Companies are sharing workers' data using tracking software, according to Northeastern researchers. Credit: Matthew Modoono/Northeastern University
Companies are sharing workers' identifiable information and online activity with third-party companies, including Microsoft, Google and Facebook, using employee monitoring software known as "bossware," new Northeastern University research has revealed.
The research, made available May 21, helps uncover how little privacy protections employees really have in the workplace, explained David Choffnes, a professor in the Khoury College of Computer Sciences and one of the co-authors of the study. Additionally, he said, it highlights that the data isn't only being collected by companies, but is actively shared with those outside it.
Bossware is monitoring software that companies require employees to install on their computers to allow them to track their keystrokes, mouse clicks and other activities, Choffnes explained. For years, privacy advocates have scrutinized companies that use this technology, but it has become widely adopted.
Around the country, close to 78% of employers use "online monitoring tools" to track workers, according to a 2025 survey conducted by the virtual private network technology service provider ExpressVPN.
