TCS deploys software to monitor employee laptop activity, report says

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has reportedly rolled out a software tool that allows greater visibility into how employees use their company-issued laptops, bringing renewed attention to the growing use of workplace monitoring systems.

According to a Moneycontrol report, the tool, described as a Digital User Experience Monitoring system, has been installed on laptops provided to some TCS employees. Sources cited by the report said the software can track the applications being used and the amount of time employees spend on them.

The development has raised questions over how much visibility employers should have into workers' digital activity, particularly when the exact scope of the monitoring remains unclear.

What the TCS monitoring tool can track

Sources told Moneycontrol that the software provides information about applications being used on TCS-issued laptops and the time spent on them.

However, it is not clear whether its capabilities extend beyond application-level monitoring. TCS has not publicly detailed what the software can access, what information is collected, how long the data is retained or who within the company can view it.

The company has also not disclosed the identity of the software provider.

Such tools can have legitimate workplace uses. Companies may deploy digital monitoring systems to identify unusual activity, flag potential security threats and prevent confidential information from being transferred outside corporate systems.

But the same technology can also provide employers with detailed insights into how workers use company devices, raising concerns about employee privacy and surveillance.

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TCS yet to explain the deployment

TCS has so far not publicly explained the reported deployment or clarified the categories of employee data being collected.

India Today Tech has contacted TCS for a response on the matter. The story will be updated if the company provides further details.

The lack of information is significant because employee-monitoring software can vary considerably in what it records. While some systems are designed primarily to monitor device performance and application usage, others can provide much deeper visibility into user activity.

At present, it has not been established whether the TCS system is restricted to application-level information or offers more extensive monitoring capabilities.

Employee monitoring is already a wider workplace debate

The use of employee-monitoring software is not new, particularly across the IT and business process management sectors. However, the growing sophistication of such systems has intensified debates over privacy and the limits of workplace surveillance.

Meta recently faced criticism after introducing a tool that could log employee keystrokes and mouse activity as part of an initiative to gather data for AI development.

The company later introduced controls allowing employees to pause data collection for up to 30 minutes and request exemptions. Meta also said the system had safeguards to protect sensitive information.

The broader debate has also drawn attention from legal experts. Yale law professor Ifeoma Ajunwa told Reuters that companies have historically used computer logging and screenshots to investigate misconduct or non-work activities, while keystroke monitoring takes employee surveillance further.

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"On the US side, federally, there is no limit on worker surveillance," Ajunwa said, although some states require employees to be broadly informed about monitoring.

Rules vary across jurisdictions. York University law professor Valerio De Stefano recently told Reuters that extensive employee monitoring could face big restrictions under European law, including privacy protections under the General Data Protection Regulation.

For companies, monitoring tools can offer a way to strengthen cybersecurity and understand how workplace systems are being used. For employees, however, the extent of data collection and the transparency around it remain key questions.