Remote work exploded during the pandemic, and employer surveillance followed right behind it. A 2025 survey by Gartner found that 70% of large employers now use some form of employee monitoring software, up from 30% pre-pandemic. The tools are more sophisticated (and more invasive) than ever — and most employees have no idea what's being tracked.
This guide breaks down exactly what employers can monitor, what they legally can't, which tools they use, and what you can do about it.
On a company-owned device, employers have wide latitude in most US states. Here's what's typically fair game:
Every email sent from your company account, every Slack message, every Teams chat — your employer has access to all of it. This includes "direct messages" on platforms like Slack, which are not truly private. If the company pays for the Slack workspace, they can export every DM ever sent. The 1986 Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) includes a "business purpose exception" that allows employers to monitor communications on their own systems.
Company devices often run endpoint management software (like Jamf for Macs or Microsoft Intune) that logs every website visited, every app opened, and how long each is used. Some employers set up content filters that block specific sites entirely. Others quietly log everything and review it later.
This is where it gets uncomfortable. Some monitoring tools record every keystroke typed — including passwords (though most modern tools filter these out). Others take periodic screenshots of your screen, typically every 5–15 minutes. This captures exactly what you're looking at during work hours, whether that's a spreadsheet or your personal Gmail.
If your employer provides a phone or laptop, they can often track its location via GPS or IP address. This is particularly relevant for employers who want to verify you're working from your stated location (especially for roles with state-specific tax or compliance requirements).
If you're connected to a company VPN, your employer can see all traffic routed through it — every website, every file transfer, every connection. Even without a VPN, company-managed routers or DNS settings can log browsing activity.
If you're working on your own laptop or phone, employers generally cannot install monitoring software without your explicit consent. However — and this is a big caveat — many employers now require employees to install MDM (Mobile Device Management) profiles on personal devices used for work, which gives them partial access. Read the fine print before accepting a BYOD policy.
Eleven states are "two-party consent" states for audio recording, meaning your employer can't record your voice during calls without your knowledge. These include California, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Montana, New Hampshire, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Washington, and Connecticut. Video-only recording (no audio) is a grayer area.
Employers can't legally use monitoring to retaliate against protected activities like union organizing, whistleblowing, or filing discrimination complaints. The National Labor Relations Act protects workers' right to discuss working conditions, even on company platforms — though enforcement is inconsistent.
Federal law gives employers wide latitude, but some states have stepped in with stronger protections:
| State | Disclosure Required? | Key Details |
|---|---|---|
| California | Yes (CCPA) | Employers must disclose data collection at hire. CCPA gives employees rights to know what's collected. Strongest state protections. |
| New York | Yes | Civil Rights Law Section 52-c (2022): employers must provide written notice of electronic monitoring upon hire. $500 fine per violation. |
| Connecticut | Yes | Employers must give prior written notice of electronic monitoring. One of the oldest state monitoring disclosure laws (1998). |
| Delaware | Yes | Employers must provide electronic notice to employees before monitoring email or internet activity. |
| Colorado | Partial | Colorado Privacy Act (CPA) gives employees some data rights, but employer monitoring carve-outs exist. |
| Illinois | Partial | BIPA (Biometric Information Privacy Act) restricts biometric monitoring. Two-party consent for audio. Strong privacy framework. |
| Texas | No | Minimal employee monitoring restrictions. One-party consent state for recordings. |
| Florida | No | Two-party consent for audio, but few electronic monitoring restrictions otherwise. |
| Most other states | No | No specific employee monitoring disclosure law. Federal ECPA applies. |
The employee monitoring software industry — sometimes called "bossware" — has grown into a $1.5B+ market. Here are the four most common tools you'll encounter:
Hubstaff is one of the most widely used monitoring tools for remote teams. It tracks time worked, takes random screenshots (configurable frequency), logs app and website usage, and tracks GPS location on mobile. Activity levels are measured by keyboard and mouse input. Plans start at $7/user/month. Over 95,000 businesses use it. Hubstaff is relatively transparent about what it captures — employers can't hide the fact that it's running, and employees can see their own screenshots.
