Cloakly

What is Cloakly?

Cloakly is a Windows privacy layer for screen sharing. It lets you hide specific windows and apps during calls and presentations so people watching your shared screen only see what you choose.

The core purpose is to help you share a clean view of your work while keeping personal apps, messages, and other sensitive windows from being visible to others in screen sharing apps.

Key Features

• Hide selected windows from screen sharing apps: Choose an app/window to make it invisible to Zoom, Teams, Discord, OBS, and others while you continue using it locally.
• Pin on top: Keep an essential window visible above other windows (even when you switch tasks), useful for reference materials during a meeting or recording.
• Ghost mode (partial transparency): Make a window partially see-through so you can layer content (for example, notes over a video) without fully covering what’s underneath.
• Taskbar stealth (Pro plans): Remove selected hidden windows from the taskbar so your desktop looks cleaner and more private to others during screen sharing.
• Persistent window rules (Pro plans): Save your hide/pin/layer setup so your configuration can remain consistent across sessions.

How to Use Cloakly

1. Install and open Cloakly on Windows 10/11.
2. Select the window or app you want to hide during a call or presentation.
3. Start your screen share in your meeting tool (for example, Zoom, Teams, Google Meet, Discord, or OBS) and confirm that the hidden window is not visible to viewers.
4. If needed, use Pin on top to keep a reference window visible, or Ghost mode to partially layer a window.
5. On Pro plans, rely on persistent rules to keep your setup the way you want it.

Use Cases

• Team standups and live updates: Hide personal messages and notifications while you share a report or dashboard so the focus stays on the work.
• Client calls with sensitive data: Keep banking tabs, financial dashboards, or other private information hidden while showing only the specific window you intend to share.
• Content creation and livestreams: Pin scripts, outlines, or reference notes on top while recording or streaming, while hiding unrelated apps.
• Education and study sessions: Layer semi-transparent notes over lecture videos or keep reference windows pinned above your main content.
• Multi-app workflows: During debugging or analysis, keep terminals/logs or documentation visible (pinned), while hiding other private apps not relevant to the shared view.

FAQ

• Can people still see the apps I hide with Cloakly? No. When you hide a window, it becomes invisible to screen sharing apps such as Zoom, Teams, Google Meet, Discord, and OBS. You can still use the window locally.

• Does Cloakly hide windows from the taskbar? Yes, but this behavior is described for Pro plans: hidden apps disappear from the taskbar while they remain fully usable.

• Will hidden windows stay hidden after I close and reopen an app? In the Free plan, hidden apps reset when you close. In Pro, Cloakly saves your rules so your setup can stay consistent.

• Which screen sharing apps are supported? Cloakly is described as working with major screen sharing apps including Zoom, Teams, Google Meet, Discord, and OBS.

Alternatives

• Operating system privacy features for notifications: Tools and settings that control which notifications appear during screen sharing can reduce accidental disclosure, but they don’t provide the same per-window invisibility described for Cloakly.
• Meeting platform display controls: Some meeting tools offer screen/window selection to share only specific content. This can work when you only need to share a single window, but it doesn’t address the case of multiple windows being present and potentially visible.
• Virtual desktops (Windows): Separating work and personal apps onto different desktops can help avoid sharing private content, but it requires manual switching and may be less granular than hiding specific windows.
• Presentation/recording software overlays: Apps that manage overlays for recording or streaming can help keep certain elements visible, but they don’t inherently make apps invisible to other viewers the way Cloakly does.