Screen Guard
Prevent screenshots, screen recording, and content extraction in confidential chats. Screen Guard uses multiple layers of protection to keep your sensitive messages visible only on-screen and only in the moment.
What Screen Guard blocks
Multiple layers of protection work together to prevent content capture through every known vector.
Screenshot shortcuts
Blocks PrintScreen, Cmd+Shift+3/4/5 (macOS), Win+Shift+S (Windows), and other platform-specific screenshot key combinations.
Screen recording
Monkey-patches the getDisplayMedia() API to detect and block screen recording attempts from any application or browser extension.
DevTools inspection
Detects when browser Developer Tools are opened (via window size analysis) and obscures content to prevent DOM inspection of message content.
Print to PDF
Intercepts Ctrl+P / Cmd+P print commands and disables the print stylesheet to prevent saving conversations as PDF documents.
Copy, select & drag
Disables text selection, clipboard copy/cut operations, and drag events on message content to prevent extraction via clipboard.
Defense in Depth
Five layers of capture protection
Screen Guard does not rely on a single technique. It stacks multiple independent protection layers so that bypassing one still leaves the others active.
Keyboard Interception
Key event listeners capture and suppress screenshot shortcuts before they reach the operating system. Covers all major OS screenshot bindings.
API Protection
The getDisplayMedia() browser API is wrapped to intercept screen capture requests. Any attempt to access the screen via this API is detected and blocked.
Visibility Detection
The Page Visibility API detects when the tab loses focus or is hidden, which can indicate an external screenshot tool is active. Content is obscured during focus loss.
Context Menu Suppression
Right-click context menus are disabled on message content to prevent "Save Image" and "Inspect Element" options from being used.
Visual Feedback
When a capture attempt is detected, a "Screenshot blocked" overlay appears, providing clear feedback that the protection is active and working.
Easy to enable, impossible to bypass
Toggle Screen Guard on in your security settings or enable it per conversation. Once active, it runs silently in the background, blocking capture attempts without interrupting your messaging experience.
Combined with Eyes-Only
For maximum protection, combine Screen Guard with Eyes-Only Mode. Messages are only visible when you are looking, and cannot be captured even when visible. This provides defense against both physical and digital capture.
Forwarding protection
Screen Guard also integrates with Varta's forwarding restrictions. When enabled, messages cannot be forwarded, copied, or shared outside the conversation.
Transparency
What Screen Guard can and cannot do
We believe in honesty about our security features. Screen Guard provides strong protection within the browser environment, but no software-only solution can prevent all physical capture methods.
What it blocks effectively
Browser-based screenshots, screen recording software, clipboard extraction, print-to-PDF, and DevTools inspection. These cover the vast majority of digital capture methods.
What it cannot block
External cameras photographing the screen, OS-level screen capture on some platforms, or hardware-based capture devices. For physical threats, combine with Eyes-Only Mode for shoulder-surfing protection.
Keep your conversations on-screen only
Enable Screen Guard and ensure your sensitive messages cannot be captured or saved.