Instead of a screenshot every ten minutes on the dot, Clockgauge splits time into clock-aligned ten-minute windows and takes one to three screenshots at random moments inside each, at least 45 seconds apart. Random timing means nobody can predict a screenshot and the sample stays representative of the whole window.
The problem with fixed intervals
If a screenshot is taken at exactly :00, :10, :20, someone could arrange their screen just before it. It also over-samples whatever happens on the hour, like a meeting start.
The approach
- Windows align to the clock: 9:00 to 9:10, 9:10 to 9:20 and so on.
- The manager chooses one, two or three screenshots per window (two by default).
- The moments are random inside the window, at least 45 seconds apart.
- The timer must be running at that moment; otherwise nothing is taken.
Why it is fair
Every minute has a similar chance of being sampled, so a few screenshots a day describe the pattern of work without recording continuously.
An example hour
In the 9:00 to 9:10 window with two screenshots, the app might pick 9:02:40 and 9:07:15. In the next window it picks two different moments, so across an hour you get twelve screenshots at unpredictable times with no pattern to anticipate.
Questions people ask
Can the employee tell when one is coming?
No, but they are notified when it is taken.
Try Clockgauge
Clockgauge is an employee and freelancer time tracker that runs on your own computer: timers, consented random screenshots, activity levels, clients, projects and tasks, budgets, payroll balances and reports, paid once instead of per user per month..