Which Worktivity app should I install?
A desktop app per platform, a Chrome extension, a mobile app for iPhone and Android, a web app with no install, and what each of them records.
- Web
- Windows
- macOS
- Linux
- Mobile
There is one desktop app per platform, an extension for Chrome, and one web app that needs no install at all. Start from the computer you actually work on. If you also want to clock in from your phone, there is a mobile app for iPhone and Android.
Start from the computer you work on
Windows
On Windows 10 version 2004 or newer, and on Windows 11, install Worktivity Desktop from the Microsoft Store. That is the native Windows app, and the Store keeps it updated on its own with no installer to run.
If the Store is blocked on the machine, or Windows is older than that, the installer on the download page does the same job; administrator rights are needed once. If you are rolling the app out to more than a handful of machines, take the MSI package instead: it can be deployed with Group Policy or your device management tool.
The step by step version, including the MSI and how updates arrive, is in How do I install and update the agent on Windows?.
macOS
On macOS 14 Sonoma or newer, install from the Mac App Store. That build is signed, sandboxed and keeps itself up to date. macOS asks for screen recording and accessibility permission the first time; without them the app still records hours, but not applications or screenshots.
On macOS 12 and 13 the App Store build cannot be installed. Use the direct download instead, from the same page.
Installing and updating are covered in How do I install and update the agent on a Mac?, and the two permissions have their own article: Which permissions does macOS ask for, and what breaks without them?.
Linux
The Linux app is published as a .deb and an .rpm, for x86-64 and ARM64, and it runs on Ubuntu 22.04 or newer, Debian 12 or newer, Fedora 40 or newer and openSUSE. Take the package that matches your distribution from the download page and install it with your package manager. The package also registers the update repository, so later versions arrive with the machine's own updates. On openSUSE that does not work yet, so new versions are installed by hand.
The full walkthrough is in How do I install and update the agent on Linux?.
One thing is particular to Linux: your session type changes what the app can see. On an X11 session everything works with no extra setup. On a GNOME Wayland session, application tracking needs the Worktivity Window Tracker extension that travels inside the package, and screenshots go through the desktop portal. Your time, websites and activity level are recorded either way. Which session you are on, and what each one needs, is explained in What does the Linux agent need from my desktop session?.
The Chrome extension, tracking with nothing installed
If you cannot install software on your computer, or would rather not, the Worktivity Time Tracker extension is enough on its own. It starts and ends shifts, handles breaks, lets you pick a task and write a work note. What separates it from the desktop app is how much it sees: the extension takes no screenshots and records neither the sites you visit nor the applications you use.
It has one limit, and it is deliberate: the extension only works while Chrome is open. If you need tracking that continues when the browser is closed, the desktop app is the right choice. The detail is in What does the Chrome extension do, and how do I install it?.
The mobile app, for work away from the computer
The Worktivity mobile app runs on iPhone with iOS 15 or newer and on Android 7.0 or newer. It starts and ends shifts, handles breaks, lets you pick a task or write a work note, and sends time entries and leave requests. It records time only: no screenshots, no apps, no websites and no location.
Unlike the desktop app, a shift started on the phone is recorded on the server, so it keeps running when the app is closed, and it ends by itself at midnight in your organization's time zone or after 10 hours. Installing and the details are in What does the mobile app do, and how do I install it?.
The web app, with nothing installed
The web app is where owners, co-owners and managers work: timesheets, reports, projects, tasks, invoices and settings. It does not track by itself. Hours that no desktop app recorded are added there as manual time entries and approved by an owner, a co-owner or the team's manager.
What differs between them
The same account works everywhere; what differs is the platform, the way you install and how much is recorded. On a narrow screen the table scrolls sideways.
| Capability | WindowsMicrosoft Store | Windows.exe download | macOSMac App Store | Linux.deb and .rpm | Chrome extensionNo install | Mobile appApp Store and Google Play |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Start and end a shift | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes15 |
| Breaks | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Clock in automatically | Partial1 | No | Partial2 | No | No | No |
| Work notes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Tasks | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partial3 | Yes | Yes |
| Application tracking | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partial4 | No12 | No16 |
| Browser host tracking | Yes | Partial5 | Yes | Yes | No12 | No16 |
| Screenshots | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No12 | No16 |
| Offline queue | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No17 |
| Launch at startup | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partial13 | No18 |
| Tray or menu bar counter | Partial6 | No7 | Yes | Partial8 | Partial14 | No19 |
| Dark theme | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| English, Turkish and German | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Automatic updates | Yes | Partial9 | Yes | Partial10 | Yes | Yes |
| Distributed through a store | Yes | No | Yes | No11 | Yes | Yes |
Notes
- 1Clocking in automatically is an organization setting and it is off by default. When it is on, the Store build starts the shift as soon as the app opens and you are signed in. It does not wait for a set time, and while the app is running it does not reopen a shift you ended yourself.
