What is an invisible AI overlay?
An invisible AI overlay is an AI assistant that runs in a small window floating above your other apps and asks the operating system to leave that window out of screen capture. You still see it on your own display. Screen shares, recordings and screenshots made through capture methods that honour the request do not include it.
- Overlay
- An overlay is a compact window that stays above other apps, including full-screen ones. Kopya’s panel does not take keyboard focus from the app you are working in.
- AI assistant
- The window shows an AI model’s answer. With Kopya you press a hotkey, the app takes one screenshot of your primary display, and the answer appears in the panel.
- “Invisible”
- Shorthand for capture exclusion: the window is flagged so the operating system keeps it out of captures. It is a claim about capture software that honours the flag, not about people, cameras or other software.
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 screen-share privacy feature page shows how Kopya applies the mechanism; the screen capture glossary defines each term.
How does an AI overlay stay out of a screen share or recording?
The app sets a flag on its window and the operating system does the rest. On Windows 10 version 2004 or newer and Windows 11 the flag is WDA_EXCLUDEFROMCAPTURE, and Microsoft documents that such a window does not appear in captures at all. On macOS the equivalent is NSWindow.sharingType = .none, which is far less dependable.
Apple’s documentation calls that macOS constant a legacy value and says not to use it to hide content from capture; Electron’s documentation adds that apps capturing through ScreenCaptureKit capture the window anyway. The APIs are covered in how screen capture exclusion works, the platforms in hiding a window from capture on Windows 10 and 11 and what works on a Mac now.
What is the difference between “excluded from capture” and “undetectable”?
“Excluded from capture” is a narrow, documented claim: one window is left out of captures made through operating-system capture paths that honour a flag. “Undetectable” claims that no person, tool or method can ever notice the assistant. No operating-system feature supports that claim, which is why Kopya never uses the word.
| Question | Excluded from capture | “Undetectable” |
|---|---|---|
| What does it cover? | One window, flagged so the operating system leaves it out of captures | The whole app, against every observer and method |
| Who documents it? | Microsoft, for Windows 10 version 2004 and newer; Apple treats the macOS flag as legacy | No operating-system vendor |
| Can you check it? | Yes. Record ten seconds, or join from a second device, and look | No. Nobody can test against every method |
| What still shows? | Menu-bar or tray icon, sign-in window, running process, the physical screen | Supposedly nothing |
Three documented facts make the stronger word false:
- The flag is readable. Microsoft’s `GetWindowDisplayAffinity` documentation says the function “Retrieves the current display affinity setting, from any process”, so other software can ask whether a window is excluded.
- It is not a security feature. Microsoft states that display affinity is not a security or DRM feature and offers no guarantee against, for example, someone photographing the screen.
- macOS offers less. An Apple Developer Technical Support engineer wrote in July 2025 that there are currently no public APIs for preventing screen capture.
What does an invisible AI overlay not hide?
Capture exclusion covers one window and nothing else. With Kopya, only the answer panel is excluded. The menu-bar or tray icon, the sign-in window, the running process and the physical screen all stay visible.
- Menu-bar or system-tray icon and its menu: ordinary operating-system interface, visible when you share your entire screen.
- Sign-in window: a normal window with no capture exclusion.
- The process: listed in Task Manager or Activity Monitor like any other app; monitoring or endpoint software that inspects the computer is unaffected.
- Cameras and eyes: a phone pointed at the screen, a projector, a mirrored display or someone next to you sees the panel as you do.
- Older Windows builds: before Windows 10 version 2004 (build 19041) the panel can appear in captures as a black rectangle.
- Capture tools that ignore the flag: on recent macOS (15.4 and later), built-in screen recording has been reported and reproduced recording such windows.
Is capture exclusion a hack or an exploit?
No. Capture exclusion is a public operating-system window setting that mainstream software uses for privacy. Microsoft’s own example is a window showing recording controls, flagged so the controls stay out of the capture. The setting does not touch the capturing app; it only marks a window that belongs to the app setting it.
Mainstream software uses the same flag: OBS Studio hides its own windows from capture, KeePassXC and Signal Desktop protect passwords and messages with it, and Microsoft’s Recall guidance tells developers to use it to keep window content out of Recall snapshots. The capture exclusion explainer covers each precedent.
What is an invisible AI overlay for, and where is it prohibited?
It is a privacy control for screen sharing where AI assistance is allowed: presenting, demos, webinars, teaching and recording tutorials, so viewers see your work and not your personal assistant panel. It is prohibited wherever outside help is banned.
- Presenting and product demos: the audience sees your slides or product, not your notes. See private AI notes while presenting.
- Teaching and webinars: a private helper for your own questions during a long screen share.
- Recording tutorials: the finished video shows only the work. See recording tutorials without the AI panel.
- Meetings where AI assistance is allowed: follow disclosure and consent rules. See the Zoom, Google Meet and Teams guide.
How does Kopya use capture exclusion?
Kopya applies capture exclusion to its answer panel and to nothing else. Screen-share privacy is on by default on every plan, including the free plan, and the panel always shows whether it is hidden or visible in screen shares. ⌘⇧P on macOS or Ctrl+Shift+P on Windows, the panel button or the menu-bar or tray menu toggles it.
Kopya takes a screenshot only when you press the capture hotkey; it does not join calls, has no meeting bot and does not record audio. What the exclusion achieves still depends on your operating system version and capture tool, so run the 60-second self-test on the setup you will use. Details are on the feature page and pricing; the free plan needs no card: download Kopya.
Common questions
More short answers are on the answers page.
Can people on a call see an invisible AI overlay?
In a supported setup, no: the capture leaves the window out while you still see it. Microsoft documents that for Windows 10 version 2004 and newer. On macOS results vary, and some capture methods record the window. A projector, a mirrored display or anyone looking at your screen sees the panel.
Does an invisible AI overlay also stay out of screenshots?
It depends on the operating system and the screenshot tool, so check yours. On Windows, Microsoft says an excluded window stays out of captures made through a specific set of public operating-system features and APIs, which it does not list. On macOS, a developer reported in December 2024 that screenshots left such a window out while recordings included it. Kopya has not published screenshot-tool tests yet.
Is an invisible AI overlay the same as an AI meeting notetaker?
No. A notetaker joins or listens to a call. An overlay like Kopya is a window on your own computer: it does not join calls, has no bot and does not record audio. It takes one screenshot of your primary display when you press the capture hotkey.
Sources
- Microsoft Learn — SetWindowDisplayAffinity
- Microsoft Learn — GetWindowDisplayAffinity
- Apple Developer — NSWindow.SharingType.none
- Apple Developer Forums — DTS reply on preventing screen capture (July 2025)
- Apple Developer Forums — screenshots versus screen recording (December 2024)
- Electron docs — BrowserWindow, setContentProtection
- Electron issue #48258 — ScreenCaptureKit captures protected windows on macOS
- OBS Studio PR #5698 — hide OBS windows from capture
- KeePassXC PR #6030 — screen capture protection
- Signal blog — screen security on Windows
- Microsoft Learn — Recall guidance for app developers