Anwesend

Attendance recording

Your employer asked you to install this. Here is exactly what it does.

Anwesend notices when your phone joins a WiFi network your workplace has registered, and writes that down. That is the whole product. Below is a real day, rendered the way you will see it in the app.

Tuesday 14 April Site — Aachen HQ
First seen
08:12
Last seen
16:47
Connected
7h 50m
Span
8h 35m

16:47 — end of day uncertain. Anwesend stopped receiving signals from this phone while it was still connected. It has recorded the last confirmed time rather than guessing. If you were still at work, you can request a correction in the app and your administrator will review it.

What it records, and what it does not

Reading a WiFi network's name requires location permission on Android. That permission sounds much broader than what Anwesend actually does with it, so here is the full list.

Recorded

  • The times you connect to and disconnect from networks your employer registered
  • Which registered site that network belongs to
  • Whether your phone was reachable, so gaps can be told apart from absences
  • Your mobile carrier and connection type, if you allow it

Never recorded

  • Your GPS position or movement
  • Networks your employer has not registered, including your home WiFi
  • Anything you do on your phone — apps, browsing, messages, calls
  • Anything at all outside your working day

Where your record goes

Each working day becomes one entry in a calendar that belongs to you. Anwesend creates a separate calendar for it, so nothing mixes with your own appointments and you can remove it in one step at any time.

The same record appears in your Anwesend portal, alongside every session behind it and any day the app has flagged as uncertain.

Installing

Android asks for these permissions separately and in this order. You can decline any of them; Anwesend keeps working with less accuracy and tells you which parts are affected.

Install from Google Play

Android 10 or later.

Sign in with the address your employer registered

If your address is not recognised, ask whoever set up Anwesend at your organisation.

Allow location while using the app

Android requires this to read a WiFi network's name. Anwesend never reads your position from it.

Allow location all the time

A separate step, which Android sends you to Settings to complete. Without it, recording stops whenever your screen is off.

Exclude Anwesend from battery optimisation

Some manufacturers shut down background apps aggressively. The app will show you the exact settings screen for your phone.

Connect your calendar

Optional. Anwesend can only see and change the calendar it creates for you — it has no access to your existing calendars.

Your rights over this record

See everything

Every session Anwesend has recorded about you is visible in your portal. There is no admin view containing anything you cannot see yourself.

Dispute anything

Request a correction on any day. Your administrator reviews it. The original record is kept alongside the correction, so the history stays intact.

Take it with you

Export your full record at any time, in a readable format, without asking anyone.

Know how long it is kept

Your employer sets the retention period, and the app shows you what it is.

Install Anwesend

Recording begins the first time you connect to a registered network. Nothing happens before that.

Get it on Google Play

Android 10+ · Runs a permanent notification while active