🖥 Productivity Monitoring

Employee Productivity Monitoring That's Transparent, Not Surveillance

MakeSpire's monitoring module gives managers objective productivity data — without creating a culture of distrust. Employees always know what's being captured, and everything is GDPR-configurable.

ℹ️
Monitoring is optional and off by default.

Productivity monitoring is an opt-in feature available only in the Professional plan. It must be explicitly enabled by an administrator, and employees are notified with clear disclosure before monitoring begins. MakeSpire's monitoring is designed for transparency, not covert surveillance.

How It Works

Objective Data About How Work Actually Gets Done

When monitoring is enabled, the MakeSpire desktop agent (Windows, macOS, Linux) periodically captures activity data during work sessions. Managers see aggregated productivity reports — not a surveillance feed. The goal is to help managers understand productivity patterns, not to micromanage.

Configurable screenshot intervals (every 5, 10, or 30 minutes)
App and website usage categorisation
Keyboard and mouse activity (not keylogging) to detect active vs. idle time
Productivity score calculated from active work time
Employee can see their own data in real time
Manager reports show team and individual trends
Productivity Overview — Today
87%
Productivity Score
6h 12m
Active Time
Top Applications
VS Code 2h 45m
Slack 1h 20m
Chrome 1h 10m

Built for Legal Compliance in Every Jurisdiction

🔐

Explicit Employee Consent

Before monitoring begins, employees receive a clear disclosure notice explaining what is captured, why, and how long data is retained. Consent is logged.

⚙️

Granular Admin Controls

Admins control which employees are monitored, what types of data are captured, how frequently screenshots are taken, and which app categories are tracked.

👁️

Employee Transparency

Employees can view their own monitoring data at any time. The system shows exactly what their manager sees — no hidden information, no surprises.

🗑️

Configurable Data Retention

Set automatic deletion schedules for screenshots and activity logs. Data can be purged on request for GDPR right-to-erasure compliance.

🔒

Encrypted Screenshot Storage

Screenshots are encrypted at rest and access is restricted to authorised managers. Screenshots are never visible to other employees.

📋

Audit Log

Every access to monitoring data is logged: who viewed which employee's data and when. Essential for data protection officer (DPO) compliance reviews.

Lightweight Agent for Windows, macOS, and Linux

The MakeSpire monitoring agent runs silently in the background without impacting system performance. It's deployed centrally and requires no employee configuration.

🪟

Windows Agent

Compatible with Windows 10 and 11. Can be deployed via Group Policy or distributed manually. Auto-updates from the MakeSpire cloud.

🍎

macOS Agent

Compatible with macOS 12 Monterey and later. Supports Apple Silicon and Intel. Requires Screen Recording permission via macOS Privacy settings.

🐧

Linux Agent

Available as a .deb and .rpm package for major distributions. Suitable for developer teams on Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora, and CentOS.

Monitoring — Frequently Asked Questions

Do employees know when they're being monitored?
+
Yes, always. MakeSpire does not support covert monitoring. Employees receive a notification before monitoring is enabled on their device and can see their monitoring status in the app at any time. This is both a design principle and a legal requirement in most jurisdictions.
Is keystroke logging included?
+
No. MakeSpire explicitly does not log keystrokes. Activity detection is based on mouse movement and keyboard activity frequency (to distinguish active from idle), not on recording what is typed. This is a deliberate privacy protection.
Can monitoring be paused during personal time?
+
Yes. The monitoring agent only captures data during active work sessions (when the employee is clocked in). Outside of work hours, no data is captured. Employees can also manually pause monitoring during breaks, with the pause duration logged.
How long are screenshots stored?
+
Configurable by the administrator. The default is 30 days. You can set shorter or longer retention periods. On the GDPR data residency plan, screenshots can be stored in EU-only infrastructure with automatic deletion after your configured retention period.
Is monitoring available on mobile devices?
+
Mobile monitoring captures GPS location during clocked-in sessions only — with employee consent. App-level monitoring is not available on mobile due to iOS and Android OS restrictions. Desktop monitoring remains the primary feature.

Understand Your Remote Team's Productivity — Transparently

Monitoring is available in the Professional plan. Contact our team to discuss your compliance requirements.