Screenshot monitoring without creating a liability
Screenshots are the highest-risk capability in any monitoring product, including ours. A screen capture shows whatever was on screen: a personal message, a medical portal, another person's data. In SnitchOS capture is on by default, and an administrator can turn screenshots off or blur them for a whole tenant or one person. The question is whether a client can live with what stays on.
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Start from the risk, not the feature: counting app time is easy to describe, but screen capture is open-ended, since it depends on what was on screen.
What five factors determine your screenshot liability exposure?
Five factors determine that exposure. In SnitchOS, only retention is fixed by the platform; see the full screenshot controls for the rest, which are yours to set per tenant or per person.
| Factor | What it controls | Where SnitchOS lands |
|---|---|---|
| Whether capture happens | Whether any of this applies | On by default; an administrator can turn it off or blur it, per tenant or per person |
| Cadence | Volume of images captured | One frame every 60 seconds by default, set per tenant within 30–3600 seconds |
| Retention | How long the exposure persists | Platform-defined: 30 days in primary storage, archived through day 365, then deleted |
| Viewing access | Who can see them | Per client. Roles are Admin or Manager, changes logged for three years |
| Who is in scope | Which people are captured at all | Per-person pause, stops every signal for that person. The only exclusion mechanism |
What question should a screenshot answer?
A screenshot should answer a specific business question, not general curiosity. Ask what decision it would change: "we want to look" won't survive a dispute, but "we bill contractor hours and need corroboration" will.
Screenshots can be turned off or blurred by an administrator, but without an answer to what question they'd resolve, SnitchOS is still the wrong product.
Per-person pause handles the narrower case: a role that should never be captured, like HR or legal, with no per-app exemption.
How often are screenshots taken?
Every 60 seconds by default, skipping near-duplicate frames so idle screens don't pile up. State the configured interval (30 to 3600 seconds) in the notice.
How long are screenshots retained?
In SnitchOS: 30 days in primary storage, archived through day 365, then deleted, platform-defined and not shortened per client.
Who can see the screenshots?
Only an Admin, or a Manager assigned to that client, can view screenshots, logged for three years. Give employees that named list, not just a role title.
How do you tell employees about screenshot monitoring?
Tell employees, before monitoring starts, exactly what is captured, how often, who can view it, and how long it is kept. The notice template and employee FAQ cover this. Requirements vary by location: see the checklist and involve counsel.
Is screenshot monitoring ever risk-free?
No. Controls reduce the probability of exposure and the blast radius, but don't eliminate either. If a client can't accept that risk, the fit is wrong, even though an administrator can turn screenshots off or blur them for that tenant.
Decide before you deploy, not after
Cadence is set per tenant (30–3600 seconds); retention is fixed by the platform. Access is per client; pause is per person. Use the pilot to see if that fits your clients.