What Cadence tracks

Cadence builds your time entries from a quiet record of what you work on, kept on your own machine. It is a tracker, not a watcher. There are no screenshots, no keystroke logging, and no one looking over your shoulder.

Recording happens locally

The desktop app notices which application or window is in front of you as you work and uses that to build time entries grouped by client and project. This reading happens on your own computer. You do not have to remember to press start, and there is no web dashboard quietly watching the day go by: the work simply turns into hours. See time entries for how that record becomes something you can bill.

What Cadence does not do

It is worth being plain about the things Cadence deliberately leaves out. None of these happen, at any point:

• No screenshots of your screen, ever.
• No keystroke logging or recording of what you type.
• No webcam, microphone, or any other form of monitoring.
• No idle-shaming or productivity scoring designed to police you.

Window titles and the macOS Screen Recording permission

On macOS, reading the title of the window you are working in requires the system Screen Recording permission, which you grant to Cadence yourself. Despite the name, this lets Cadence read window titles: it does not record your screen. If you have not granted it, Cadence still tracks which application you are using, but the window titles come through blank, so your entries are less detailed. Granting the permission simply makes them richer. The macOS install guide walks through where to turn it on.

You can see what is being tracked

Tracking is never hidden from you. While Cadence is recording, the app shows a live green “tracking now” signal, so at a glance you always know whether the current moment is being captured. Nothing happens behind your back.