Screenshot Monitoring
How Deskify captures, stores, and controls access to employee screenshots — with built-in privacy controls.
How screenshot capture works
The Deskify desktop agent captures a screenshot of the primary monitor at configurable intervals (default: every 10 minutes during active work sessions). Screenshots are only captured during active work sessions — not during idle periods, when the screen is locked, or when the agent is paused. Each screenshot is timestamped and associated with the active application at the time of capture.
Capture intervals
The screenshot interval is configurable from 1 minute to 60 minutes in Settings > Monitoring. The default of 10 minutes provides a reasonable balance between accountability and privacy. For compliance-sensitive roles, 5-minute intervals may be appropriate. For roles where privacy is a higher priority, 30-minute intervals still provide meaningful context with lower frequency.
Privacy controls: blur by default
All screenshot thumbnails in the Deskify dashboard are blurred by default. Managers must click on a thumbnail to view the full image. This prevents casual browsing of employee screens and requires deliberate action to access the visual content. The blur setting can be configured by admins but cannot be fully disabled — blur-on-hover is the minimum privacy configuration.
Storage and retention
Screenshots are stored in Cloudflare R2 object storage (S3-compatible), encrypted at rest. The default retention period is 90 days, after which screenshots are automatically deleted. Retention can be configured from 30 to 180 days in Settings > Monitoring. Screenshots are organized by date, user, and application to support efficient review.
Employee access and deletion
Employees can view their own screenshots through the self-service portal. Admins can optionally enable employee screenshot deletion — allowing employees to delete their own screenshots if they capture sensitive personal information. This setting is off by default and can be enabled in Settings > Monitoring > Employee Screenshot Deletion.
Access controls
Screenshot access is restricted to users with admin or manager roles. Managers can only view screenshots for users in their department. Admins can access all screenshots. Screenshots cannot be downloaded in bulk — each must be accessed individually, creating an audit trail of access.