Meta scales back plan to track workers' clicks and keystrokes to train AI<br>Skip to content
Home<br>News<br>US & Canada<br>UK<br>UK Politics<br>England<br>N. Ireland<br>N. Ireland Politics<br>Scotland<br>Scotland Politics<br>Wales<br>Wales Politics<br>Africa<br>Asia<br>China<br>India<br>Australia<br>Europe<br>Latin America<br>Middle East<br>In Pictures<br>BBC InDepth<br>BBC Verify<br>Football 2026<br>Business<br>World of Business<br>Technology of Business<br>NYSE Opening Bell<br>Technology<br>Artificial Intelligence<br>Intelligence Revolution<br>AI v the Mind<br>Tech Now<br>Health<br>Culture<br>Film & TV<br>Music<br>Art & Design<br>Style<br>Books<br>Entertainment News<br>Arts<br>Arts in Motion<br>Travel<br>Destinations<br>Africa<br>Antarctica<br>Asia<br>Australia and Pacific<br>Caribbean & Bermuda<br>Central America<br>Europe<br>Middle East<br>North America<br>South America<br>World’s Table<br>Culture & Experiences<br>Adventures<br>The SpeciaList<br>Earth<br>Science<br>Natural Wonders<br>Climate Solutions<br>Sustainable Business<br>Green Living<br>Sport<br>Audio<br>Podcast Categories<br>Radio<br>Audio FAQs<br>Video<br>BBC Maestro<br>Discover the World<br>Live<br>Live News<br>Live Sport
Site search
Home
News
Football 2026
Business
Technology
Health
Culture
Arts
Travel
Earth
Sport
Audio
Video
Live
Weather<br>Newsletters
Meta workers can opt out of being tracked at work - but only for half an hour at a time
2 hours agoShareSaveAdd as preferred on Google
Laura Cress,technology reporterand<br>Osmond Chia,business reporter
Getty Images
Meta is scaling back its plan to start tracking its employees' computer activity, according to an internal memo sent on Tuesday.
In April the company received criticism from its own staff after it announced a new tool would log their keystrokes and mouse clicks to train its AI models.
Now, according to Reuters, new controls will allow employees to pause the data collection for "up to 30 minutes at a time" as well as request exemptions from the initiative altogether.
Meta declined to comment on the record.
It follows weeks of backlash from employees, including some who started a petition against the move which now has more than 1,500 signatures.
During the initial announcement of the tool, called the Model Capability Initiative (MCI), Meta told the BBC: "If we're building agents to help people complete everyday tasks using computers, our models need real examples of how people actually use them."
It added that the data was "not used for any other purpose," and the tool had "safeguards in place to protect sensitive content".
But workers were not impressed, with one Meta employee, who asked not to be identified, telling the BBC that having their actions train AI models felt "very dystopian" - as workers expected a slew of additional job cuts.
Meta has laid off around 2,000 employees this year. In April the company told employees it planned to cut 10% of its workforce - roughly 8,000 staff.
Another person who recently left the company told the BBC the tracking tool was "just the latest way they're shoving AI down everyone's throat".
An internal memo - seen by Reuters - was reportedly authored by Stephane Kasriel, a vice president in Meta's Superintelligence Labs unit.
In it, he said the team behind the MCI had introduced "several optimizations" to reduce its impact on laptop battery life.
This change came after reports that employees were finding the tool consumed so much data it was causing their internet usage to surge when working from home.
"While we remain confident in the privacy protections we put in place at launch, which went through several layers of risk review, we have heard your concerns about personal data on work devices, battery life, and wanting more control over when capturing happens," Kasriel said in the memo.
Instagram AI chatbot tricked by hackers to give access to others' accounts
Meta to track workers' clicks and keystrokes to train AI
How 'confused' AI rollout hurts firms and baffles staff
Sign up for our Tech Decoded newsletter to follow the world's top tech stories and trends. Outside the UK? Sign up here.
Mark Zuckerberg<br>Meta<br>Artificial intelligence<br>Data protection
Related
Meta in row after workers who say they saw smart glasses users having sex lose jobs
Meta shares slide as plan to spend billions more on AI spooks investors
Meta to cut one in 10 jobs after spending billions on AI
More from the BBC
1 hr ago
Martin Scorsese gets backlash after endorsing 'creatively freeing' AI
AI can help directors "move faster without sacrificing quality or craft" in pre-production, he says.<br>1 hr ago
7 hrs ago
Publishers in UK can opt out of Google AI search results
The Competition and Markets Authority says it would put publishers "in a stronger position to negotiate content deals with Google".<br>7 hrs ago
7 hrs ago
Cancer vaccines using AI gets research funding
Researchers use AI supercomputers to compare vasts amount of data in search for personal vaccines.<br>7 hrs ago
15 hrs ago
Microsoft testing wearable AI gadget aimed at office workers
The company said its own workers are testing a "wearable access badge" and a desktop device.<br>15 hrs ago
1...