# Private AI notes while presenting: kept out of supported screen shares

Source: https://kopya.ai/en/use-cases/presenting · Updated: 2026-09-22

Kopya gives you private AI notes while you present. Press a hotkey during a demo, webinar or lesson, ask about what is on your screen, and read the answer in a small panel that stays out of supported screen shares and recordings: the audience sees your work, you see the panel. Results vary by operating system version and capture tool, and a projector shows the panel to the room.

## What does my audience see when I use Kopya while presenting?

In a supported screen share, the audience sees what you are presenting and not the Kopya panel. The panel is a separate always-on-top window that Kopya asks the operating system to leave out of capture; when the capture tool honours that request, it stays on your display without entering the image viewers receive. A projector still shows it.

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. On Windows 10 version 2004 or newer that exclusion is documented Windows behaviour. On macOS it is not dependable: Apple calls the flag Kopya uses legacy, and apps that capture through ScreenCaptureKit, including built-in screen recording on recent macOS, may show the panel, so test your setup first. The [screen-share privacy feature page](https://kopya.ai/en/invisible-to-screen-recording) explains the mechanism, and the [compatibility page](https://kopya.ai/en/screen-share-compatibility) tracks what each vendor documents.

## How is this different from presenter view?

Presenter view is a slide-app feature: it puts your notes and the next slide on a second display while the audience sees the slideshow. Kopya is not tied to slides, answers about any app on your screen, and works with one display, because what stays out of a supported share is the panel itself.

*They fit together: rehearsed notes in presenter view, Kopya for the unplanned question or the error message mid-demo.*

| What to compare | Presenter view | Kopya panel |
| --- | --- | --- |
| What it covers | Slide apps only | Any app on your screen |
| Displays needed | Two | One is enough |
| Content | Notes you wrote in advance | Answers about the screen at the moment you press the hotkey |
| Stays private because | It sits on a display you do not share | OS-level capture exclusion in supported tools |
| On a projector | Not projected in extended display mode | Visible whenever the panel is on the projected display |

## How does the hotkey flow work in the middle of a demo?

Press ⌘⇧Space on macOS or Ctrl+Shift+Space on Windows. Kopya takes one screenshot of your primary display, sends it with your optional question to its server and on to the AI provider, and shows the answer in the panel. The panel does not take keyboard focus, so your demo stays where it was.

1. **Park the panel before you start** — It sits top-centre of your primary display, collapses to a small pill and stays above full-screen apps. Drag it clear of the work you are showing.
2. **Press the capture hotkey when you need it** — ⌘⇧Space or Ctrl+Shift+Space captures the primary display. Type a question of up to 2,000 characters, or leave it empty and Kopya answers the task the screen implies.
3. **Read the answer and carry on** — In a supported share the audience keeps seeing the app you are demoing. Each follow-up takes a fresh screenshot and counts as one answer.
4. **Show the panel on purpose when you want to** — ⌘⇧P or Ctrl+Shift+P toggles screen-share privacy, and the label switches between “Hidden in screen shares” and “Visible in screen shares”. Turn it off when the audience should see the answer.

> **What Kopya’s own screenshot includes** Your primary display only, and with privacy on the panel is left out of it by the same OS mechanism. Screenshots go to Kopya’s server and the AI provider to produce the answer; Kopya does not intentionally retain them after processing, and provider retention rules may apply. Capture only what you may share with an AI service ([privacy policy](https://kopya.ai/en/legal/privacy)).

## Does a projector or mirrored display show the Kopya panel?

Yes, whenever the panel sits on the display you are projecting or mirroring. Capture exclusion acts only on software capture, a screen share or a recording, and only where the system honours it. It does nothing to a physical display: a projector, a meeting-room TV or a mirrored screen is a monitor, so the room sees the panel.

[Microsoft’s documentation](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/api/winuser/nf-winuser-setwindowdisplayaffinity) for the Windows flag Kopya uses puts the rule on the monitor, not on the eyes in the room: the window shows on a monitor, and “Everywhere else, the window does not appear at all.” The same goes for someone looking at your screen or pointing a phone camera at it; Microsoft adds that this is not a security or DRM mechanism. In a room, use extended display mode rather than mirroring: slideshow on the projector, the display holding the panel to yourself. In a hybrid meeting, only the remote share can leave the panel out.

## What should I check before I present?

Run the 60-second self-test with the exact tool and share mode you will use, confirm the panel reads “Hidden in screen shares”, and decide what each display in the room will show. Kopya has published no per-tool test results, so your own test is the evidence.

1. **Self-test the share.** Start your tool and share mode, join from a second device or record ten seconds, and look at what actually appears. Steps on the [compatibility page](https://kopya.ai/en/screen-share-compatibility#self-test).
2. **Check the panel label.** It should read “Hidden in screen shares”; ⌘⇧P or Ctrl+Shift+P switches it.
3. **Prefer a single-window share** when one app is all you need to show: it does not depend on capture exclusion at all. Alternatives are compared in [five ways to hide a window from a screen share](https://kopya.ai/en/guides/hide-window-from-screen-share); share modes of the meeting apps in [Zoom, Meet and Teams](https://kopya.ai/en/guides/zoom-meet-teams-screen-share).
4. **Set a projector to extended mode**, not mirroring, and keep the panel’s display to yourself.
5. **Close the sign-in window and silence notifications.** Only the panel is excluded from capture; the sign-in window and the menu-bar or tray icon are ordinary UI.
6. **Re-test after OS or app updates**, especially on macOS, where [what works today](https://kopya.ai/en/guides/hide-app-from-screen-recording-mac) changed with ScreenCaptureKit.

> **Where Kopya must not be used** Do not use Kopya in exams, interviews, assessments or other settings that prohibit outside assistance. Screen-share privacy is for presenting, demos, teaching and [recording tutorials](https://kopya.ai/en/use-cases/recording-tutorials) where AI assistance is allowed, so viewers see your work instead of your personal panel. It does not exempt you from disclosure or consent requirements: see the [acceptable-use terms](https://kopya.ai/en/legal/terms#acceptable-use) and [responsible use](https://kopya.ai/en/responsible-use).

## Common questions

### Does Kopya join my meeting or record audio?

No. Kopya has no meeting bot and records no audio. It takes one screenshot of your primary display when you press the capture hotkey, answers in its panel, and does nothing until you press the hotkey again.

### Is the panel invisible to my audience on a Mac?

Not reliably. Apple documents the window flag Kopya uses as legacy, and apps capturing through ScreenCaptureKit, including built-in screen recording on recent macOS, may show the panel. Share a single window, or test your exact setup: [what works on Mac](https://kopya.ai/en/guides/hide-app-from-screen-recording-mac).

### Can the audience see the Kopya menu-bar or tray icon?

In an entire-screen share, yes. Only the panel is excluded from capture; the menu-bar or tray icon, its menu and the sign-in window are ordinary UI. A single-window share does not include them.

### Can I present from a second display and still use Kopya?

Yes. The panel sits on your primary display and Kopya captures that display only. Put the slideshow on the projector or shared display and keep the primary one to yourself. For Kopya to answer about the slides, they must be on the primary display.

### Is screen-share privacy available on the free plan?

Yes. It is on by default on every plan, including the free plan, which needs no card. See [pricing](https://kopya.ai/en/pricing) and [download](https://kopya.ai/en/download).

## Sources

1. [Microsoft Learn — SetWindowDisplayAffinity](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. [Electron docs — BrowserWindow (setContentProtection)](https://www.electronjs.org/docs/latest/api/browser-window)
4. [Apple Developer Forums — “no public APIs for preventing screen capture” (July 2025)](https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/792152)