template, edit every capture setting, assign policies to scopes, and schedule changes that collect more so people are told first.

ForOwnerAdmin

A tracking policy is the single place where you decide what TimeLogger records: the mode, the capture window, screenshots, apps and websites, idle handling, webcam, live view, retention and the disclosure people see. There are no hidden global settings — if something is captured, a policy field allows it.

Policies are versioned. Every save creates a new, immutable version, and changes that collect more are scheduled for a later date so people are told before they start.

Who can do this:OwnerAdminOwners and admins create and edit policies. Managers can assign existing policies within their scope. Auditors can read policies but not change them. Members see the policy that applies to them on MeMy data & privacy.

Start from a template#

Every new policy starts from a template. Each one is a complete, lawful starting point, and you can change every setting afterwards.

Open Policies
Go to WorkspacePolicies and choose New policy.
Pick a template
In Start from a template, choose the template closest to what you want and give it a Policy name, such as Design team — hybrid.
Create it
Choose Create policy. The editor opens. The new policy doesn’t apply to anyone until you assign it.

The Start from a template dialog listing the policy templates — The eight templates.

Template	What it means
Manual timer	Nothing is recorded until the member presses Start. Screenshots 3 an hour while the timer runs.
Automatic — working-hours fence	Starts at sign-in and captures only inside working hours, with a lunch break. Nothing is recorded outside the fence.
Automatic — continuous capture	Captures whenever the device is in use, any hour. For company-owned devices with an explicit, announced policy.
Hybrid — automatic capture + optional timer	Automatic capture inside working hours; people can run a timer to attribute time to a project.
Score-only (no screenshots)	Image-free: app and site classification produce a screen productivity score. No screenshots, webcam or live view.
Silent — company-owned devices	Windowless automatic agent. Only resolves to Silent when every Silent gate is met.
EU / works-council safe	No screenshots, webcam, live view, window titles or search queries; domains only; working hours only.
Healthcare safe	No screenshots, webcam, live view, websites or window titles, and no media kept. Time, app names and activity counts only.

What’s in a policy#

The editor groups the settings into sections. Each has a short explanation in the product.

Section	What it means
Mode & variant	Tracking mode (Manual timer, Automatic, Hybrid), agent variant (Visible, Silent) and capture profile (Standard or Non-invasive, score-only).
Capture window	Working-hours fence, always, or while signed in; weekly hours, time zone, grace minutes, scheduled breaks and private time.
Auto-start	Start automatically inside the window with no clicks.
Timer rules	Require a project, task or note; pausing; shortest entry kept; auto-stop when idle; and Editing own time (free, with approval, or not at all).
Screenshots	On or off, per hour, randomised timing, blur, image quality, all monitors, a notice before each capture, and whether people can delete their own.
Apps & web	Record app usage and window titles; record websites at no detail, domain only, or full address; search queries.
Input	Keystroke and mouse counts for the activity level. What was typed is never recorded.
Idle & away	When time becomes idle and then away, and what happens while idle: Pause the timer and ask on return, Mark as idle and keep tracking, Keep tracking but leave idle time out, or Stop the timer at the last activity.
Webcam	Occasional photo verification. Always needs each person’s own opt-in.
Exclusions	Apps and sites that are never recorded, such as password managers and banking.
Employee visibility	What people see about themselves. They always see everything their manager sees.
Live view	Whether managers may open a live view of a screen, always with a stated reason and an indicator.
Offline & retention	The offline buffer, what is dropped first when it’s full, and a media retention override.
Disclosure	Whether people must acknowledge the plain-language disclosure, and its version.

The policy editor with its sections on the left and the compliance check on the right — Editing the Acme default — Hybrid policy.

Assign a policy#

A policy applies to whoever it’s assigned to. Open the policy’s Assignments tab, pick a Scope and who it Applies to, and choose Assign.

How policies combine#

Narrower scopes override broader ones field by field: workspace → department → team → member → device. A narrow policy only needs the fields it changes.

Sample dataResolving Ananya’s policy in Acme Studio (Brand team)

Scope	Policy	What it sets
Workspace	Acme default — Hybrid	Hybrid mode, 4 screenshots an hour, working-hours fence, …
Team: Brand	Brand team — lighter screenshots	Screenshots per hour: 3
Result		Everything from the workspace policy, with 3 screenshots an hour

To see the final result for one person, open their page in WorkspaceMembers and choose the Effective policy tab. It shows where each setting came from.

Check compliance as you edit#

The Compliance check panel checks every change against the workspace compliance profile and the regional rules. Settings that break a rule are listed, and clicking one scrolls to the field. You can’t save until the list is empty. Some rules don’t block saving but change the result for particular people — for example Silent resolves to Visible on a personal device. These are shown as forced changes. See Compliance profiles and regional rules.

Save changes#

Review the impact
Choose Review & save. TimeLogger simulates the change and shows every field that changes and how many people it reaches.
Reductions apply now
If nothing new is collected from anyone, you see No increase in collection. Choose Save new version and agents pick it up at their next check-in, within about a minute.
Increases are scheduled
If the change collects more — say, turning screenshots on — the title reads This increases what you collect from N people. Under When should this take effect? choose In 7 days (recommended), On a date I choose, or Immediately if people have already been told. Then choose Schedule new version.

The save dialog showing the number of people affected and the effective date options — An increase in collection is scheduled, not applied at once.

People are told before collection increases

Everyone whose own policy collects more gets a notice in TimeLogger and by email when the change is scheduled, and again when it starts, listing exactly what changes. They acknowledge a fresh disclosure before the new capture applies. People whose narrower policy overrides the change aren’t notified, because nothing changes for them.

In Australia increases are scheduled 14 days ahead by default. In New South Wales and the ACT Immediately isn’t available: at least 14 days of written notice is required.

Cancel a scheduled change#

While a change is waiting, the policy shows Version N starts … with Show N changes and Cancel scheduled change. Cancelling keeps the current version in force; the scheduled version stays in the history marked Never started. Saving again also replaces a scheduled change.

Version history#

The Version history tab lists every version with who saved it, when, and the exact changes. Badges show which version is Current, which Starts on a later date, and which Never started. Versions can’t be edited or deleted, and each captured record carries the version that allowed it.

Questions#

Why can’t I save my change?

The Compliance check lists at least one setting the workspace profile or a regional rule doesn’t allow. Change or remove those settings — the list tells you which rule applies to each.

Do I have to wait 7 days to turn screenshots on?

No — choose Immediately if people have already been told about the change, except in New South Wales and the ACT. The default of 7 days leaves time to announce it using the Rollout kit.

Can I delete a policy version?

No. Versions are permanent so every captured record can be traced to the rules that allowed it. You can stop using a policy by removing its assignments.

Who is affected by a change?

Everyone the policy resolves for — people it’s assigned to directly or through their department or team — unless a narrower policy overrides that field for them. The save dialog shows the count.

Next: Compliance profiles and regional rules.

Something unclear or out of date? Tell your workspace admin, or write to the TimeLogger team from Settings — we update these guides with every release.