Is it ethical to monitor users? [closed]

Question

I didn't know I would be getting too many replies so fast. I can provide more details. It is definitely for use within the company. I was looking for some info on whether I should be more careful or anything to watch out for...

My boss is asking me to put some tracking info on what users do with their application. It is not about collecting sensitive data but there might be some screenshots involved and I am not sure if this is a breach of privacy.

Would love to hear any thoughts on this or if you handled something similar.

Answer 1

At work, there is no privacy. Think of it this way, if you work for a financial institution, or a government one, monitoring users may be the difference between keeping sensitive information secret and not. (I want my personal information kept private). They are paid to do work at work. If they are afraid about what they are doing is wrong, then they shouldn't be doing it.

A comment brought up a good point. If you are selling the product and spying on end users, that is totally different. That is highly unethical to take screen shots and report them back to the company. Actually where I work, we'd have you arrested for it if we found out. (yes, you'd be violating a federal law, and I guarantee we'd go after everyone and sort out the mistakes later.) That is a very slippery slope.