# Screen share and recording privacy guides for Mac and Windows

Source: https://kopya.ai/en/guides · Updated: 2026-09-22

Kopya’s screen share privacy guides explain how to keep a window, a notes app or an AI panel out of a screen share or screen recording on Windows and Mac. They cover single-window sharing, second displays and OS-level capture exclusion, the mechanism that keeps the Kopya panel out of supported shares and recordings. Each guide cites Microsoft, Apple, Electron or vendor documentation and says where its method fails, because results vary by OS version and capture tool.

## Which guide should I read first?

Start with the [five ways to hide a window from a screen share](https://kopya.ai/en/guides/hide-window-from-screen-share) if you need one window kept out of a call. It puts the methods already built into your operating system and meeting app first. Read the Windows or Mac guide for what your system can exclude from capture, and the explainer if you build software.

*Pick by situation. Each guide lists where its method fails, not only where it works.*

| If you want to… | Start here | What it covers |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Keep one window out of a call today | [5 ways to hide a window from a screen share](https://kopya.ai/en/guides/hide-window-from-screen-share) | Five methods compared, native ones first: what each protects and how each fails. |
| Share in Zoom, Google Meet or Microsoft Teams | [Keeping an AI panel out of Zoom, Meet and Teams shares](https://kopya.ai/en/guides/zoom-meet-teams-screen-share) | How tab, window and entire-screen sharing differ, what each vendor documents, and what Kopya has not tested. |
| Know what Windows 10 or 11 can exclude | [Hide a window from screen capture on Windows](https://kopya.ai/en/guides/hide-window-from-screen-capture-windows) | The minimum build, the black rectangle on older builds, and what the setting does not cover. |
| Know what still works on a Mac | [Hide an app from screen recording on Mac](https://kopya.ai/en/guides/hide-app-from-screen-recording-mac) | Apple’s position, what ScreenCaptureKit changed, and alternatives that need no flag. |
| Understand the APIs behind it | [How screen capture exclusion works](https://kopya.ai/en/guides/how-screen-capture-exclusion-works) | `setContentProtection`, `SetWindowDisplayAffinity` and `NSWindow.sharingType`, with code and primary sources. |
| Understand the term “invisible AI overlay” | [What is an invisible AI overlay?](https://kopya.ai/en/guides/what-is-an-invisible-ai-overlay) | A plain definition, what such a panel does not hide, and which uses are legitimate. |
| Check a tool before you rely on it | [Screen share compatibility](https://kopya.ai/en/screen-share-compatibility) | Documented OS and vendor behaviour for each tool, plus the 60-second self-test. |
| Present or record with an AI panel open | [Presenting](https://kopya.ai/en/use-cases/presenting) and [recording tutorials](https://kopya.ai/en/use-cases/recording-tutorials) | What the audience sees, what a projector shows, and a checklist before you start. |

> **How these guides handle claims** We state only what Microsoft, Apple, Electron or a tool’s own vendor documents, and we label third-party reports as reports. Kopya has not published test results for any named meeting or recording tool yet, so no guide says the panel works in a particular app. Run the [60-second self-test](https://kopya.ai/en/screen-share-compatibility#self-test) on your own setup, and read [how we approach compatibility claims](https://kopya.ai/en/about).

## How does hiding a window from screen capture work?

Capture exclusion is an operating-system setting that asks the system to leave one window out of screenshots, screen shares and recordings while it stays visible on your own display. On Windows the request is `WDA_EXCLUDEFROMCAPTURE`. On macOS it is `NSWindow.sharingType = .none`, which Apple now calls a legacy constant. The two behave very differently.

Apps built on Electron, Kopya included, set both through one call, `setContentProtection`. The explainer below walks through each API with code samples and sources. The definition page covers what people mean by an “invisible AI overlay”, what such a panel does not hide, and which uses are legitimate.

- [How apps hide a window from screen capture: setContentProtection and WDA_EXCLUDEFROMCAPTURE](https://kopya.ai/en/guides/how-screen-capture-exclusion-works): setContentProtection, WDA_EXCLUDEFROMCAPTURE and NSWindow.sharingType explained: what each API does, what it cannot do, and why results vary by OS and tool.
- [What is an invisible AI overlay? A panel excluded from supported screen capture](https://kopya.ai/en/guides/what-is-an-invisible-ai-overlay): An invisible AI overlay is an assistant window the OS excludes from supported screen capture. Definition, limits, and why Kopya never says “undetectable”.

