GPS time tracking without surveillance: the employee turns it on

Time tracking doesn't have to turn into surveillance. In Taskloc the employee does the tracking: they open a task and start a session, and time and route are recorded only while that session runs. Stop it, and location is no longer collected — the employee is off the team map.

There are no screenshots, no keyboard or mouse logging, no "productivity" scores. There is a task from your tracker, the time spent on it and — if the work is in the field — the route and an on-site check-in.

What employees are usually afraid of

• That the phone reports where they are around the clock — at lunch, in the evening, on weekends.
• That a manager can open a map at any moment and see who is where.
• That nobody can tell who looked at their movements, and when.
• That route data sits somewhere unknown for an unknown time.

Each of these is handled by how the product is built, not by a promise.

How the collection boundary works

1. GPS tracking is off by default. It is turned on in the app: Settings → Tracking.
2. Location is recorded only inside an active session on a specific task. The employee taps Start; the app does not record location in the background without that action.
3. Stop the session and you're off the live map. The last point stays visible in the "Who is nearby?" search for up to 12 hours after the session ends — we say so openly.
4. GPS is not required for time tracking. Time on a task can be tracked with a timer that uses no location, or with a one-off check-in at the site — see time tracking without GPS.

What a manager sees, and when

• The team map and team stats are off by default. The organization owner or an admin turns them on.
• With Team online on, a manager sees an employee's location only during an active or paused session and only if they share a project in the tracker. Outside a session, or with tracking off, the employee is not on the map.
• In web dashboard reports (visit registry, mileage, stats) a manager also sees only the people who share a project with them. The owner and admins see the whole organization; a regular member sees only themselves.
• An employee sees all the data collected about them: their own routes and time.

A log of who viewed my location

Every time someone else opens an employee's location data — a session track, their work day, the team's day, the weekly timesheet, the visit registry, the live map — the server records who, when, in what role and what exactly they opened.

Only the employee sees this log: in the app — Settings → Tracking → Who viewed my location; in the web dashboard — on the profile page. Entries are kept for one year. The log contains no coordinates.

Where the data lives and for how long

• The Taskloc server is PostgreSQL in Russia, covering the requirements of Russian personal data law (152-FZ).
• GPS sessions are kept according to the organization's plan: Free — 90 days, Team — 365 days. Track points — 365 days.
• An employee can delete any of their sessions earlier, in Routes.
• No ad networks, no third-party analytics.

Everything that is collected, retention periods and your rights: privacy.

What the company can restrict

The team owner or an admin sets a team policy. Among other things it can forbid GPS tracking for members entirely — the server enforces this strictly, while the timer without GPS keeps working. Time tracking stays; routes disappear from the team altogether.

Limitations

• This is time tracking per task. Taskloc does not measure computer or app activity and does not score "productivity".
• If an employee didn't start a session, there is no time or route for that work. GPS can't be backfilled — that's the point.
• The app is Android-only. The web dashboard opens in any browser; there is no iPhone app.

Rolling it out

Introduce GPS time tracking the way you introduce any workplace policy: in writing, under your internal rules and local employment law, with employees informed before it starts. Your company remains the data controller. We don't provide policy templates; what matters on the product side is covered in is GPS tracking of employees legal.

Questions from employees and managers

Does the app track me outside working hours?

No. Location is recorded only while a session you started yourself is running on a task. Outside a session the app collects no location.

Can a manager turn on my GPS remotely?

No. The employee starts the session with the Start button on their own phone. The company can only forbid GPS tracking through the team policy.

Can my manager see where I am right now?

Only while your session is running, only if the organization turned on the team map, and only if you share a project in the tracker.

How do I find out who viewed my routes?

In the Who viewed my location log: Settings → Tracking in the app, or your profile in the web dashboard. Only you can see it.

Are there screenshots or activity tracking?

No. Taskloc records time on a task and, with GPS on, the route inside a session. Nothing else.

Try it with your team

Connect your tracker, install the app for one employee and show them the viewing log and tracking settings before the first session. Free works forever for one seat; the Team trial gives 14 days and 3 seats, once per account. No card is needed to start, and nothing is charged after 14 days — the account simply moves to Free.

Team is paid with Mir cards issued in Russia and the CIS and via SBP, or — with a card issued by a foreign bank — by a one-off Robokassa invoice: contact us and we will send a payment link.