Why a window manager might ask for Screen Recording
Screen Recording sounds alarming in a window manager. Why ClutterFreeMac offers it, what it does with the pictures, and what happens if you say no.
A window manager asking to record your screen deserves a clear answer. Here is ClutterFreeMac's.
What it is for
Other apps' windows cannot follow your fingers smoothly: each moves when its app gets round to it. To make the strip slide under your fingers the way Spaces do, ClutterFreeMac keeps a small picture of each window on your strip, draws the strip from those pictures while you swipe, and moves the real windows once, behind it.
What happens to the pictures
- Kept in memory only, at standard resolution.
- Replaced as they are taken again, and dropped when the window closes or the app quits.
- Never saved to disk, never sent anywhere.
If you say no
Everything else works. Moving between screens uses a plain glide of the real windows instead. You can change your mind later in System Settings, Privacy & Security, Screen & System Audio Recording; macOS applies the change after the app restarts.
Questions
Does ClutterFreeMac record my screen?
No recording is made. With the permission, it keeps pictures of your windows in memory to draw the strip while you swipe. They are never saved or sent.
Read next
- Guide
Why your Mac keeps asking about Screen Recording permission
Recent macOS versions ask you from time to time to confirm apps that can see your screen. What the prompt means, how to answer it, and how to check who has access.
Read › - Guide
Getting the most from an ultrawide monitor on a Mac
An ultrawide is too wide for one window and awkward to split in halves. How to arrange windows on a Mac with an ultrawide, from built in tiling to a strip.
Read › - Guide
Window management on a small MacBook screen
On a 13 or 14 inch MacBook, split screen leaves everything cramped. Why a scrolling layout fits a laptop better, and the trackpad gesture that makes it fast.
Read ›