Is clocking in with your personal phone in Spain (fichar con el móvil personal) legal? Yes, if the person wants to and the company sets it up carefully. What the company cannot do is make it the only way to clock in: in remote work the law forbids it outright, and outside remote work the courts and the Spanish Data Protection Agency (Agencia Española de Protección de Datos, AEPD) have stopped it.
In this guide we explain what the law says, which cases have been judged, what happens with location data, and how to organize clocking in with a mobile phone without problems. Everything has been checked against the BOE, Spain’s official gazette, and the original rulings as of 14 October 2026.
The short answer
- Clocking in with your personal mobile is legal if it is voluntary and the person has another way to clock in from day one.
- In remote work, the company cannot require the installation of anything on a device that belongs to the person, or require them to use it for work.
- Outside remote work there is no article that says it so clearly, but forcing the use of a personal phone clashes with data protection: the AEPD fined a company €200,000 for doing so.
- Location data, only when clocking in and with staff informed. Tracking someone all day is not time recording.
What the time recording law says
Article 34.9 of the Spanish Workers’ Statute (Estatuto de los Trabajadores) requires the daily recording of the start and end time of the working day, but it does not say how. The Spanish Ministry of Labour’s guide confirms this: any system is valid, on paper or digital, as long as it provides reliable information that neither the company nor the person can alter afterwards.
The same guide adds a warning. If the system needs access to digital devices or uses geolocation, the privacy protected by Article 20 bis of the Statute must be respected, which refers to Spain’s data protection law (LOPDGDD). That is the key issue with a personal mobile phone.
The system is set out in the collective agreement or in a company agreement. If there is none, the company decides after consulting the staff representation, which also has the right to issue a report before a work monitoring system is implemented (Article 64.5 of the Statute). We explain this in our guide to working time recording in Spain.
In remote work, the company cannot require it
For remote workers, the law leaves no doubt. Article 17.2 of Spain’s Remote Work Law (Ley 10/2021) says the company cannot require the installation of programs or applications on devices that belong to the worker, nor require them to use them for remote work.
And the company provides the equipment. Remote workers have the right to be given and maintained the equipment and tools they need (Article 11), and they do not have to pay the expenses linked to their work (Article 12). If clocking in is part of the job, the means to clock in are also provided by the company.
Nothing prevents someone from choosing to clock in from their phone because it is convenient. What is not allowed is for it to be a condition.
Outside remote work: data protection
For on-site work there is no article that expressly forbids it. But asking someone to install an app on their phone means processing data on a device that is theirs, and there the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the LOPDGDD apply:
- Legal basis. Consent is of little use in an employment relationship: it is not free if saying no has consequences. The basis for time recording is the legal obligation to record the working day, and that obligation does not require using anyone’s phone.
- Only the necessary data. To record working time, the person, the day and the time are enough. An app that asks for access to contacts, photos or the microphone goes too far.
- Information. Before starting, staff must know what data is collected, for what purpose and for how long.
- Proportionality. Courts ask whether there was a less intrusive way to achieve the same thing. For clocking in, there almost always is.
Article 87 of the LOPDGDD protects privacy even on devices provided by the company. All the more so on devices that belong to the person.
What the courts and the AEPD have said
The AEPD’s €200,000 fine
In 2026, the Spanish Data Protection Agency fined a VTC company €200,000 for forcing its drivers to install several work apps on their personal mobile phones (procedure PS/00454/2024). The company offered a corporate phone “subject to availability,” and the Agency concluded that consent was therefore not free: installing the apps was a condition for working. In addition, the apps had permissions for location, contacts, photos and voice recordings.
The fine was for three GDPR infringements: failing to provide the information required by Article 13, collecting more data than necessary (Article 5.1.c), and processing it without a valid legal basis (Article 6.1). The Agency also ordered the company to bring the processing into compliance within two months.
Telepizza and its “Project Tracker”
Telepizza asked its delivery workers to use their own mobile phone, with internet connection, and to install an app that tracked them during deliveries. Spain’s National Court (Audiencia Nacional) declared the project void in judgment 13/2019, of 6 February, and the Supreme Court (Tribunal Supremo) upheld it in 2021. Among the reasons: there were less intrusive ways to achieve the same thing, such as a company device, and the staff representation was not informed or consulted as required by law.
It was not a clocking-in system, but the reasoning applies just the same: if the company can provide the means, burdening staff with their own phone is hard to justify.
Can clocking in store location data?
