Teramind relies on the location data provided by the OS. The accuracy and availability of this data depend entirely on the operating system's location services and the computer's hardware, such as GPS, Wi-Fi, cellular, or IP-based positioning.
Introduction
The Geolocation monitoring feature allows you to accurately track the location from which your employees are working. This capability is especially useful for managing remote, dispersed teams or field workers operating at multiple job sites. The location data supports essential functions such as security, scheduling, payroll, and regulatory compliance.
For example, you can:
Verify Attendance: Check if an employee is working from a designated home office or approved client site.
Track Travel: Monitor when a user is traveling abroad, which is critical for security and jurisdictional compliance.
Compare Performance: Analyze productivity metrics (like active time, task completion, or application usage) based on location to compare performance between in-office and remote employees or employees at different branch locations.
Implement Geo-Fencing Security: Discover if an employee attempts to access sensitive data from a restricted location or sanctioned country.
Automate Payroll/Billing: Automatically calculate work hours spent at specific client locations for accurate invoicing or payroll.
Optimize Scheduling: Use historical data to identify time spent traveling versus working, allowing for better workforce and task scheduling.
Enabling/Disabling Geolocation Monitoring
Windows
First, ensure Windows Location Services is enabled on the user's computer.
Then, go to Configurations > Monitoring Profiles, select the desired profile, and enable or disable the Geolocation option.
Mac
First, ensure Mac Location Services is enabled on the user's computer.
Grant the
geolocation_permissionsto the Teramind Agent. Check out this article to learn how.Once the feature is activated, go to Configurations > Monitoring Profiles, select the desired profile, and enable or disable the Geolocation option.
Geolocation Dashboard
You can view users' geolocation activities from the built-in Geolocation dashboard.
You can also add the Geolocation widget in your own custom dashboards (add a custom widget to your dashboard, and then select Geolocation from the list of Data Sources).
Custom Location Tracking
You can create custom locations from the Configurations > Locations screen. Teramind will then match a user's geolocation and network information (e.g., Wi-Fi names) to determine if the user is in that particular location. This information can be used within the BI Reports to filter the user's location (e.g., office/off-site).
Frequently Asked Questions
How precise is the location tracking?
Teramind uses the Windows/Mac Location Services for geolocation tracking. The accuracy of the location information depends on various factors such as the source hardware, region, and environmental conditions. For example:
GPS-based tracking can be accurate to within a few meters, depending on the sensor and satellite signal.
Wi-Fi positioning can result in a few meters to a few hundred meters of accuracy.
Cellular network location tracking, based on a single cell tower, can place the device in a broad area but can't pinpoint it. As the device connects to more towers, the accuracy improves. The range can vary from a few hundred meters to a few thousand meters.
The least accurate method is IP-based tracking.
Some countries may also have restrictions on location reporting by satellite or other devices, limiting the accuracy of the location data.
In our tests, the best precision we found within city bounds is about 300 meters. The Geolocation dashboard includes an Error radius column to show the accuracy of the data.
Does the geolocation tracking work when the user is offline?
Yes. The Agent continues to track geolocation even when the computer is offline. The data will be uploaded to the server when the user comes back online.
Will the user be tracked if the computer is locked?
On Windows, if the Record locked sessions (found in the Screen Recording monitoring settings) option is turned off, geolocation tracking won't track the user when their computer is locked. On Mac, geolocation is tracked irrespective of the Record locked sessions setting.
Can a user disable the geolocation service from their computer?
The Teramind Agent periodically checks if the Location Services is disabled and will automatically re-enable it if needed.
Can a user tell if their location is being monitored?
By default, the Teramind Agent hides the "Your location is currently in use" icon on the Taskbar Notification. However, this isn't a foolproof method. A user with the right tool and knowledge can find out if they want to.
What data sources does Teramind use for location mapping/reverse-geocoding/geofencing?
Teramind uses the following methods to map coordinates to locations:
Geofences for countries and administrative subdivisions are taken from geoBoundaries.
For city-level mapping, it uses the NYU Spatial Data Repository.
Teramind can also use a compatible data source of your choice or build custom mapping solutions upon request.
How does Teramind detect changes in the location information?
The Teramind Agent tracks changes to a geolocation event when:
The user's work state changes (e.g., the user starts or stops work, resumes or pauses work, goes offline, or returns online).
A geolocation change event is received from the operating system's location services.
How often is the location information updated in Teramind?
By default, the location information is reported every time a user's location changes (see above). To prevent the Geolocation report from being overwhelmed with frequent data, you can specify the Time Threshold from the Geolocation monitoring settings.
This threshold is especially useful in situations where a user's location changes rapidly, such as when they are traveling on a train or in a taxi with a laptop, which could otherwise result in constant updates. By setting a wait time, you control how often the location data is reported.
The default value is 600 seconds (or 10 minutes). Setting the value to 0 disables this option, causing the location to be reported immediately every time a user changes their location.
How does Teramind measure distance or distinguish two places in the same location (e.g., same city)?
The default value for the distance threshold is 250 meters.
Is there any API documentation for this feature?
The API is currently under development, and documentation is not yet publicly available.