Screen memory privacy checklist

Fifteen questions to check any app that remembers your screen — Rewind-style apps, AI assistants, Recall-like features. Answer for the app you are considering; you get a score and the questions worth asking its developer.

By the DejaVu teamPublished October 19, 20262 min read

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1. Are the screen pictures and their text processed only on your Mac?

If pictures or text are uploaded for processing, your screen exists on someone else’s computer.

2. Does it work without an account?

No account means there is nothing to link your memory to you on a server.

3. Is the memory encrypted on disk?

Unencrypted files can be read by anyone, or any malware, that reaches your user folder.

4. Does looking back require Touch ID or your password?

Encryption helps little if the history opens for anyone sitting at your unlocked Mac.

5. Does it skip password managers, and keep nothing while you type a password?

The most sensitive things on a screen should never be kept, even by mistake.

6. Does it skip private browsing windows?

A private window is a clear signal that you don’t want something remembered.

7. Does it log what you type (keystrokes)?

A keystroke log also catches passwords typed in ordinary fields and messages you never sent.

8. Does it record the microphone or system audio?

Audio captures other people, who did not consent. Choose it knowingly, or not at all.

9. Can you pause, and forget the last minutes, in one click?

Sensitive moments happen without warning. Undo has to be instant.

10. Can you exclude apps and websites?

Your bank, your health portal, your work tools: you should decide what is never kept.

11. Is there a visible sign whenever it’s on?

You should always know, at a glance, whether your screen is being remembered.

12. Does the app send usage analytics or telemetry?

Even “anonymous” analytics from a screen-memory app can say a lot about you.

13. Does deleting remove pictures, text and the search index together?

If the index survives, deleted things can still be found.

14. Can you export everything in an open format?

Apps get sold or shut down. Your memory should outlive the app.

15. Is the developer identifiable, and the app signed and notarized by Apple?

You are trusting someone with your screen. You should know who.
Privacy score—

Answer a few questions to see the score.

Questions to ask the developer

  • Nothing left to ask, based on your answers.

How to use it

  1. Find the app’s privacy policy and security page. Most answers are there, or in its help center. If an answer isn’t written down anywhere, choose “Don’t know”: that is an answer too.
  2. Answer each question for the app you are considering. The score updates as you go.
  3. Send the remaining questions to the developer with the “Copy the questions” button. A trustworthy developer will answer them plainly.

Why these questions

They come from what went wrong, and right, in this category over the last two years: screen histories that other software could read, apps that kept keystrokes or audio, a much-loved app that shut down and left its users without their history. Each question has a one-line reason under it. The longer explanations are in our guide Screen memory and privacy: what to look for.

The three that matter most

  • Where is your screen processed? On your Mac, or on a server.
  • What does it keep? Pictures and text, or also keystrokes and audio.
  • Who can open the history? You, with Touch ID — or anyone at your Mac.

A fair warning about our own answers

“See DejaVu’s answers” fills in how DejaVu answers, from our public security notes. We wrote them, so don’t take our word for it: when the beta is out, check what DejaVu connects to with a firewall such as LuLu or Little Snitch.

Questions

Is this checklist private?

Yes. It runs entirely in your browser. Your answers aren’t saved or sent anywhere, and they disappear when you close the page.

How is the score calculated?

Each question has a weight from 1 to 3, depending on how much it affects your privacy. The score is the share of weight where your answer matches the privacy-friendly one. Questions you skip, or answer “Don’t know”, don’t count toward the score but are added to the list of questions to ask.

Can I use it for apps other than screen memories?

Yes. Most questions apply to any app that sees your screen or your activity, including AI assistants that use your screen as context.

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