Many clocking-in apps store location when someone clocks in, to know whether the person was at their workplace. It can be done, with three conditions:
- Prior information. Article 90 of the LOPDGDD requires staff and their representatives to be informed beforehand, expressly, clearly and unequivocally, that the system exists and how it works.
- Only at the moment of clocking in. A one-off location when entering and leaving is one thing. Tracking the person all day is another, and it is not necessary to record hours.
- Never outside working hours. On a personal mobile, the risk is that the app keeps collecting data after the person has already left.
If the workplace is fixed, there are ways to clock in that do not need any location data: a tablet at the entrance with a PIN or QR card, or the workstation computer.
How to do it right, step by step
- Provide an alternative from day one: a tablet at the entrance, the workstation computer or a company mobile. It should not depend on whether there is “availability.”
- Make the personal mobile voluntary and put it in writing. Anyone who uses it must be able to stop using it whenever they want.
- Better if nothing has to be installed. An app that works in the browser leaves no programs or permissions on the phone.
- Ask only for what is necessary: who clocked in and at what time. No contacts, photos or microphone.
- If you use location, only when clocking in, and notify people in writing beforehand.
- Inform and consult: explain to staff what data is collected and why, and consult their representatives before implementing the system.
- Record it in the processing activities register. If you use location, check with whoever handles your data protection whether a DPIA is needed.
If you are an employee and they require it
- Ask in writing for another way to clock in. If you work remotely, cite Article 17.2 of Law 10/2021.
- Ask what data the app collects and for what purpose. You have the right to know before starting.
- Talk to the staff representation, if there is one.
- If it is not resolved, you can complain to the AEPD about the use of your data or file a complaint with the Spanish Labour Inspectorate (Inspección de Trabajo).
Clock in without installing anything and without GPS, with Fichómetro
Fichómetro (our own product) is a time-recording app designed for small businesses. It works in the browser, so there is nothing to install on anyone’s phone, and it does not collect location data. Anyone who prefers not to use their phone can clock in from the computer or, with Pro, on a tablet at the entrance with their PIN or QR card. The time is set by the server and nobody can change a clock-in: corrections are added with their reason. It is free forever if 1 person clocks in. With more, €2 per active person per month, VAT not included, with a 30-day free trial and no card required. The app is available in Spanish, Catalan, Galician, Basque and English.
Frequently asked questions
Can they force me to clock in with my personal mobile phone?
In remote work, no: Article 17.2 of Law 10/2021 forbids it. In on-site work there is no express prohibition, but forcing the use of a personal phone clashes with data protection, and the AEPD has fined a company for doing so.
Can I refuse to install the clocking app?
If you work remotely, yes. In other cases, ask in writing for another way to clock in: time recording is the company’s obligation, and it is the company that must provide the means.
What if I do not have a mobile phone with internet?
The company must give you another way to clock in. Recording working time is their responsibility, not yours.
Is it legal for the app to store my location?
Only if you are informed beforehand in an express, clear and unequivocal way, and if it is proportionate. For clocking in, the location at the moment of clocking in is enough, not tracking you all day.
Does the company have to pay for my mobile data?
In remote work, yes: work-related expenses are paid or reimbursed by the company. In other cases, check what your collective agreement says.
Is it safer to clock in from the browser than with an installed app?
For the phone, yes: no program remains installed and no permissions are granted, and when you close the page it stops working.
Is there a fine if the company does not record working time?
Yes, from €751 to €7,500 for the company. We explain it in our article on time tracking fines in Spain.
Conclusion
Clocking in with a personal mobile phone may be the most convenient option for many people, and it is legal as long as it is an option and not a condition. The company that does it properly provides another way to clock in from day one, collects only the time, uses location at most when clocking in, and explains it in writing beforehand. The digital recording royal decree being prepared by the Spanish Government does not change this: we track its status in digital time tracking in Spain: when it takes effect.
This article is for information only and does not replace the advice of your labour adviser (asesoría laboral) or the person handling your data protection. Also check your collective agreement, which may regulate how clocking in is done.
Useful links
- Fichómetro: time recording for small businesses, free for 1 person.
- Working time recording in Spain: what the law requires and how to comply.
- Article 17 of Law 10/2021 on remote work, in the BOE (in Spanish).
- Article 90 of the LOPDGDD, on geolocation at work, in the BOE (in Spanish).
- AEPD ruling PS/00454/2024 (PDF, in Spanish).
- Guide on time recording from the Spanish Ministry of Labour (PDF, in Spanish).
