The Timeline feature allows you to record your computer activity. With this data, you can later fill in the gaps in your timesheets. The feature will record every website and program you view for over 10 seconds.
Enabling the feature
This feature is enabled via our desktop apps.
Windows: On the main Timer screen, navigate to the "Calendar" tab. Click on the three dots icon and enable the "Record activity" option.
macOS: Open Preferences (⌘ ,) > Calendar. Select the appropriate level of tracking under "Activity recording." You will need to update System Preferences to track window titles. Enable "sync local activity" if you want this data shown in our other apps.
Note: Timeline will not be available on the first day after signing up in Toggl Track – it will be enabled on the second day.
How does it work?
Timeline gets recorded automatically in the background when the Toggl Track desktop app is running on your computer, and you have enabled the recording. It records each website and program you view for over 10 seconds. If your computer goes to sleep, your Timeline will stop recording.
The macOS and Windows desktop apps have a Calendar view where you can visualize Timeline events and create new time entries for them. Timeline is shown as "pills" next to your calendar events and time entries. The more active you were during each 15-minute period, the darker the pill opacity/color will be.
Please note: Currently we can only detect window titles if the window is not in Full Screen mode.
Timeline in the webapp
Timeline is displayed in the webapp in two locations:
Under Timer page Visualizations
On the Calendar Day view
In Timer Page Visualizations
Navigate to the Timer page, click View > Click Extra Visualizations and Click on Activity Timeline.
Once enabled, you'll see a breakdown of your day in 15-minute increments. The webapp view only shows the last 7 days of Timeline data.
Each vertical line represents Timeline for that period and the bar underneath shows you the time entry actually logged for that period. You can hover over either to see more details.
On the Calendar Day view
Timeline shows you a list of recorded activities, based on what apps/websites you were using at the time. The desktop app has to be running, with timeline enabled (and sync enabled) for us to record and display Timeline in the webapp.
We group similar activities, so if you use Chrome multiple times during a period, we will group that total time. Therefore, each activity has a start and end time based on the first time you used this app in the period and the last time.
On the Timer page, click View, then enable "Show Timeline in Day View".
Now in Calendar Day view you will see your Timeline activity in the Activity column on the left. This is show in the form of "pills". The pills are color coded to indicate the following:
Green: There is timeline activity and there is a time entry.
Red: There is timeline activity but there is NO time entry.
Orange: There is NO timeline activity, but there is a Time Entry. Your time entry may be for the wrong time.
Click on any Activity "pill" to view the apps and windows you had open in that time as well as:
The total timeframe that Pill covers the start to end time of the first and last activity in the group.
Total Time: The difference between the start and end times of the group. It is basically its duration.
Active Time: The sum of all activities duration inside the group. This will often be less than the duration.
Expandable list of apps and websites you used: Inside each pill, we have a list of apps and app titles.
Click on Copy as Time Entry in the top right corner to convert this activity pill into a time entry.
Please note: Our desktop apps (that track Timeline) allow you to disable sync with the cloud. If you have disabled sync, you will not see Timeline in the webapp.
Timeline Data Storage in Track (click to expand)
Timeline Data Storage in Track (click to expand)
Timeline data is account-specific. Other workspace users (including admins) do not have access to it.
If your Timeline data is syncing with the cloud, we will show you the last 10 days of synced data in the desktop app. Synced timeline activities that are older than 10 days are deleted when you login into, or restart the app, or if you change Activity Recording setting.
If you have disabled sync with the cloud, you will see the last 8-weeks of Timeline data in the desktop app calendar view only. After 90 days, this data is wiped.
Timeline data synced with the cloud is recorded & stored solely to improve the user experience (i.e., enabling the Timeline feature). It is not used in any other way nor provided to anyone else.
Timeline data for only the last 90 days is stored in our servers. It is stored separately from user data and cannot be linked to personally identifying information. However, users can request its deletion at any time by contacting support.
Need more help or have suggestions for improvements? Contact our support team via chat using the purple chat button in the bottom-right corner.