Interval stills or a recording session — org-controlled, not a DVR

Operations chooses interval stills, a recording session, both, or neither. A new organization captures zero shots and zero sessions. Neither path is a hidden camera or an always-on DVR. The tray stays visible. Send the employee notice before the first capture.

The “off until you turn them on” workup is optional screenshots and recording sessions. This article is the choice: stills versus a session. Public pages are /features/screenshots and /features/recordings. Ask “screenshots” or “screenshot settings” opens Settings after sign-in. Ask “recordings” or “start recording session” opens Recordings. “how to enable screenshots” and “how to enable recordings” open Help. Ask or Search “capture choice guide” or “stills or recordings guide” stays here. Site search will not flip the switch.

Interval stills

A screenshot is one still on a timer. Set the interval (1–60 minutes). Keep blur on so on-screen text is hard to read. Set retention (1–365 days, or 0 to keep). Saving deletes older shots in your organization only. Agents pick the interval up on the next heartbeat. Shots are not a video and not continuous capture.

Recording sessions: three tiers

A session is a short clip or an upload — off, on-demand start/stop, or a weekday window. The Windows tray shows a note whenever a session is open and can grab a short screen clip or upload a file. Signed-in managers play real MP4s on Screen recording. The sample MP4 remains for demo. Set retention. Saving deletes older stopped sessions in your organization only.

1. Leave both off if apps and idle are enough.
2. Turn stills on when a periodic picture is the written policy — interval, blur, retention.
3. Turn a session on only for on-demand or a named weekday window. Not all day, not in the background.
4. Send the notice again if capture was off when people first installed the tray.

VisibleHours does not record keystrokes, clipboard, webcam, or microphone. The recording tip on the manager screen is a VisibleHours reading of your settings, not a live language model. Ask “hidden screen recording”, “always-on secret DVR”, or “please record my team’s screens all day” is refused.

What this choice is not

• Not an always-on DVR, a hidden camera, or capture without a tray.
• Not a Mac agent and not a Chrome recorder. Company Windows PCs only.
• Not a default. Both stay off until Operations turns them on.
• Not legal advice. The draft privacy notice names the same terms.
• Not email. VisibleHours does not mail employees when you change the tier.