To provide accurate productivity insights, macOS requires specific permissions within System Settings > Privacy & Security. Without these enabled, DeskTime cannot distinguish between different tasks or accurately track your active time.
Screen Recording (Window Title Tracking)
To provide accurate productivity data, DeskTime needs to monitor which apps and websites you use. On macOS, the operating system blocks apps from seeing window titles (e.g., the specific name of a Google Document or a website URL) and taking screenshots unless Screen Recording permission is granted.
- Once enabled, make sure to restart DeskTime for the changes to take place.
Note!
While the permission is titled Screen Recording, DeskTime only captures actual screenshots if that specific feature is enabled by your Company Administrator. Otherwise, it simply uses this access to read the window titles for categorization.
Automation (Browser URL Tracking)
To provide a detailed breakdown of your productivity, DeskTime needs to know which specific websites you are visiting. By default, macOS prevents different apps from connecting or sharing information to protect your privacy.
By granting Automation permission, you allow DeskTime to communicate with your browsers to retrieve the URL of the active tab.
- Without this permission, DeskTime can see that you are using Google Chrome, but it won't be able to tell if you are on a productive site like docs.google.com or a neutral site like youtube.com.
- This permission only allows DeskTime to read the URL of the active window; it can't see your passwords, form data, or private browsing history.
Accessibility
To accurately calculate your productivity, DeskTime needs to know when you are actively using your computer. By granting Accessibility permission, you allow the app to detect basic input activity, such as mouse movements and keyboard clicks.
- Without this permission, DeskTime may not be able to distinguish between active work and Idle time, even if you are moving your mouse or typing.
- DeskTime only tracks the fact that an input occurred to verify you are active. It doesn’t record what you are typing or track exactly where you're clicking.
- If you wish to turn off tracking of mouse movements and clicks, you can do that in your DeskTime Settings > Account (for the whole account), Teams (for a specific team), or Team Members (for a specific user) > Tracking tab > and then uncheck Track mouse clicks and Track mouse movement.
Accessibility access prompt
This notification can appear when specific DeskTime settings are changed. If both mouse settings are enabled in DeskTime (which they are by default), the app uses standard tracking without really relying on the device's deeper system permissions. In this mode, DeskTime prompts to track mouse clicks, movements, and keystrokes.
However, if one or both of those mouse settings are disabled, that’s when the notification appears. This happens because the device needs specific access to the Accessibility settings to perform a specific action, which, in this case, is actually to ignore the mouse clicks or movements. This requirement is entirely due to Apple’s increased privacy policies for macOS devices.
Notifications
To help you stay on track and manage your time effectively, DeskTime sends desktop alerts (e.g., break time reminders and private time reminders). Please keep in mind that DeskTime only sends functional alerts related to your tracking status and productivity.
Focus Mode Tip:
If you use Do Not Disturb or Focus Mode, these alerts may be silenced. We recommend adding DeskTime to your Allowed Apps list within your macOS Focus settings to ensure you don't miss important reminders.