- 2The same organization setting. The Mac App Store app handles it the same way: the shift starts when the app opens.
- 3The Linux app lists tasks and lets you pick one. Creating and editing tasks opens the web app.
- 4On a GNOME Wayland session, application tracking needs the Worktivity Window Tracker extension. Without it time, websites and activity level are still recorded, and the app says on screen that application tracking is off.
- 5In the direct download the address bar can only be read in Chromium based browsers. A Firefox window returns nothing. The Store build reads it through UI Automation and is not limited to Chromium.
- 6The Store build has a tray icon and it shows the state through four colours, but it does not print the elapsed time. Open the window for the counter.
- 7The direct download has no tray icon at all; open the window to see the counter.
- 8GNOME has had no tray area since version 3.26, so this depends on the user having an AppIndicator extension installed.
- 9The update is not downloaded on its own; the user starts it from Settings.
- 10Installing the .deb or the .rpm also registers the Worktivity repository, so later versions arrive with the machine's own updates. There is no Snap; see the note on distribution.
- 11Not a gap but a decision: the Linux app ships as .deb and .rpm from our own site. A Snap was ruled out because strict confinement blocks the bus name the GNOME Shell extension needs, and without that extension application tracking stops working.
- 12The Chrome extension does not do this on purpose. It reports only itself, under the fixed application name \"Chrome Extension\"; it never reads an address, a tab title or the name of a program.
- 13The extension starts with Chrome, not with the computer, and it only runs while Chrome is open. If Chrome is closed, a shift left open is ended one minute after the last record it managed to write.
- 14The toolbar icon shows the state by colour: grey when off, brand colour while working, blue on a break. It does not show elapsed time; the badge is used only for records waiting in the queue.
- 15A shift started on the phone is kept on the server, so it keeps running when the app is closed. It ends by itself at midnight in the organization's time zone or after 10 hours. If another Worktivity app has written a record in the last two minutes, the phone does not start a shift.
- 16On purpose: the mobile app records time only. It takes no screenshots and records no applications, no websites and no location.
- 17There is nothing to queue: the phone writes no activity records, the server writes the minutes. Starting and ending a shift needs a connection.
- 18Not needed: the shift runs on the server and continues while the app is closed or the phone is switched off.
- 19The counter is on the app's own screen. There is no counter on the lock screen or in a notification.
Still not sure
- On Windows 10 or 11: install from the Microsoft Store.
- On a Mac running macOS 14 or newer: install from the Mac App Store.
- On Windows, for more than a handful of machines: take the MSI package.
- On Linux: take the .deb or the .rpm that matches your distribution and your processor.
- On a computer you are not allowed to install software on, but where you still want your hours tracked: add the Chrome extension.
- If you can install neither software nor a browser extension: use the web app and add manual time entries.
- To clock in from your phone, or for work that does not happen at one computer: install the mobile app from the App Store or Google Play.
- Anything else: the installer on the download page is the right one.
What changed in each release is listed in the changelog.
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Related articles
How do I install and update the agent on a Mac?
The Mac App Store installs it and updates it; the direct .dmg is only for Macs too old for that build. Signing in leads straight into a three step setup that asks for two macOS permissions.
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How do I install and update the agent on Windows?
The downloaded installer for Windows: an .exe for the computer in front of you and an .msi for a fleet, one administrator approval while it installs, and no Windows permission to grant afterwards. On Windows 10 and 11 the Microsoft Store app is the easier route.
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How do I install and update the agent on Linux?
One .deb and one .rpm, installed with apt or dnf rather than dpkg or rpm, and updated from then on like any other package on the machine.
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Which permissions does macOS ask for, and what breaks without them?
Two permissions Worktivity cannot work without, three more macOS asks for on its own, and exactly what stops working when you refuse each one.
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What does the Linux agent need from my desktop session?
On Linux what the app can see depends on whether your session is X11 or Wayland, and on your desktop environment. Your hours are recorded either way; application names, websites and screenshots are the parts that differ.
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How do I update the desktop app?
Windows updates from a button inside the app, a Mac updates through the App Store, and Linux updates through apt or dnf.
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What happens if my computer goes offline?
Recording continues. The minutes queue up on your own machine and are sent in order once the connection is back.
- Windows
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What does the Chrome extension do, and how do I install it?
Tracking your hours from Chrome without installing anything: how to set it up, what it records, what it deliberately does not record and what happens when you close the browser.
- Windows
- macOS
- Linux
What does the mobile app do, and how do I install it?
The Worktivity app for iPhone and Android: how to install it, what it records and never records, and when a shift started on the phone ends by itself.
- Mobile
Still stuck?
Three different questions, three different places to ask them.