Signal is taking proactive steps to prevent Microsoft’s Recall feature from taking screenshots of your protected chats by releasing a new version of the Signal client for Windows 11 that will enable screen protection by default. This is the same DRM that prevents users from easily taking screenshots of Netflix shows on their computer or phone, and its use here could cause problems for people who use disability aids such as screen readers.
Although Signal claims that this feature can be easily disabled under Signal Settings > Privacy > Screen Security, it shouldn’t have come to this. Developer Joshua Lund writes that operating system manufacturers like Microsoft “should ensure that developers of apps like Signal always have the necessary tools and options at their disposal to deny operating system-level AI systems access to any sensitive information in their apps.”
Although Recall was delayed twice before finally launching last month, the “photo memory” feature still lacks an API that app developers can use to retrieve their users’ sensitive content from AI-powered archives. It can be useful for searching emails or chats (including Signal) for any item you can recall, such as a description of a photo you received or a broad topic of conversation, but it can also be a serious security and privacy concern.
Lund notes that Microsoft already filters private or incognito activity in the browser window by default, and users who have a Copilot Plus PC with Recall can filter out certain apps in the settings, but only if they know how to do so. For now, Lund says that “Signal is using the tools available to us, although we recognize that there are many legitimate use cases where someone might need to take a screenshot.”
