RescueTime is a tool used by companies and individuals to understand their time. Within the Facebook organization, usage is completely voluntary and opt-in. After agreeing to use the tool, a small application installed on the participant’s computer will securely record a personal (private) record of time spent on applications and websites. The participant can see details of how their time on the computer is being spent, and has access to several tools to help them optimize their time.
In addition to the private, personal reports, time usage data for a small subset of key applications and websites will be anonymized, combined with data from other participants, and analyzed in aggregate to discover patterns about how work gets done at Facebook. The applications and websites being tracked will be clearly identified, and the details reported at the group level will be much less granular than what appears in the personal reports. This data will not be tied back to an individual participant and will not be used for performance evaluation.
What are RescueTime Personal Reports?
RescueTime’s personal productivity tools are a private set of reports and tools to help the employee understand their own time and optimize how they spend it. Personal reports show breakdowns of activities by time of day, category, and include tools like weekly summaries, notifications, timers and temporary blocking of distracting websites for times that the employee chooses to focus. Individuals have complete control over this data and are encouraged to use it to optimize their time as they see fit.
Why is Facebook using RescueTime?
Facebook is using RescueTime is to better understand the time spent on a small set of key applications. After opting in to use the tool, anonymous statistics about the time spent on these tools will be combined with the results from others and analyzed on an aggregated basis to find patterns about how work gets done at Facebook. This is done strictly to improve employee collaboration and productivity. Data captured will be aggregated and kept confidential, meaning no data about individual usage will be shared with managers or department managers, and will be used only for the purposes outlined above.
How does activity logging work?
The RescueTime application may have been pre-installed on employees' computers, or a project administrator may have distributed an invitation link. In either case, no time will be logged until the employee opts in to track usage statistics.
The RescueTime icon can be found in the menu bar on OS X, or in the system tray on Windows. Selecting the "Start RescueTime" option from the menu will open a confirmation page explaining what will be tracked.
After opting in, no further action is required. An employee can go on about their work and RescueTime will collect data in the background.
If the employee wishes to stop sharing usage statistics, they can select the Stop RescueTime option from the menu.
What is the difference between RescueTime’s Personal Reports and the information collected for the organization as a whole?
RescueTime's personal reports give an individual participant a private, detailed record of the applications and websites they spend time with.
The data collected for Facebook is much less granular and focused on a specific set of key applications and websites, and is used to analyze usage patterns across hundreds of people at a time. Any data accessible for organization analysis is de-identified and grouped with data from other participants.
Where is the data stored?
All data storage, processing, reporting, and account management occur on RescueTime’s servers, which are all hosted on Amazon's EC2 facility. All operational interaction with that platform is accomplished through either HTTPS or SSH (secure tunnels). All background client to server interactions use the HTTPS (HTTP in SSL) protocol.
The application has been reviewed by Facebook Information Security.
Is participation voluntary?
Yes. Using RescueTime is 100% opt-in. Employees can quit or uninstall the application if they desire. The application is installed on in the “off” mode, so no data whatsoever is tracked until an opt in occurs.
Can the RescueTime application be removed?
Yes, the RescueTime application can be uninstalled.
You can flag RescueTime for removal from your computer and it will be uninstalled within one hour. (If you are currently logging time, logging will be stopped within one minute.)
Click here to remove RescueTime from your computer.
To manually uninstall on Mac, quit the application then drag the application to the trash from the Applications folder. On Windows, find RescueTime in the All Programs list, right-click and choose 'uninstall'.
Exactly what data is collected? (and what is not)
Only the start and stop times of currently focused application or websites are tracked. The application will never use a computer's camera, take screen shots, log keystrokes, track background processes, or inspect the contents of a document beyond examining the window title of the currently focused application.
Key applications for Facebook
Aggregate usage statistics are only tracked for a subset of the total applications and websites that a participant will likely use throughout the day. This team is tracking details for 39 applications and websites.