Product Update: Reporting by User Time Zone

ActivTrak now supports Reporting by User Time Zone, allowing you to view productivity and activity data based on each monitored user's local time zone. This improves the readability of reports for distributed teams by eliminating split-day distortions and reducing the need for manual time conversions.

With this update, you choose how time is calculated and displayed across Dashboards, ActivConnect, and the Activity Log. You can use a single Account Time Zone (the current default behavior) or switch to User Time Zone mode, where each user's metrics reflect their local day boundaries.

This article walks through the new configuration setting, how reports change at each level, and what to expect when you enable User Time Zone mode.

New account-level time zone setting

A new Configuration Mode control is available under Settings > Time Zone. This setting is at the account level and determines how metrics are calculated and displayed across all reports and dashboards.

You have two options:

1. Account Time Zone (default): All metrics are calculated and displayed using your account's configured time zone. This is the current behavior and requires no changes.
2. User Time Zone: Metrics are calculated and displayed based on each monitored user's local time zone. Each user's day boundaries (midnight to midnight) are determined by their own time zone.

What happens when you switch modes

When you switch from Account Time Zone to User Time Zone:

• A 24-hour transition period begins. During this time, reports continue using the Account Time Zone.
• After the transition completes, all newly generated activity uses the User Time Zone logic.
• Activity recorded before the switch remains in the Account Time Zone. No historical data is rewritten.

When you switch from User Time Zone to Account Time Zone:

• All report timestamps immediately resolve to the Account Time Zone for all time ranges (past and future).
• Auto-detection continues capturing users' UTC offsets in the background for up to 30 days, so you can re-enable User Time Zone without losing recent detection data.

How user time zones are determined

When User Time Zone mode is enabled, each monitored user's effective time zone is resolved using the following priority:

1. Manual user time zone assignment – Highest priority; assigned by an Admin on the Users page.
2. Auto-detected UTC offset (default) – Automatically derived from each user's observed activity patterns.
3. Account Time Zone – Fallback: always present, so data never lacks a time zone.

Manual user time zone assignment

Admins can manually assign a named IANA time zone (for example, America/Chicago or Asia/Kolkata) to any user. The IANA list is highly granular and includes entries for regions with unique time zone rules, such as America/Phoenix for Arizona (which does not observe daylight saving time).

The primary use case for manual assignment is when a user's reporting time zone should differ from their physical location. For example, if a manager based in India is required to work US Central hours, you can assign them Central Time so their reports reflect those expected hours — rather than the India offset that auto-detection would pick up. Manual assignment also handles daylight saving time (DST) automatically through the named time zone's rules, so the correct UTC offset is applied throughout the year without any manual updates.

Display on reports: Even when a named time zone is assigned, all reports display the equivalent UTC offset (for example, UTC-5) rather than the named time zone. This keeps the display consistent across all users, regardless of how their time zones were determined.

You can assign time zones in two ways:

1. Single user: Click the Time Zone cell for a user on the Users page and select a time zone from the dropdown.

2. Bulk assignment: Select multiple users on the Users page, then use the Assign Time Zone action to apply a named time zone to all selected users.

Manual assignments take priority over auto-detection and apply across all reporting periods for that user (past and future). If a manual time zone is set, reports will always reflect that assigned time zone, even if the user travels.

You can switch a user back to Auto-Detect Offset at any time. When User Time Zone mode is enabled, auto-detection is continuously captured, so switching back allows reporting to reflect the detected time zone.

Auto-detected UTC offset (default)

By default, the system automatically and regularly detects each user's UTC offset based on their first recorded activity after at least 5 hours of inactivity. This offset is then applied to all activities until the next detected gap. When the system detects a new offset after the next inactivity gap (for example, after an overnight break), it updates accordingly.

Important: Auto-detection is not geolocation. ActivTrak does not use GPS, IP addresses, or any location-based tracking to determine time zones. The agent reads the time zone set in the user's computer operating system (OS) settings. If the OS is configured to detect time zones automatically (for example, "Set time zone automatically" on macOS), the system picks up whatever the computer reports. If the OS time zone is set manually and never changes, the detected offset stays the same.

Auto-detected offsets are displayed as UTC values (e.g., UTC-6) across all reports. The offset updates automatically when the system detects a change after the next inactivity gap — including DST transitions — since the agent reads the UTC offset the user's OS is reporting at that moment.

Auto-detected offsets apply only to activity generated after User Time Zone mode is enabled. No historical backfill occurs.

How reports change with the User Time Zone

User Time Zone mode affects reports at three levels. The sections below show what changes (and what stays the same) for each level, with before-and-after examples.

Aggregated reporting

Reports that aggregate data across a multi-day date range – such as the Summary view in Productivity by User – do not change visually. These reports already summarize metrics at the day level (for example, total productive time over a week). When User Time Zone mode is active, the system calculates each user's daily totals using their local midnight-to-midnight boundaries instead of the account's, but the report layout and columns remain the same.

