If you've been wondering why your boss always wants you to be "on" Teams, you're certainly not alone. "Bossware" is the latest way to micromanage employees, and nearly 78% of U.S. employers now use some form of software to monitor their workers per a 2025 Express VPN survey. Keystroke loggers, screenshot tools, activity trackers, and location monitors are just some of the tools employers are using. And without any safeguards to protect employees, it's the digital wild west.

A team of researchers at Northeastern University conducted a study on nine commonly used workplace monitoring platforms, using tools currently deployed by major employers like CVS, Dunkin' and Ben and Jerry's. They created test accounts as both a manager and an employee, and intercepted the network traffic each platform generated. What they found was beyond simple tracking. Indentifying information such as names email addresses, employer info, and social media was shared across all nine platforms. The apps transmitted browsing activity, IP address, and device details to more than 145 external domains. A third included the ability to track a worker's precise physical location at any time, even if the app was running in the background or if the employee was off the clock.

The depths of the data shared was not disclosed to the employee. And it is this disclosure that researchers are pushing for, calling for policymakers to restrict data sharing from these tools, and to examine them under existing consumer protection frameworks like the Fair Credit Reporting Act. A worker who agrees to time tracking as a condition of employment is not auto-agreeing to become a data point for third-party networks.

Tracking productivity and security is not some new thing. Remote and hybrid teams make employee visibility more challenging as workers are no longer in the office and easier to manage. But a digital surveillance program isn't the answer either. This process erodes trust, sense of autonomy, and psychological safety.

The regulatory response has been slow. New York and Connecticut require employers to disclose electronic monitoring to employees, but that disclosure excludes what happens to that data after it's been collected, this compared to the European Union which requires a legitimate business purpose for any workplace monitoring.

So if you're looking for anew job, it's worth asking directly, "what is your company's position on employee tracking?" Dig into the software's role and what data it collects. These questions will inform you on whether it's a position worth taking or leaving.