‘We respect privacy’: TCS denies claims of tracking employees through company laptops

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has rejected reports that it is using monitoring software to track individual employee activity on company-issued laptops, calling the allegations “baseless and inaccurate”. The clarification came after reports about the deployment of a Digital User Experience Monitoring tool raised concerns over workplace surveillance and employee privacy.

It was claimed that the monitoring tool could provide visibility into applications accessed on employees’ laptops and the amount of time spent on them, according to a The Times of India report. The development prompted questions over whether the technology was being used primarily for cybersecurity and network management or whether it could also be used to monitor individual work patterns.

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TCS rejects employee surveillance allegations

TCS has categorically denied that it tracks individual employees through their laptops. In a statement, the company said: “The reports regarding surveillance of employees are baseless and inaccurate. TCS does not track individual employee activity on laptops and respects their privacy.”

The IT services major further clarified that its monitoring tools are intended to assess broader network performance rather than individual employee behaviour.

“We use tools to monitor macro-level network performance, to ensure security, availability and enhanced user experience for our employees,” the company said as per the ToI report.

Why the monitoring tool raised concerns

Digital monitoring systems are increasingly used by organisations to identify security threats, troubleshoot technical problems and assess the performance of corporate IT infrastructure. However, their use on employee devices can raise concerns when the technology is capable of recording information about application usage.

The reports surrounding TCS suggested that the tool could show which applications were being accessed and how much time was spent on them. This raised questions about the extent of data collection and whether such information could potentially be used to assess individual productivity.

The distinction between monitoring an organisation's IT infrastructure and monitoring individual employees has therefore become central to the controversy.

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The TCS clarification comes amid a broader debate over employee privacy as companies increasingly rely on digital tools for cybersecurity and workplace management. For employees, questions remain around what information monitoring technologies can collect, why that information is required, how long it is retained and who can access it.