Signal developers are angry with Microsoft, or rather with the Recall feature recently integrated into Windows 11. As a reminder, this feature allows you to keep track of all the activities carried out on your PC by continuously recording screenshots of each action.
In concrete terms, your every move is photographed and recorded in a dated history. This system, which is not really in line with the confidentiality of exchanges that Signal is trying so hard to preserve, will be automatically blocked by the encrypted messaging service.
Screenshots prohibited in the Signal Desktop app
With the deployment of Recall to Insiders, and the imminent arrival of the feature in a stable version for the general public, Signal had to take action. The messaging service believes that "While Microsoft has made several adjustments over the past twelve months in response to critical feedback, the redesigned version of Recall still puts any content displayed in privacy-preserving applications like Signal at risk."
To continue ensuring the security of its users' communications on Windows 11, Signal has therefore decided to integrate an "additional layer of security," enabled by default, to "maintain the security of Signal Desktop on this platform."
By enabling this new "screen security" by default, Signal will automatically hide the content of the messaging service as soon as a screenshot is taken. To do this, Signal relied on a specific instruction, in principle intended to manage DRM, on its application window, a system already widely used by certain streaming platforms.
Microsoft does not give enough control to developers
Signal mainly regrets the fact that Microsoft does not make enough effort to allow developers to control whether or not they accept that their application is captured by Recall. While the user has options to exclude certain applications, developers have no tools allowing them to do so.
Because the main problem with the system implemented by Signal to protect exchanges is that it jeopardizes the use of certain accessibility tools, which are nevertheless essential for some people with disabilities. This is the case, for example, with screen readers, or magnification tools frequently used by people with visual impairments.
To avoid these problems, Signal has made every effort to ensure that this security setting can be easily disabled by going to Settings > Privacy > Screen Security.
Source: Signal
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