Privacy Overlay

Description of the new feature / enhancement

📄 Description of the new feature / improvement

It is proposed to add a new utility to Microsoft PowerToys called Privacy Overlay, which allows users to exclude selected windows from screen sharing, screen recording, and screenshots.

The feature could follow a similar interaction model to the existing “Always on Top” utility in PowerToys:

The user selects a window

Presses a hotkey (similar to pinning a window on top)

The window receives a special status — “excluded from capture”

The key idea is to reuse a familiar and intuitive interaction pattern (hotkey + active window targeting), but apply a different behavior:

The window remains fully visible locally to the user

However, it is not captured:

during screen sharing (e.g., in Microsoft Teams, Zoom)

during screen recording

in screenshots

Additional proposed capabilities:

Visual indicator (similar to Always on Top, e.g., border or highlight)

Hotkey support for quick enable/disable

Advanced modes:

Click-through (interact with underlying windows while holding a key)

Transparency / dimming adjustments

This approach would make the feature intuitive for existing PowerToys users and allow it to integrate naturally into the current utility ecosystem.

Scenario when this would be used?

Project presentations
Allows users to keep personal notes, internal tools, or sensitive information visible on their screen without exposing them to the audience during screen sharing (e.g., in Microsoft Teams or Zoom).

Daily work and multitasking
Users can work with multiple windows simultaneously without needing to constantly minimize or rearrange them to avoid exposing unnecessary content.

Screen recording and content creation
Helps creators produce cleaner and more professional recordings by controlling exactly what appears in the final output.

Remote work and meetings
Reduces the risk of accidentally sharing confidential or irrelevant information during live screen sharing sessions.

Training, demos, and tutorials
Enables a more focused and controlled visual experience for viewers by showing only relevant content.

This feature is especially valuable for professionals who frequently share their screen and need better control over visibility and privacy.

Supporting information

No response

Start by reviewing the existing Always on Top utility and its interaction model, since the issue proposes a similar hotkey and active-window workflow. Clarify which screen-sharing, recording, and screenshot scenarios must be supported and how the visual indicator and advanced modes should behave. No implementation files or tests are identified; the work is done when the scope is agreed and the proposed capture-exclusion behavior is implemented and verified.