## Can you hide a window from screen capture on Windows and on a Mac?

On Windows 10 version 2004 (build 19041) or newer and on Windows 11, yes: [Microsoft documents](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/api/winuser/nf-winuser-setwindowdisplayaffinity) that an excluded window is left out of captures, and older builds show a black rectangle instead. On a Mac, not reliably. [Apple calls the flag legacy](https://developer.apple.com/documentation/appkit/nswindow/sharingtype-swift.enum/none) and says not to rely on it to hide content from capture.

An Apple Developer Technical Support engineer put it plainly on the [Apple Developer Forums](https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/792152) in July 2025: “At this time there are no public APIs for preventing screen capture.” [Electron’s documentation](https://www.electronjs.org/docs/latest/api/browser-window) adds that apps capturing through ScreenCaptureKit will capture a protected window anyway, and built-in screen recording on recent macOS has been reported to do so. Microsoft, for its part, says the Windows setting is not a security or DRM feature. Both guides start from those facts.

- [How to hide a window from screen capture on Windows 10 and 11](https://kopya.ai/en/guides/hide-window-from-screen-capture-windows): On Windows 10 version 2004+ and Windows 11, an app can exclude its own window from screen capture. Older builds show a black box. Limits and a quick test.
- [Hide an app from screen recording on Mac: what still works, and what doesn’t](https://kopya.ai/en/guides/hide-app-from-screen-recording-mac): On a Mac, no public API reliably hides an app from screen recording. What Apple says, what ScreenCaptureKit changed, and the alternatives that do work.

## How do I keep a window out of a Zoom, Google Meet or Teams share?

Share a single window or a browser tab instead of your entire screen. Viewers then get that window, not your desktop, so notes, chats and a personal AI panel in other windows stay out of the share. It is the most dependable method. Google Meet, for example, [lets you present a tab, a window or your entire screen](https://support.google.com/meet/answer/9308856).

A second display that you are not sharing is the next option, and a capture-excluded window is the last line of defence, not the first. The comparison guide ranks all five methods and shows how each one fails. The Zoom, Meet and Teams guide covers share modes, cloud recordings and disclosure. For the status of a specific tool, use the [compatibility page](https://kopya.ai/en/screen-share-compatibility).

- [5 ways to hide a window from a screen share, and how each one fails](https://kopya.ai/en/guides/hide-window-from-screen-share): Five ways to hide a window from a screen share: single-window sharing, a second display, Do Not Disturb, a tidy-up and capture-excluded windows. With limits.
- [Keep an AI assistant out of Zoom, Google Meet and Microsoft Teams screen shares](https://kopya.ai/en/guides/zoom-meet-teams-screen-share): Keep a personal AI panel out of Zoom, Meet and Teams screen shares: share a window or tab, use a second display, or a capture-excluded panel. Results vary.

## What is a capture-excluded AI panel useful for?

Presenting, running demos and webinars, teaching, and recording tutorials, in settings where AI assistance is allowed. Viewers see your slides or your app, while your personal assistant panel stays on your side in supported tools. A projector or mirrored display still shows the panel, and so does a phone camera pointed at your screen.

That is the job the Kopya panel is built for. The [feature page](https://kopya.ai/en/invisible-to-screen-recording) explains how the AI assistant stays invisible to supported screen recording and sharing, and where it still appears. Screen-share privacy is on by default on every plan, including the [free plan](https://kopya.ai/en/pricing), and you can switch it off with ⌘⇧P on macOS or Ctrl+Shift+P on Windows when you want the panel in the video.

> **Where not to use it** Do not use Kopya in exams, interviews, assessments or other settings that prohibit outside assistance. Privacy controls do not replace disclosure or consent requirements. See the [acceptable-use terms](https://kopya.ai/en/legal/terms#acceptable-use) and the [responsible use](https://kopya.ai/en/responsible-use) page.

