Signal Desktop on Windows 11 now ships with Screen security enabled by default. The reason is simple. Prevent Windows from silently capturing screenshots of your private Signal conversations.
This change exists because of Microsoft Recall.
Recall is a Windows feature that periodically screenshots whatever is on your screen and stores it in a searchable database. Microsoft marketed it as a memory aid. In practice it turns the operating system into a permanent recording device.
When Recall was announced in May 2024 the backlash was immediate. Security researchers flagged obvious risks. Privacy advocates warned it broke basic trust. Microsoft pulled the feature after public outcry.
One year later Recall returned.
Despite revised language and surface level changes the core behavior remains intact. Anything rendered on screen can be captured. That includes messages inside apps explicitly designed to protect user privacy.
Signal will not accept that risk.
Why this is a Windows problem
Screen security exists because Recall exists. No other mainstream desktop operating system is taking automated screenshots of user activity as an AI feature.
Microsoft did not give developers a clean opt out. There is no reliable per app exclusion system. There is no privacy first control that tells the OS not to record a window.
That omission forces privacy focused apps into defensive measures just to protect their users.
What Screen security does
When Screen security is enabled screenshots of Signal Desktop show nothing. No messages. No previews. Just a blank image.
This is not subtle. It uses the same protected window mechanism employed to block screenshots of movies and television. Microsoft documents this behavior explicitly. Mark a window as protected and it will not appear in Recall or standard screenshot tools.
Signal now does exactly that.
Apps like Signal have no insight into Recall and no control over what it records. Blocking capture entirely is the only dependable defense Microsoft left available.
Trade offs Microsoft created
This approach is blunt and it has consequences. Some accessibility tools depend on screen capture to function correctly.
That trade off exists because Recall shipped without considering privacy preserving apps or disabled users. Signal did not create this problem. Microsoft did.
Screen security can be disabled in Signal settings but only with explicit confirmation. Turning it off allows Windows to capture Signal conversations for features that are not private.
This setting only applies to your device. It does not stop other participants from taking screenshots on their own systems. It does not affect accessibility tools on macOS or Linux.
The real danger
Recall is not an isolated mistake. It signals a broader shift.
Operating systems are absorbing AI agents with broad permissions weak isolation and an insatiable appetite for data. When the boundary between apps and the OS collapses private communication stops being possible.
Signal is used by journalists activists governments militaries and millions of people whose safety depends on confidentiality. Privacy cannot be optional. It cannot depend on whether an OS vendor wants to ship an AI feature this quarter.
If platforms become hostile to privacy preserving software those platforms stop being viable.
A line that matters
Messaging apps are a record of your life. Love grief anger fear joy. They deserve at least the same protection already granted to private browsing modes which Microsoft exempted from Recall by default.
Signal should not have to weaponize DRM to protect users from their own operating system. Until Microsoft provides real developer controls this is the only option.
Blackout VPN exists because privacy is a right. Your first name is too much information for us.
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FAQ
What is Microsoft Recall
Recall is a Windows feature that takes periodic screenshots and stores them in a searchable database
Why did Signal block screenshots on Windows
Because Recall can capture private messages without app level consent
Does Screen security affect other platforms
No it only applies to Signal Desktop on Windows 11
Can users disable Screen security
Yes but it requires confirmation because it allows Windows to capture Signal content
Is Recall disabled for all apps by default
No Microsoft only excluded private browsing modes not private messaging apps