As a freelancer I've been using such products -- they're a part of the package in this market -- and I can testify that it actually motivated and disciplined me. Once I start the tracker, I'm in work mood and I actually do the job without distractions. I even found it harder to attend to my pet projects with the same vigor :)

Also, the version I used took a screenshot every 10 minutes; if it happened that something unintended got there, I had the option to delete that screenshot (losing these 10 minutes, naturally; or having to submit them without a screenshot, which was a separate "manual" category).

I can't imagine hiring a freelancer that I felt I needed to micromanage to that extent. What do you do when you need to spend some time working on a white board? I probably spend more time on a whiteboard than I do coding (I'm more of an architect these days, but that was still true when I was only an individual contributor.)

I worked as a freelancer for years, and I would have refused to work for someone that required me to install tracking software.

If it's possible at all, I would work on trying to bill daily or weekly instead of hourly if I were you.

There was an option to post "manual" time without screenshots; I have used it a few times, but mostly I was sitting before the computer anyway. I doubt most of my customers actually looked at the screenshots; I remember one distinct case when a customer actually did, read my todo list for the project and provided feedback and answered questions without me even asking :) It was when we've just started working though, so naturally he was cautious.

Also, I my case it was a requirement from the site (Upwork); in return they guaranteed the payment, that is, if I provide screenshots, I get paid by Upwork even if the customer doesn't pay. When I started a few years ago it was very reassuring, although I don't think this actually happened with my customers.

One only needs to google the name "Upwork" to find out whether they indeed "guarantee payment".

They don't. Not by a long shot.

Instacart seems a customer (from their landing page). I'm wondering it they track their devs this way.

There ought to be a site to show whether a company does time tracking or other excessive surveillance techniques. Would be helpful to filter out employers before hand. It'd also be helpful when making purchases. I'd prefer to buy from alternative suppliers when available (e.g. buying from Costco vs. Walmart)

I would feel better as a customer if I knew that anyone with privileges to access user data ran software like this.

Why? It takes a screenshot every 10 minutes or so. Easy to misuse data between screenshots. And I really doubt management is looking very hard for data misuse, they most likely care more about employees wasting time.

Also the software now has your data as well so you have to trust a 3rd party company in addition to the one you're doing business with.

In addition, the screenshots are getting shared around the company increasing the risk even further.

I would assume they track anyone working with customer data or other sensitive data to ensure they don't misuse the access.

If so, this software would constitute another threat vector for customer PII. Can this sort of firm credibly argue that they take good care of screenshots of PII?

My company tracks our employees - but it's for good reason: We work 7 hour days.

That sounds horrible. There's no way to get real productive output for 7 straight hours. I've always been considered a very productive programmer by coworkers, but it's very rare for me to be at the keyboard banging out code for 7 hours a day (even back when I only had individual contributor tasks).

A huge chunk of my time is spent at the white board.

Does that mean you have to do 7 hours of pure work?

The entire thing just seems like automated micromanagement