Screen recording, built for evidence.
Screenshots answer "what was on screen at 2:14". Recording answers "what happened between 2:10 and 2:20", which is the question actual disputes turn on. TimeNova records at a low frame rate, the style that feels like video while costing storage like screenshots.
A day of captures. Recordings and stills sit in one timeline, per person.
What it does
- Every display, numbered. Two monitors produce two synchronized recordings, shown as one moment with numbered screens in the viewer. Nothing happens on the second display that the record does not carry.
- Blur before upload. When blur is on, it is applied on the person's machine before anything leaves it, and a clip that cannot be blurred is not uploaded. Company-wide blur cannot be quietly undone for one person.
- Compression on the device. Clips are compressed to 720p at 5 frames per second before upload, with a hard bitrate ceiling, so recording costs single-digit megabytes per hour and your retention bill stays boring.
- Pauses when the person does. Recording stops past the idle limit, during breaks, and outside working hours where you restrict tracking. Machines record work, not lives.
- Self-view stands. On the desktop app, the recorded person can always watch their own clips. Evidence both sides can see is evidence that ends arguments instead of starting them.
Recording or screenshots?
Screenshots are lighter and enough for most teams; recording is for dispute-prone or compliance-heavy work. In TimeNova they are one setting per person: screenshots on an interval, or recording, never both at once. Screenshots ship in the $9 Pro plan; recording is the headline of the $14 Max plan. See screenshots and monitoring for the still-image half.
How a clip gets from a screen to your report
Four stages, two of which are privacy controls applied on the device.
- It records at 5 frames per second, 720p. Enough to see what was worked on and how it changed, roughly a tenth the size of conventional screen recording. That size is exactly why it is included on Max instead of sold as an add-on.
- Blur runs on their machine, first. Before encoding, before upload. The unblurred frame never leaves the computer, and a frame that cannot be blurred is not uploaded at all.
- The clip is compressed on the computer. Your team's connection carries a small file and our servers never hold raw frames of anybody's screen.
- It lands in the same timeline as the stills. One person, one day, recordings and screenshots in the order they happened. You never switch reports to find the video.
What screen recording will not do
Documented scope limitations.
- No audio. Screen only. The microphone permission is never requested, on either operating system.
- No camera. Never requested either.
- Not continuous film. Short clips at 5 fps. This is evidence of what was on a screen, not a documentary of a person's working life, and that distinction is deliberate.
- Not on Pro. Recording is the difference between the two plans. The 14-day trial is a Max trial, so you can judge it on your own team before paying.
- Not kept forever. Two years on Max, then the video bytes are deleted, media before database rows. Deleting a person erases their clips down to the stored files at once.
- Not hidden from the person. Anyone on the desktop app can watch their own clips, in the same viewer their manager uses, and no setting removes that.
Screen recording, asked every week
Is this continuous video of someone's whole day?
No, and deliberately not. Short clips at 5 frames per second and 720p, which shows what was on screen and how it changed without producing a film of a person's working life. It is also what makes it cheap enough to include rather than charge for.
What does recording cost extra?
Nothing. It is part of Max at $14 per user per month, or $11.67 on annual billing. Most tools in this category either charge for video separately or do not offer it.
Can the recorded person watch their own recordings?
Yes, in the same viewer their manager uses. That is not a setting an administrator can switch off.
How much storage will this use?
Much less than conventional recording, because of the frame rate, the resolution and on-device compression. Storage is included in the plan price; there is no per-gigabyte charge to budget for.
How long are recordings kept?
Two years on Max, then deleted. Retention is finite by design and is stated in the plan terms.
Can I run recording for some people and screenshots for others?
Yes, it is set per person. One mode at a time each, and the server enforces the mode at upload so an out-of-date tracker cannot post the wrong kind of capture.