PrivacyStage
A privacy layer for every screen-share.
PrivacyStage sits quietly in your menu bar. The moment you go on a call, it gives you a calm, controlled "stage" to share — with everything else tucked safely out of view.
Two protection modes do the heavy lifting. Stealth Mode hides whole windows you nominate — notifications, password managers, the wrong Slack channel. OCR Masking uses on-device Vision to detect and blur sensitive text on the fly.
A built-in virtual camera lets you route the protected feed into any meeting app — Zoom, Meet, Teams, Webex — without them needing to know PrivacyStage exists. Everything runs locally. Nothing about your screen ever leaves your Mac.
Hide what doesn't belong on the call.
Mark windows or whole apps as private. They vanish from any shared feed — even full-screen apps and notifications — without disappearing from your own screen.
- Hide by window, by app, or by pattern.
- Survives full-screen and Mission Control.
- One-click presets per meeting context.
Blur the things words can't unsay.
On-device Vision detects sensitive text — emails, API keys, balances, client names — and blurs it in real time. Configurable patterns, fully local, never streamed off-device.
- Built-in patterns: emails, tokens, IBANs.
- Custom keyword & regex patterns.
- Tunable performance & sensitivity.
Everything in the box
Stealth window hiding
Mark windows or apps as private; they vanish from the feed without leaving your screen.
AI-powered OCR masking
On-device Vision blurs sensitive text in real time. Custom patterns supported.
Virtual camera broadcast
A CoreMediaIO extension exposes the protected feed as a camera in any app.
Custom presentation wallpapers
Swap your desktop for a clean, branded backdrop while sharing.
Notification guard
Silences DMs, banners, and badges automatically while a share is active.
Local-only, by design
No accounts, no servers, no telemetry. The video never leaves your Mac.
How it works
Pick what to protect
Mark which windows or apps are off-limits, and switch on OCR masking if you want it. Save as a preset per meeting type.
Hit Go in the menu bar
PrivacyStage starts the protected stage and exposes it as a virtual camera. Your real desktop stays untouched.
Share PrivacyStage in your meeting app
In Zoom / Meet / Teams, pick "PrivacyStage" as your camera input. That's it — you're sharing safely.
Download
PrivacyStage for macOS
Available on the Mac App Store. The download is free and includes the core privacy shield. PrivacyStage Pro unlocks Stealth Mode, OCR masking, and custom wallpapers — pricing below.
Requires macOS 14 Sonoma or later · Apple Silicon & Intel · ~18 MB
macOS 14 Sonoma or later
Universal · Apple Silicon & Intel
Screen Recording · Camera (for virtual cam)
Pricing
Free
The core privacy shield, with no time limit.
- Notification guard while sharing
- Clean presentation desktop
- Virtual camera output (basic)
PrivacyStage Pro
- Stealth Mode — hide any window from any share
- AI-powered OCR masking with custom patterns
- Custom presentation wallpapers
- Priority email support
- Every future Pro feature, included
Subscriptions are managed through your Apple ID. No accounts, no servers, no tracking.
Why PrivacyStage
What people say
"First app in years that earned a permanent spot in my menu bar." — Beta tester · macOS
"Genuinely changed how I demo to clients — I stopped worrying about what was on screen." — Indie consultant
"It does one thing, quietly, and without asking me to sign up for anything." — TestFlight feedback
FAQ
Does PrivacyStage send my screen anywhere?
No. All capture, OCR, and masking happens locally on your Mac. There is no PrivacyStage server, account, or telemetry. The protected video is fed directly to whatever meeting app you choose.
Which meeting apps does the virtual camera work with?
Anything that can pick a camera input — Zoom, Google Meet (in Chrome & Safari), Microsoft Teams, Webex, Discord, OBS, and so on. Some apps require you to grant camera permission once and restart them after installing the extension.
What does the OCR masking actually mask?
By default it scans for things like email addresses, API keys, and long numeric tokens, and blurs them in real time. You can add your own keyword and regex patterns in Settings — useful for masking client names, internal codes, or anything else that shouldn't leave the room.
Why a virtual camera instead of a normal screen-share?
It works everywhere. Most meeting apps don't let third-party tools modify their own screen-share pipeline, but every one of them accepts a camera. Wrapping the protected feed as a camera makes PrivacyStage universally compatible.
Will Stealth Mode hide a full-screen app like Slack or Notes?
Yes — Stealth Mode hides by owning app, so even if a window enters native full-screen and gets its own Space, it stays out of the shared feed. (Sharing while you yourself are in full-screen on the protected app has limitations; the app will tell you when this applies.)
Does it work on Intel Macs?
Yes. PrivacyStage runs on both Apple Silicon and Intel Macs on macOS 14 Sonoma and later.
How do I cancel my subscription?
Subscriptions are managed by Apple. Open System Settings → Apple ID → Subscriptions, or tap "Manage Subscription" inside the app.
Can I get a refund?
Refunds go through Apple's standard process at reportaproblem.apple.com. If something specifically didn't work, email me first — I'll do what I can to make it right.
Is there a Windows or Linux version?
No, and there are no plans for one. PrivacyStage leans hard on Apple-specific frameworks — porting it would mean rebuilding it from scratch in a way that would compromise what makes it good.
I have an idea — will you build it?
Maybe! Use the form below to send it over. I read every suggestion and keep a running shortlist that informs every update.
Suggestions & complaints
Send a note
Bug? Idea? Frustration? Tell me. This form composes an email — you'll get a chance to review it in your mail app before it sends.
Why a form, not a ticket system?
PrivacyStage is built by one person. Every email here comes straight to me, and I answer them myself — usually within a few days, faster if it's a real bug.
If a suggestion makes sense for the app, it gets added to a public-facing list and shipped when it's ready. If a complaint is valid, I'd rather hear it now than read it later in a review.
What I commit to
- A real human reply within 3 working days.
- Bug fixes prioritised over new features, always.
- No marketing emails. No newsletter sign-up tricks.
- If a refund is the right answer, I'll tell you so.