Work-memory software becomes employee monitoring when it reports on people rather than helping them remember work. Ask three questions: what is captured (screenshots and keystrokes, or work content), who sees it (managers watching individuals, or teams sharing knowledge), and who controls it (the employee or only the employer). A trustworthy tool captures only work, keeps raw data with the employee, and shows them what was shared.
Memory vs monitoring
| Employee monitoring | Work memory | |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Oversee people | Keep knowledge |
| Typical capture | Screenshots, keystrokes, active time, app usage | Decisions, commitments, notes, facts |
| Output | Reports and scores about individuals | Answers and context for the team |
| Who sees raw data | Managers, admins | The employee |
| Employee control | Usually none | Should be substantial |
Questions to ask any vendor
- Does it take screenshots or record keystrokes?
- Does it capture personal apps and sites, or only work?
- Where does raw data live?
- What is shared, with whom, and can the employee see it?
- Can the employee take shared items back?
- Does it produce productivity scores about individuals?
- Which AI service processes the data?
The law in brief
Privacy regulators generally expect monitoring of workers to be necessary, proportionate and transparent. The UK ICO's guidance on monitoring workers is a readable starting point. In India, the DPDP Act applies obligations to employers as data fiduciaries from May 2027. This is not legal advice.
How Reattend draws the line
- Text, not surveillance. Reattend reads the text apps expose through macOS accessibility. No keystrokes; screenshots are off unless the person turns them on, and they never leave the Mac. Meetings are recorded only when the person presses start, with a visible indicator.
- Work only. People choose which apps and sites count as work, and the organization can add required work apps, which the ledger names as the reason. Everything else is personal and never leaves the computer.
- Raw stays local. Only derived knowledge (titles, summaries, facts, tasks, decisions, meeting notes) is shared.
- Visible and reversible. A "What left this Mac" ledger shows every shared item, and any item can be taken back.
- Access rules. Records are private, team, department, organization or explicitly shared. Organization admins can see every record that reaches the organization. Reads are logged, each person can see who opened their memories, and on Business the audit log exports with a tamper-evident hash chain.
- AI choice. By default, Reattend's own model runs on the computer (still in training). With managed AI or your own key, text from work activity is sent to that service for processing.
- No productivity scores. Reattend is built to remember work, not to rate people.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between work-memory software and employee monitoring?
Monitoring software reports on people to managers: activity, time, screenshots, productivity scores. Work-memory software helps people and teams remember work: decisions, commitments and context. The test is who it serves, what is captured, and who sees what.
Is employee monitoring legal?
It depends on the country and how it is done. Laws such as the EU GDPR and India's DPDP Act require a lawful basis, transparency and proportionality for processing employee data. Get legal advice for your case.
Does Reattend take screenshots or record keystrokes?
It does not record keystrokes, and it takes no screenshots unless the person turns them on in Settings; those small window pictures stay on the Mac. Reattend reads the text apps expose through the macOS accessibility interface, skips password managers and anything excluded, and only apps and sites marked as work can be shared.
Can managers see what I do in Reattend?
Raw capture stays on your computer. Only derived knowledge such as summaries, decisions and tasks is shared, under access rules. You can see everything that left your computer and take items back. Organization admins can see every record that reaches the organization, whatever its visibility, and you can see who opened your memories.