ScreenJournal vs Controlio

Updated on 14 September 2026

Controlio and ScreenJournal take opposite approaches to work visibility. Controlio typically records screens to a cloud archive, optionally without gaps, logs keystrokes and flags suspicious activity for a manager to review. ScreenJournal reads the work as it happens, writes a plain-English timeline of what was done, and by default deletes the raw screen data during processing.

What is Controlio?

Controlio is a cloud-based employee monitoring platform. Per configuration it records screens as continuous video, takes periodic snapshots, streams a live view of an employee's screen and logs keystrokes. It tracks website and application usage, supports web filtering and content blocking, and applies behaviour rules that flag suspicious activity. What it captures typically uploads to a cloud dashboard where a manager reviews recordings, keystroke logs and activity reports.

What is ScreenJournal?

ScreenJournal is an AI work visibility tool that reads on-screen work as it happens, turns it into a detailed timeline of what each person actually did, and then, by default, deletes the raw screen data. Timelines accumulate into a searchable chronicle of everyone's work history, and from them ScreenJournal generates timesheets and reports automatically and drafts standup summaries on request, answering questions about any of it in plain English.

It keeps no keystroke log in any mode and, by default, no footage; the day becomes a work timeline that reads like a log of the work rather than a recording of the person. The one exception is Evidence Mode, the Record + Save capture mode a manager can enable in its desktop policy for the whole organisation or for particular teams where video evidence is needed; opted-in recordings are stored for up to 3 months.

How is ScreenJournal different from Controlio?

The table compares what each tool captures, what it keeps, and what you get back when you need to know something.

A recording archive only becomes an answer when someone watches it. It also has to be stored, secured and explained to employees, and it is a liability if it leaks. By default ScreenJournal builds no such archive: the raw screen data is deleted during processing, and what accumulates instead is the work chronicle, a searchable, permission-scoped history of the work itself. A redacted entry is erased entirely and never appears in anyone's search; who may redact is a permission the organisation's administrators grant, and nobody has it until they do.

When should you choose Controlio?

Choose Controlio if you specifically need stored recordings: a client or regulator requires playback evidence, or your investigation process depends on reviewing footage and live screens. Its web filtering and content blocking also make it a fit where controlling access to sites matters as much as visibility. Those are real requirements in some environments, and ScreenJournal deliberately does not serve them with a standing archive; even a team that opts in to Evidence Mode keeps its recordings for up to 3 months.

When should you choose ScreenJournal?

Choose ScreenJournal if what you actually want from monitoring is answers: what was done, how long it took, what it should be billed as, and where the risks are. It generates timesheets and reports from the work itself, answers questions in plain English through chat or MCP, and does all of it without keystrokes and, by default, without keeping footage. Because employees see the same view managers do, see the same scores, and can redact segments when the organisation allows it, it works in teams that would push back hard on screen recording. Genuine policy violations still surface: plain-language alert rules catch them, and a clip kept as alert evidence cannot be redacted. For the category-level picture, see ScreenJournal vs surveillance suites.

Frequently asked questions

Does ScreenJournal record my screen like Controlio?

By default, no. ScreenJournal reads the screen only to understand the work, then deletes the raw screen data immediately during processing: no video to play back, no snapshot archive to scrub through, only a written timeline of the work. The one exception is Evidence Mode, the Record + Save capture mode an organisation can switch on in its desktop policy, which keeps recordings so a segment can be replayed, stored for up to 3 months.

How do I investigate an incident without recordings?

Policy violations are caught by alert rules: an admin describes the rule in plain language, the AI checks it against each member's activity, and a match raises an alert the member must explain. Where a team's desktop policy is set to Record + Save (the Evidence Mode described on this site), the clip behind the alert is kept for replay and is exempt from redaction.

Can employees see what is captured about them?

Yes. Employees see the same activity view managers do, see the same scores, and can redact segments when the organisation allows it. Apps and sites on the privacy exclusion list are never captured.

Whichever camp a tool is in, ask one question: when you need an answer about work, does the tool give you the answer, or give you footage to interpret? Controlio gives you the footage and good tools for studying it. ScreenJournal gives you the answer, and unless a team's policy keeps recordings, by the time you read it the footage is already gone.