What this means for you: The numbers become more easily interpretable for distributed teams, but the report looks and works the same way you're used to. No new columns or labels appear at this level.

Daily reporting

Reports that display one row per user per day – such as Daily Work Metrics, Productivity Trends, and Schedule Adherence – show visible changes when User Time Zone mode is active.

Account Time Zone mode All users share the same day boundary based on the account's configured time zone. Timestamps such as "First Activity" reflect the account's time zone. A label indicates the time zone in use. In this view, a user in India whose local workday runs from 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM IST may appear to have worked on two different days in Central Time, splitting their activity across Friday and Saturday. This is the "split-day" issue.

User Time Zone mode Two key changes appear in the report: New Time Zone column: A Time Zone column appears next to each user, showing their designated UTC offset (for example, UTC-5:00 or UTC+5:30). This provides immediate context for each row. Adjusted timestamps: Fields like "First Activity" now display the time in each user's local time zone, so a user in India sees their first activity as 9:00 AM IST rather than 10:30 PM CST from the previous night.

The Saturday to Friday fix

This is the most impactful change for distributed teams. Previously, a user in India working a normal Friday might have hours spill into Saturday on the report (because their Friday evening extends past midnight in the account's US-based time zone). With User Time Zone mode, that activity stays consolidated on Friday, where it belongs, giving you a clear picture of each user's workday.

Intraday reports

Reports that display activity within a single day using Gantt-style timeline charts – such as the Detailed view in Productivity by User – show the most noticeable visual change.

Account Time Zone mode All users' activity bars are plotted on the same 24-hour timeline using the account time zone. A label indicates the time zone everything is normalized to. Users in different time zones appear to start and end at unusual hours because the timeline is based on the account's location, not theirs.

User Time Zone mode Two key changes appear in the intraday view: Time-of-day axis reflects each user's local time: Each user's activity bars shift so that the timeline represents their local hours. A user in UTC-6:00 who starts at 8:00 AM local time now appears at 8:00 AM on the chart, rather than the offset time in the account's time zone. User time zone labels: Each user's name row displays their UTC offset and location (for example, "Sarah Johnson – UTC-06:00 (Remote)"), so you can immediately see the time context for their activity.

This makes it much easier to see at a glance when each user is actually working in their local context. You no longer need to do mental time-zone math to understand whether a user's workday aligns with expectations.

Activity Log

The Activity Log continues to display one or both of the following columns for every activity event, depending on the configuration of the Activity Time and Time Zone setting:

• Activity Date/Time in [Account Time Zone]: The timestamp in your account's configured time zone (for example, Central Time).
• Activity Date/Time in User Time Zone: The same event displayed in the monitored user's local time zone, with the UTC offset shown. For example, "01/08/26 3:04:37AM (UTC-3)".

Both columns represent the same underlying activity, rendered in different time zones. The column names have been updated for clarity compared to the previous labeling.

Note: The existing Activity Time and Time Zone setting that controls whether the User Time Zone column appears in the Activity Log remains as a separate option on the Time Zone settings page. This setting is independent of the new Configuration Mode. Accounts that do not opt into User Time Zone mode can still choose to display the User Time Zone column in the Activity Log, as they do today.

Reports and pages affected

The following table summarizes which reports and pages are updated and how they respond to the User Time Zone setting:

Note: The following admin pages continue to use Account Time Zone for consistency. These pages display a label indicating that it is using the Account Time Zone:

• Audit Log
• Computer Agents
• Computer Aliases
• User Agents
• User Aliases

Important things to know

Historical data

• No stored activity data is rewritten when you change modes.
• Auto-detected offsets apply only from the date you enable User Time Zone mode forward.
• Manual overrides apply across all reporting periods (past and future) for that user, resolved dynamically at query time.

Coach behavior

• When you change the configuration mode, all existing Coach streaks (both improving and recurring behaviors) are deleted.
• Coaching opportunities for the current week are not recalculated retroactively.

Date filter behavior

• When you select a preset like "Today" or "This Week," the system determines the calendar date(s) based on your device's local time, then evaluates those dates using each user's own local day boundaries (in User Time Zone mode) or the account's day boundaries (in Account Time Zone mode).

Getting started

To enable User Time Zone mode:

1. Navigate to Settings > Time Zone.
2. Under Configuration Mode, select User Time Zone.
3. Review the confirmation message and save your changes.
4. After the 24-hour warm-up period, the new activity will reflect each user's local time zone.

To assign a manual time zone override:

1. Go to the Users page.
2. Find the Time Zone column for the user you want to update.
3. Click the dropdown and select a named time zone (for example, America/Chicago).
4. To revert, select Auto-Detect Offset from the dropdown.

For bulk assignments, select multiple users using the checkboxes, then click Assign Time Zone from the action bar.

Questions or feedback

We value your input on this update. If you have questions, suggestions, or feedback about User Time Zone reporting:

• Contact Support if you need help configuring your time zone settings or understanding your reports.
• Your Customer Success team can provide personalized guidance for your team.