Signal, the popular privacy-focused messaging platform, rolled out a security feature on Wednesday to counteract Microsoft's Recall feature. The new feature, dubbed Screen Security, will prevent devices from capturing screenshots of the application's window. The San Francisco-based company said it was forced to take such drastic measures as Microsoft left it with limited options to protect the privacy of its users. The Screen Security feature will be turned on by default on all Windows 11 devices once the update is installed.Signal Takes Action Against Microsoft's AI-Powered Recall FeatureIn a blog post, the company detailed the new feature and highlighted why it had to resort to it. Towards the end of the last month, Microsoft finally began rolling out the AI-powered Recall feature to all Copilot+ PCs branded computers.Recall was first announced in May 2024 as an on-device search history tracker that takes continuous screenshots of whatever the user is doing on the device. This way, when users ask the AI about what they were doing on a particular date and time, it can accurately tell them. However, the feature faced backlash from security experts and netizens due to lack of privacy controls in the feature.Over the last year, the company says it has reworked the tool and added various security features and made it opt-in instead of being on by default. However, Signal now claims that Microsoft did not provide the app developers with any tools to reject granting OS-level AI systems access to chats, which can contain sensitive information about apps.As a workaround, the messaging platform has now added a Digital Rights Management (DRM) flag on the app window to prevent the device from capturing any screenshots. It is the same system streaming platforms such as Netflix use to prevent users from taking screenshots of the content. Signal is also turning this security setting on by default on Windows 11 operating system.Signal also acknowledged that this feature could give rise to some accessibility issues, as screen readers or magnification tools might not function correctly when the setting is active. However, it is possible to turn off the feature. Users can go to Signal Settings and find the Privacy option. There, they will see the Screen Security setting that can be disabled.Do note that when turning off the feature on Signal Desktop on Windows 11, the app will display a warning that says, “If disabled, this may allow Microsoft Windows to capture screenshots of Signal and use them for features that may not be private.” Users can confirm this warning pop-up and disable the feature.“We hope that the AI teams building systems like Recall will think through these implications more carefully in the future. Apps like Signal shouldn't have to implement “one weird trick” in order to maintain the privacy and integrity of their services without proper developer tools. People who care about privacy shouldn't be forced to sacrifice accessibility upon the altar of AI aspirations either,” the company said. For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube. Further reading: Signal, Microsoft, Windows 11, Recall, AI, Artificial Intelligence Akash Dutta Akash Dutta is a Senior Sub Editor at Gadgets 360. He is particularly interested in the social impact of technological developments and loves reading about emerging fields such as AI, metaverse, and fediverse. In his free time, he can be seen supporting his favourite football club - Chelsea, watching movies and anime, and sharing passionate opinions on food. More Related Stories