- [Private AI notes while presenting: kept out of supported screen shares](https://kopya.ai/en/use-cases/presenting): Ask Kopya about what is on your screen mid-presentation: its panel stays out of supported screen shares and recordings. A projector still shows it.
- [Record tutorials and demos without the AI panel in supported recordings](https://kopya.ai/en/use-cases/recording-tutorials): Keep Kopya’s AI panel out of supported screen recordings while you record a tutorial. Recorders differ and Macs need a test take — record ten seconds first.

## Where can I check a tool, a term or a rule?

Use the compatibility page to see what each operating system and vendor documents for a tool, and to run the 60-second self-test. Use the answers page for short replies to common questions, the glossary for terms such as capture exclusion and ScreenCaptureKit, and the responsible-use page for when keeping a window out of a share is appropriate.

- [Screen share compatibility: Zoom, Meet, Teams, OBS and what each OS documents](https://kopya.ai/en/screen-share-compatibility): Does Kopya’s AI panel show in Zoom, Meet, Teams or OBS? What Windows and macOS document, what changed on macOS 15, and a 60-second test. Results vary.
- [Screen sharing, recording and privacy: questions answered](https://kopya.ai/en/answers): Short answers about Kopya and screen-share privacy: what the panel keeps out of supported captures, what it never hides, and where it must not be used.
- [Screen capture glossary: screen-share privacy terms in plain language](https://kopya.ai/en/glossary): Capture exclusion, WDA_EXCLUDEFROMCAPTURE, NSWindow.sharingType, ScreenCaptureKit, window share: screen-share privacy terms defined in plain language.
- [Is hiding a window from a screen share allowed? When it is fine, and when it is not](https://kopya.ai/en/responsible-use): Hiding a window from a screen share is fine when presenting or teaching where AI help is permitted, and prohibited in exams, interviews and assessments.

## Common questions

### Do I need Kopya to follow these guides?

No. Most of the methods are built into your operating system or meeting app and work with any window. Kopya is a desktop AI assistant for macOS and Windows that answers questions about what is on your screen when you press a hotkey; its panel is excluded from supported screen shares and recordings. The guides use it as the worked example for capture exclusion.

### Is there one method that works everywhere?

No. Sharing a single window depends on picking the right window every time. A second display fails the moment you share or mirror that display. Capture exclusion is documented on Windows 10 version 2004 and newer, but on macOS results vary by OS version and capture tool. Combine methods, and test the exact setup before you rely on it.

### Has Kopya published test results for Zoom, Meet, Teams or OBS?

Not yet. Kopya has not published test results for any named meeting or recording tool. The [compatibility page](https://kopya.ai/en/screen-share-compatibility) lists what each vendor and operating system documents, and its 60-second self-test shows what your own setup does: start the share or recording, check it from a second device or play it back, and re-test after updates.

### Does keeping a window out of a share also hide it from a camera or from monitoring software?

No. Capture exclusion asks the operating system to leave one window out of captures. It does not hide the app’s menu-bar or tray icon, its process in Task Manager or Activity Monitor, or anything seen by a phone camera, a projector, a mirrored display or a person looking at your screen. It does not hide the app from monitoring or endpoint software either, and Microsoft says the setting is not a security feature.

### How current are these guides?

Each guide shows the date it was last updated. Capture behaviour shifts with OS and app updates, especially on macOS: an [Apple Developer Forums thread](https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/808016) from November 2025 reports different results from different capture tools on the same Mac. Re-run the self-test after every update.

## Sources

1. [Microsoft Learn — SetWindowDisplayAffinity (WDA_EXCLUDEFROMCAPTURE)](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/api/winuser/nf-winuser-setwindowdisplayaffinity)
2. [Apple Developer — NSWindow.SharingType.none](https://developer.apple.com/documentation/appkit/nswindow/sharingtype-swift.enum/none)
3. [Apple Developer Forums — DTS reply on preventing screen capture (July 2025)](https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/792152)
4. [Apple Developer Forums — inconsistent ScreenCaptureKit behaviour (November 2025)](https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/808016)
5. [Electron docs — BrowserWindow (setContentProtection)](https://www.electronjs.org/docs/latest/api/browser-window)
6. [Google Meet Help — Present during a meeting](https://support.google.com/meet/answer/9308856)