Does MONA take screenshots or record my screen?

No. MONA collects metadata only: no screenshots, no keystrokes, no page or document content, no audio. It deliberately never asks for the macOS Screen Recording permission. It uses Accessibility, which gives it the title of the window you are in and the name of the open document, and that is all the matcher needs.

What exactly gets sent to MONA servers?

Only work MONA could match to one of your projects, and only as a project, an app name, a duration, and the words that matched. Raw activity, window titles, URLs, and full file paths stay on your device and are deleted after 14 days. Anything MONA could not attribute to a project never leaves the Mac at all.

Can my studio admin see what I was working on?

No. Studio admins see the hours you accept, never your activity. There is no admin view of raw blocks, app names, or documents, and your device list is visible only to you. Time tracking is opt-in per person and a studio owner cannot switch it on for someone else.

Does MONA track private or incognito browsing?

No. Private and incognito windows are never sampled, in any supported browser. Only apps on your allowlist are sampled, and everything else is not watched at all.

Will MONA bill my client for hours I did not approve?

No. Measured work becomes a suggested time entry that sits in a proposed state until you accept it. MONA refuses to put a proposed entry on an invoice. You can accept, correct the hours, or discard each suggestion.

How accurate is the project matching?

It gets better as you use it. MONA matches on your project names, client and vendor names, and project addresses, plus the file you had open. Every time you accept, correct, or discard a suggestion, MONA records a rule for that file, site, or app so it does not ask twice. You can see and delete those rules in Settings, then Time.

Which browsers can MONA read?

Chrome, Safari, Arc, Microsoft Edge, and Brave. Firefox does not expose the address bar to macOS Accessibility, so it cannot be read. The MONA Clipper for Chrome covers browser time for anyone who would rather not install the Mac app.

What happens if I stop reviewing my suggestions?

MONA stops drafting new ones. After a week of unreviewed suggestions it pauses and says so on the Time page, so you never come back to a month-long backlog. Review or discard what is waiting and it starts again by itself.

Does MONA track my location?

Only if you turn on site visits in the MONA iPhone app, and only with Always location access that you grant. Arrivals are matched to your project addresses on the phone itself. A visit that does not match one of your projects is dropped on the device and never sent.

How do I uninstall MONA for Mac?

Quit MONA from the menu bar, then drag it from Applications to the Trash. To be thorough, open Settings in the app first and click Delete all local data, then revoke the device on monaverse.com under Settings, then Time.

September 19, 2026

How does MONA track my time automatically?

Install MONA for Mac, grant Accessibility, pick your tracked apps, and review the hours MONA drafts each morning at monaverse.com/time. Metadata only, never content.

Quick answer: Install MONA for Mac, sign in with your email code, grant the Accessibility permission, and pick the apps you want tracked. Each morning MONA drafts the hours it measured, grouped by project, at monaverse.com/time. You accept, correct, or discard them. Nothing is billable until you accept it.

MONA collects metadata only. It sees which app you are in, the title of the window, and the name of the open document. It does not see what is in the document, what you typed, or what is on your screen.

What MONA collects, and what it never collects

This is the same promise printed in the app, in the Clipper, and on the download page:

Metadata only. No screenshots, no keystrokes, no page or document content, no audio.
Only apps you allow are sampled. Private and incognito windows are never sampled.
Raw activity stays on this device and is deleted after 14 days. Only work MONA could match to one of your projects is sent, as a project, an app name, a duration, and the words that matched.
Studio admins see the hours you accept, never your activity.
Pause any time. Delete everything any time. Revoke this device from Settings, then Time.

How do I install MONA for Mac?

Download the app. Go to monaverse.com/download and click Download for Mac. Open the DMG and drag MONA to Applications. It needs macOS 14 or later.
Sign in with your email code. Same sign-in as the website: your email address, then the one-time code MONA emails you.
Read what is collected. The app shows the privacy contract above before it asks for a single permission.
Grant Accessibility. MONA opens System Settings for you. Switch MONA on under Privacy and Security, then Accessibility. This is the one permission the app needs, and it is what gives MONA the window title and the open document name. MONA never asks for Screen Recording.
Pick your tracked apps. Design and office apps are on by default. Everything else is off, and off means it is not sampled at all.
Review your hours. Open monaverse.com/time in the morning. Each row shows the evidence, for example 2.5 hrs in SketchUp and Mail on Henderson_kitchen.skp, so you are confirming a memory rather than auditing a number.

How does MONA know which project I was working on?

It matches what it can see on your Mac against the studio's own project graph, in this order:

A rule you already taught it. Accepting, correcting, or discarding a suggestion, or using Assign in the menu bar, records a rule for that file, website, folder, or app. Rules are per person and are consulted first.
The open document. File names and folder paths are matched against your project names, client last names, and street names from project addresses.
The window title. Email subjects, Zoom meeting names, Canva design names, and browser tab titles are matched against the same vocabulary.
Nothing. Work MONA cannot attribute stays on the Mac as Unattributed, shown with the app name and a duration only. Click Assign to teach it, or leave it and it is deleted after 14 days.

You can see everything MONA has learned, and delete any of it, under Settings, then Time.

How do I track browser time without installing the Mac app?

Open the MONA Clipper side panel in Chrome and switch on Track browser time for MONA. It counts vendor sites, Gmail, Google Docs, Houzz, and Pinterest toward the right project using the same matching rules, with no OS permission and no new install. Incognito tabs are never sampled.

How do I log site visits from my phone?

In the MONA iPhone app, open the header menu and tap Time, then switch on Site visits. iOS asks for Always location access, which is what makes arrival detection work in the background. Your project addresses are geocoded on the phone, arrivals are matched there, and only matched visits are sent, as a project, a duration, and the project name. Anything that does not match one of your projects is dropped on the device.

Only projects with an address on the Overview tab can be matched, so add the job-site address to any project you want counted.

How do I stop or remove tracking?

Pause: click the MONA icon in the menu bar and choose an hour, the rest of today, or until you turn it back on.
Revoke a device: on monaverse.com go to Settings, then Time, and click Revoke. It stops sending immediately.
Delete local data: in the app's Settings click Delete all local data. Raw activity is deleted after 14 days regardless.
Turn suggestions off entirely: the switch at the top of Settings, then Time.

Frequently asked questions

Answers to the most common questions are in the FAQ section of this page, including what is sent to MONA servers, whether admins can see your activity, and how accurate the project matching is. The full data-handling terms are in the Privacy Policy under "MONA desktop and mobile activity tracking".

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