Signal Blocks Microsoft Recall on Windows 11 to Protect User Privacy

Signal has updated its desktop app to prevent Microsoft's new Recall feature from capturing chat content, escalating the privacy backlash facing Windows 11.

The encrypted messaging service you may have heard of is now punching back against a Microsoft feature called Recall that takes screenshots of whatever's on your screen every few seconds as a way to aid in backup and AI context understanding.

Signal, as a privacy company, feels like this goes against its entire model of secure communication, so now that Recall is back in Windows, Signal has responded by enabling an extra layer of protection by default.

Now, if you try to take a screenshot of Signal Desktop when the screen security is enabled, nothing will show up, said Signal. It uses a feature that other companies use when people take screenshots of movies or TV shows, thus enforcing copyright. Developers simply set a special Digital Rights Management flag on the application window and it won't show up in Recall or any other screenshot app.

Kind of like using its power for good, eh?

"Microsoft has launched Recall without granular settings for app developers that would enable Signal to easily protect privacy, which is a glaring omission that limits our choices," wrote Signal's Josua Lund, head of Legal at Signal, in the blog post.

Signal recognizes that there may be times where users need to legitimately use screenshots, or even screen readers and magnifiers, so the company made the setting fairly easy to toggle. Just go to Signal Settings → Privacy → Screen security, hit the Disable confirmation button, and you're good to go.

Lund continues to explain why this is an important issue, and how companies like Microsoft need to think more deeply before implementing systems that have security repercussions, like Recall. Signal is relied on by human rights workers, journalists, and even governments to keep their communications private and secure.

"Apps like Signal must maintain their ability to prioritize security by default in a way that can be publicly validated," he wrote. "It's imperative that privacy-preserving apps retain the ability to uphold these promises on every platform, including Microsoft Windows."