Short answer: capture at a random moment every 5 to 10 minutes, mask passwords, skip banking and chat apps, never capture during breaks, and let employees see every screenshot.
- Work apps, on a random timer
- Every 5 to 10 minutes
- Blurred if content is sensitive
- Passwords and banking
- Personal messaging
- Every break
Screenshots are the most useful and the most sensitive part of time tracking. Set them up carefully and they give you proof of work for payroll and clients. Set them up carelessly and they feel like surveillance. These are the settings that matter.
Interval: how often
Every 10 minutes is enough to see the shape of a day for most teams. Every 5 minutes suits hourly and billable work. Every 2 minutes gives you far more images to review for little extra insight, so keep it for short audits. Random timing inside each window stops people from "performing" at fixed moments. See choosing the right interval.
Blur: how much detail
If you only need proof that work happened, not what it was, turn blur on. The screenshot still shows the app and layout, but text is unreadable. Turn blur off only for roles where the content itself matters, such as design review or support QA.
What to always skip
- Password fields. Always masked.
- Banking and payment apps, such as PayPal and Wise, and password managers.
- Personal messaging, such as WhatsApp, Messenger, Telegram and Discord.
- Breaks. All of them, with no exceptions.
Who can see them
Limit access to the owner and the managers who need it. Let each employee see their own screenshots. Visibility goes a long way to making monitoring acceptable.
How long to keep them
Keep screenshots only as long as you need them. Two months is enough for most pay disputes and client questions. Delete automatically on a schedule, because stored images are a liability as well as a record.
A quick setup checklist
- Choose an interval (start at 10 minutes).
- Turn blur on unless content matters.
- Confirm restricted apps are skipped.
- Share the rules with your team in writing.
- Set a retention period and stick to it.
TrustHours skips restricted apps automatically, masks passwords, and lets paid plans choose every 2, 5 or 10 minutes plus blur. Screenshots are kept for 2 months on paid plans.
See plans