Shocking facts about how much your employer monitors you

Your employer may be monitoring your every move. (iStock)

If you sit in front of a computer all day, you might not give a second thought to checking your personal email or taking care of some digital errands. What about taking calls from friends or family at the office? Surfing the web on your phone?

You’d better think twice. Chances are during working hours, all of your activities — personal or not — are being monitored. Someone might even be watching. “Hidden” cameras are just about everywhere, after all. Tap or click for a few simple ways to prevent your devices from watching you.

Big tech companies are watching, too. Facebook is serving you location-based ads, even after you opt out of location tracking. Tap or click to learn what this means for your privacy.

Just how closely is your company monitoring you? Let’s just say you should have no expectation of privacy at work. Here are a few ways management keeps tabs on employees.

Computer work and usage

Any activities performed on company-owned equipment, such as a computer, are fair game. These are some of the things your employer can track or access with the right technology:

Content on your screen or files stored on disk drives
The amount of time you spend on and off your computer
How many keystrokes entered during a specific period
Your browsing history

Depending on the circumstances, union contracts, the Fourth Amendment and statutory rights in various states may help protect an employee against computer and other modes of electronic monitoring.

PRO TIP: Want to know more about someone? Tap or click for 5 free ways to screen people online.

Email and messaging

As with hardware, any use of company-owned or licensed software opens the door for tracking. Whether it be email or instant messaging for personal or work reasons, your employer is allowed to review your communications.

Some business email systems automatically copy and create backups of all messages that pass through. With the use of specialized software, referred to as a keylogger, your employer could save copies of email drafts you never even sent. In this case, deleting your emails is futile.

If you have concerns or questions regarding your company’s guidelines for viewing personal emails, contact your manager or HR department for privacy policies.

INBOX NIRVANA: Managing email can be a real nightmare. Tap or click for five tips to help you get your inbox back in line.

Corporate vehicles

Do you drive a corporate car occasionally or regularly for work-related travel? If you do, take note.

Many companies utilize GPS to track an employee’s whereabouts in a company-owned vehicle. Gathered information includes:

Mileage
Route
Driving behavior, including speed
Time spent in and out of the vehicle

Company-owned tech

Employee location tracking isn’t exclusive to cars. If your employer provides you with a smartphone, tablet or laptop, you can expect the company to have some monitoring or tracking system installed.

Be warned: The device may continue sending your location long after your work shift ends.

If you’re using a work Apple iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch, your company can set up supervision settings.

Supervision allows the administrator to apply additional restrictions such as preventing access to the App Store, filtering web usage or disabling AirDrop. Here’s how to check if your device is supervised.

RELATED: If your iPad is on the fritz, it may be infected with malware. Tap or click for warning signs your tablet has been compromised and what you can do about it.

For devices with iOS 10 or later, you will find the supervision message in one of two places: at the top of your main settings page or on the lock screen. Those with devices running iOS 9 or earlier you will find this message by going into Settings, click General and tap About. The message also appears on the bottom of the lock screen.

What about a company Android device? If you use an Android phone and Google Suites for work, your company’s admin can set security policies you need to adhere to, including, but not limited to, the following:

Device password required length and strength
Number of days before the password expires
Auditing applications
Remotely remove an account or wipe a device

If you have questions or concerns regarding your employer-provided Android or Google Suites, contact your G Suite administrator. You can also review the Google Apps Device Policy and learn how to set up the app.

Personal mobile devices

Instead of providing mobile devices, many companies have a bring your own device (BYOD) program that allows employees to use their personal mobile device(s) at and for work purposes.

If this is your present situation, it is essential that you read your company’s BYOD guidelines to understand the rights of both parties. Look for the policy in various employee materials such as a handbook, contract, training material or a specific BYOD agreement.

Wondering what type of information your employer can view on your mobile device if you access the internet through your mobile network? None. However, if you were to log on through the office Wi-Fi, your employer can track all internet data.

Social media

Here’s a tricky one. If you’re active on social media, assume your employer pays attention to your posts, likes and tweets.

Be sensible about what you share online and check your company’s social media guidelines. Be aware that several states have laws prohibiting an employer from firing an employee for off-duty social media activity unless such action is shown to be harmful to the company.

Although the idea of your company tracking your location and monitoring your moves may have you paranoid heading into the office, you should not be overly concerned. Just because the technology is there doesn’t mean your boss is using it to spy on you.

BONUS TIP FOR EXTRA KNOW-HOW: Easy trick to save money on your next online shopping order

Are you an online shopper who loves a good bargain? Do you scour retail ads the moment they hit your inbox?

If you take pride in always paying the lowest price, even if it requires you to hold out for an annual sale, then you’re probably the kind of person who knows exactly when to buy so you can snag the best deals.

But I’ve got a clever trick you may not know about. While you focus on promotions and exclusive sale days, you may be missing out on the real deals.

Tap or click to learn how to save without installing an app or downloading a thing.

What digital lifestyle questions do you have? Call Kim’s national radio show and tap or click here to find it on your local radio station. You can listen to or watch the Kim Komando Show on your phone, tablet, television or computer. Or tap or click here for Kim’s free podcasts.

Learn about all the latest technology on The Kim Komando Show, the nation's largest weekend radio talk show. Kim takes calls and dispenses advice on today's digital lifestyle, from smartphones and tablets to online privacy and data hacks. For her daily tips, free newsletters and more, visit her website at Komando.com.