Time Doctor offers similar functionality to Hubstaff but with more aggressive features: it can record video of the user's screen continuously (not just screenshots), send pop-up alerts when employees visit unproductive websites, and auto-delete time tracked during "idle" periods. It also offers a "silent" mode where the tracking agent runs invisibly — meaning you might not know it's there. Pricing starts at $7/user/month.
ActivTrak positions itself as a "workforce analytics" platform rather than a surveillance tool. It focuses on productivity patterns — which apps teams use most, how work time breaks down across categories, and where workflows get bottlenecked. The dashboard looks more like Google Analytics than Big Brother. But make no mistake: it still tracks every application opened, every website visited, and classifies activities as "productive" or "unproductive" based on employer-defined rules.
Teramind is the most invasive tool on this list. It offers full keystroke logging, email content monitoring, screen recording, file transfer tracking, and even OCR (optical character recognition) that can read text displayed on your screen in screenshots. It's used primarily in financial services, healthcare, and government — industries with strict compliance requirements. But some companies use it purely for productivity surveillance. If your employer runs Teramind, assume everything on that device is being recorded.
For a deeper look at how AI is reshaping workplace productivity tools (both for and against employees), see Nesyona's AI productivity tool reviews.
Here are practical ways to check:
If you're using a company laptop, your employer almost certainly has the legal right to monitor it. The most practical response is to assume everything is being watched and keep personal activity on personal devices. Don't log into personal email, banking, social media, or health portals on work computers.
If your employer wants to install MDM or monitoring software on your personal device, you can push back. In most states, you're not legally required to allow it — but your employer may make it a condition of employment or remote work eligibility. Know your state's laws and weigh the tradeoffs.
If you're in California, New York, Connecticut, or Delaware, your employer is legally required to tell you about electronic monitoring. If they haven't, that's a compliance issue you can raise with HR. In two-party consent states, any audio recording without your knowledge is illegal.
If you believe your employer is monitoring you illegally — such as audio recording without consent, monitoring personal devices without authorization, or retaliating against protected activities — document the evidence and consult an employment attorney. Most offer free initial consultations.
Employee monitoring isn't going away — if anything, it's accelerating. AI-powered analytics are making it possible for employers to track not just what you do, but predict what you'll do next (or whether you're likely to quit). The tools are getting smarter, and the legal framework hasn't caught up.
The best protection is awareness. Know what's on your work devices, know your state's laws, and maintain clear boundaries between work and personal technology. The remote work revolution gave us flexibility — but it also invited surveillance into our homes. Being informed is the first step to managing that tradeoff.
Technically, yes. If you open your personal Gmail in a browser on a company device, the monitoring software can capture screenshots of the content, log the URL, and record keystrokes (including anything you type). Even if they don't actively read them, the data may be stored. Always use personal devices for personal email.
Not directly. Your employer can't tap your home router. However, if you're connected to a company VPN, they can see all traffic routed through it. And if your work device has endpoint monitoring software, they can see everything you do on that device regardless of the network you're on.
In most US states, yes — on company-owned devices. The ECPA's business purpose exception generally covers keystroke logging on employer equipment. In states requiring disclosure (California, New York, Connecticut, Delaware), they must inform you. On personal devices, installing a keylogger without consent could violate federal and state computer fraud laws.
In at-will employment states (which is most states), yes. Employers can fire you for virtually any non-discriminatory reason, including low productivity scores from monitoring software. Whether that's a good management practice is debatable, but it's generally legal. Some companies use low activity scores as documentation for performance improvement plans (PIPs) rather than immediate termination.
Yes — and this is important for tax and legal reasons. Your employer may have tax obligations in any state where an employee works. Working from a different state without disclosure can create compliance issues for the company and tax problems for you. Some employers explicitly prohibit out-of-state remote work in their policies. See our guide on remote work tax deductions for the tax implications.
Monitoring laws, tax changes, and workplace policy shifts that affect remote workers.