- Signal has a new option for its Windows 11 app to block Recall
- The developer had to fudge a way of preventing screenshots of the messaging app being taken
- Unfortunately this has side-effects such as interfering with screen reading tools, but Signal says Microsoft has left it no choice
Signal, a messaging app that majors in security and privacy (and has been in the limelight recently), has introduced a measure to defend content sent via the platform from the prying eyes of Microsoft’s Recall feature.
In case you forgot – unlikely, I know – Recall is the controversial feature for Copilot+ PCs that provides an AI-powered deep search in Windows 11. It does this by taking regular screen grabs of the activity on your PC, and you can see where the conflict comes in if the feature screenshots messages sent via a privacy-focused app like Signal.
As a counter to this, Signal announced in a blog post (picked up by The Verge) that it’s introducing a new ‘screen security’ setting for its Windows 11 app, and this will be turned on by default for users of the desktop OS. This functionality is rolling out now.
What the developer has done here is activate a DRM flag on the Signal app window as a fudge to stop Recall from capturing screenshots. It’s using that workaround because Microsoft failed to offer “granular settings for app developers that would enable Signal to easily protect privacy” with Recall, the blog post observes.
Signal notes: “We are enabling an extra layer of protection by default on Windows 11 in order to help maintain the security of Signal Desktop on that platform even though it introduces some usability trade-offs. Microsoft has simply given us no other option.”
What’s the usability trade-off? Blocking screenshots from every angle using this DRM fudge means legitimate use of screen grabbing is ruled out, and also some screen reading tools (like Narrator in Windows 11) or other accessibility features may not work properly. So, that’s far from ideal, but Signal argues that Microsoft has left it no choice.
Analysis: Clear Signal
This does seem to be an important part of the equation that’s missing with Recall. Famously, Microsoft pulled the feature after it was first revealed a year ago, and took it back to the drawing board, tightening up security and privacy in numerous ways. But that was a case of fixing and smoothing over weaknesses, rather than strengthening measures – Recall was launched way too early, and without enough thought, worryingly.
And still after all that time, there are software developers out there like the maker of Signal pointing out a basic flaw in Recall that Microsoft should have addressed at this point.
Remember that this doesn’t apply to you if you don’t have a Copilot+ PC, though, as only those devices get Recall (it requires a beefy NPU for locally accelerating AI workloads to ensure the feature works smoothly enough).
While the new setting is enabled by default for Signal in Windows 11, you can turn it off by going to Signal Settings > Privacy > Screen security (you’ll be warned that you’re about to disable the ability).
It’ll certainly be worth watching this space going forward, and I’m hoping Microsoft will implement a proper way to let developers control how Recall interacts with their apps, as this only makes sense – particularly for privacy-related software.
