Yes, employers may lawfully track every keystroke on a company device (laptops, tablets, phones, etc.). Even when not on the clock, if you use a company device, your employer may track what you do.
Reasons Why Employers Track Your Activity
- Improved Technology. There are several programs used by employers that monitor keystrokes (even if it is a touch screen). These programs can track everything you type while on your company laptop, whether that’s in a word document, an email, or a search browser. This capability also applies to cellphones. Although not all companies are using cellphone monitoring yet, this will become common over time.
- Monitoring for Security and Productivity. Keystroke monitoring was initially intended to prevent employees from abusing their access to sensitive company material. However, with the increased prevalence of remote work, employers are also using keystroke tracking to monitor productivity. The number of large corporations using monitoring programs nearly doubled from 2020 to 2021. Further, keystroke monitoring may expose your confidential personal information (banking, email, and passwords) to employers and to outside hackers.