What can your employer see on a work computer?

Device, network, software

• The device: on a company-managed laptop, administrators can install software, apply policies and collect logs. Assume that activity on it can be recorded.
• The network: on the office network or company VPN, the organisation can usually see which sites are visited, even without seeing page content.
• Monitoring software: some companies install tools that record active applications, idle time, screenshots or input patterns. What is collected depends on the product and its configuration.

Browsing history and Incognito

Incognito mode does not hide activity from your organisation. Google states that websites and organisations that manage your network, like your employer or school, may still observe your activity in Incognito^[1].

If Chrome shows Managed by your organization at the bottom of its menu, administrators can set or restrict features, install extensions and monitor activity. You can view the active policies at chrome://policy and managed extensions at chrome://management^[2].

At home: personal network, work laptop

Working from home changes the network layer, not the device layer. Software on a managed laptop still runs, and a company VPN routes traffic through the company. A personal computer on your home network, without company software, is generally not visible to your employer, apart from what you do inside company services such as email, Teams or cloud apps.

Idle time and Teams presence

Teams presence shows whether Teams sees you as active, away or busy. It changes to Away after a few minutes of inactivity or when the computer locks^[3]. It does not measure how much work you do.

Separate monitoring tools can measure idle time and input patterns more precisely, and some describe detection of automated input^[4]. If you are thinking about a jiggler, the detection guide explains what each type leaves behind. For presence specifically, see the Teams and Slack guides.

How to find out what applies to you

1. Read your employer's IT, acceptable use and monitoring policies. In many countries employers must inform staff about monitoring.
2. Look at chrome://management and chrome://policy in Chrome.
3. Check the list of installed programs and any company profile in your system settings.
4. Ask IT directly when something is unclear.

This page is a technical overview, not legal advice. What an employer may lawfully monitor depends on the country, the contract and any works agreements.