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Two Windows Client parameters control whether users see visual indicators that they’re being monitored — the Client tray icon in the Windows system tray, and the on-screen Recording is in progress overlay icon that appears above all other windows. Both are about transparency — many jurisdictions require employees to be informed they’re being monitored; many organizations choose to make monitoring visible even where not required, on the theory that transparent monitoring is more legally defensible and reduces “Big Brother” perceptions among the workforce.
Applies to: Windows Clients only. macOS and Linux Clients don’t have equivalent in-product recording-indicator settings — explicit-consent notifications are typically handled through OS dialogs or organizational policy rather than the Syteca Client UI.

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Client tray icon

The Client tray icon appears in the Windows system tray (notification area) when a user is logged in to the Client computer and being monitored.
Windows system tray showing the Syteca Client icon

The Syteca Client tray icon — sits in the Windows notification area whenever a monitored session is active.

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Where to find it

1

Open the Client

In the Management Tool, click Clients, then open the Windows Client.
2

Open Client Mode

On the Editing Client / Editing Client Group page, on the Properties tab, scroll to the Client Mode section.
3

Toggle Display Client tray icon

Select or deselect the Display Client tray icon checkbox. Click Finish.
The tray icon can also be enabled or disabled during the Client installation itself, alongside other install-time options.

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Display Icon When Recording

The on-screen Recording is in progress icon is a more prominent indicator — it appears as a small floating icon always on top of all applications, visible regardless of which application has focus. It’s displayed only while activity is actively being recorded; it disappears when recording pauses (during idle periods, between sessions, etc.).
Windows desktop with the Syteca recording-in-progress icon floating above other applications

The Recording Is In Progress overlay icon — appears above all other windows whenever recording is actively capturing user activity.

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User interaction with the icon

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Where to find it

1

Open the Client

In the Management Tool, click Clients, then open the Windows Client.
2

Open Client Mode

On the Editing Client / Editing Client Group page, on the Properties tab, scroll to the Client Mode section.
3

Toggle Display icon when recording is in progress

Select or deselect the Display icon when recording is in progress checkbox. Click Finish.
The icon can also be enabled and configured during the Client installation.

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Customization

The on-screen icon can be customized — appearance, default position, behavior when the user moves it. See Customization settings for the configurable options.

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Which one to use?

Combine the on-screen icon with alert-only recording for a noticeable but low-privacy-impact approach: the icon only appears when an alert has triggered active screen recording. Users learn that the icon means “something flagged” — useful for transparency around incident response.

Protected mode

Driver-level anti-tamper protection — invisible to users but blocks abuse.

User activity recording

Configure when recording is active — directly affects when the on-screen icon appears.

Windows Clients

Full Windows Client documentation.

Update Client automatically

Another Client Mode parameter.