Application usage
Application Usage Monitoring That Shows How Work Gets Done
See which applications and web tools your teams rely on, how time is distributed across them and how that changes over time — based on application names and domains only.
Why application usage matters
Most knowledge work happens in software, yet few organizations know how their application landscape is actually used.
- Licenses are renewed without knowing which tools teams really use.
- New platforms are rolled out, but adoption is hard to verify.
- Browser-based work hides behind a single application name.
- Process discussions lack a shared view of the tools involved.
Usage from bounded intervals, not guesswork
The agent records the moment the foreground application changes rather than repeated samples of the same window. Usage is stored as bounded intervals, so durations are not inflated when a device sleeps or a session ends.
In supported browsers, time is broken down by website domain without counting the browser twice. Your organization decides how applications and domains are classified — productive, neutral, unproductive or unclassified — and changing a classification never alters the underlying history.
Application usage analytics
Top applications and websites
Sorted by observed time for an organization, department, team or employee within your access scope.
Browser domain breakdown
Time in Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Opera, Brave and Vivaldi split by website domain.
Organizational classification
Classify applications and domains by your own rules and follow the distribution over time.
Privacy exclusions
Exclude applications or domains entirely; they are filtered on the device before any data exists.
What application usage monitoring leaves out
Knowing which application was in use is enough to understand tooling and work patterns. Content is deliberately left out.
See how SmarterMetric AI approaches security and privacy- Executable file names only — no file paths or command lines.
- Website domains only — no full URLs, page titles or browsing history.
- No window titles, document names or screen content in usage data.
- Classifications describe applications, never the people using them.
Application visibility in three steps
Enable application usage in policy
Application and website usage are separate policy categories that you switch on per scope.
Classify your landscape
Mark business applications and domains as productive, neutral or unproductive according to your rules.
Review distribution and trends
See top applications, browser domains and classification share for each period.
Who uses application usage data
IT and software asset teams
Base license and rollout decisions on how applications are actually used.
Operations
Understand which tools support each process and where context switching is high.
Transformation projects
Follow the adoption of a new platform across departments after go-live.
Frequently asked questions
How does application usage monitoring work?
The Windows agent detects foreground application changes and records bounded usage intervals with the executable name. The backend summarizes these intervals into durations and distributions.
Are website URLs collected?
No. In supported browsers only the website domain is recorded — never full URLs, paths, query strings or page titles.
Can we classify applications as productive or unproductive?
Yes. Classification rules are defined by your organization and applied at query time. They describe applications and domains, not employee performance.
Can certain applications be excluded?
Yes. Excluded applications and domains are filtered on the device before telemetry is created and never appear in reports.
Does it cover web applications?
Yes. Time in supported browsers is broken down by domain, so web applications are visible alongside desktop software.
Related topics
See your application landscape with real data
We will show application and website views, classification and privacy exclusions in a short demo.
Request a Demo