Sparrow

Window, screen sharing and privacy

Keep Sparrow readable and out of the way: opacity, answer size, always on top, Hide, click-through, and what screen sharing can see.

Make answers easy to read

Open Settings → Window & reading, or press View in the session bar during a call:

  • Window opacity (30–100%) lets you see what’s behind Sparrow. The text fades too, so pick the lowest value you can still read comfortably.
  • Answer size (12–26 pt) changes the answer text. Larger is easier to read at a glance from a few feet away.
  • Keep above other windows keeps Sparrow on top of your call app.

These settings can be changed during a session and are saved when you let go of the slider.

Hide and click-through

  • Hide (or Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+Space) removes the window from the screen. Listening and answers continue in the background. Press the shortcut again to bring it back.
  • Click-through (Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+P) lets clicks pass through Sparrow to the window behind it, so you can keep it over your call. A notice reminds you how to turn it off.
  • Sparrow doesn’t appear in the Dock, the taskbar, Cmd+Tab or Alt+Tab. It still appears in Activity Monitor and Task Manager, and your computer’s microphone or recording indicator still shows while it listens.

Screen sharing: what others can see

Settings → Window & reading → Exclude from supported screen captures asks your operating system to leave Sparrow’s window out of screen captures. How well that works depends on your system and the app you share with:

  • Windows 10 (2004 or later) and 11 support this request, and the top bar shows Hidden from capture when it’s active. Some recording methods can still capture the window, so test with the app you actually use.
  • macOS only offers an older form of this request, which many current sharing apps ignore. The top bar shows Capture: best effort. On a Mac, share a single app window (not your whole screen), or hide Sparrow before you share.

No app can promise to be invisible to every recording or screen-sharing method. Use Sparrow openly where the rules of your conversation require it; our Terms ask you to follow the rules and laws that apply to you.

Where your data goes

  • On your computer: transcripts, answers, session history, notes, your resume and settings. Nothing here is uploaded for storage.
  • Passed through, not kept: call audio goes to the speech provider and the conversation goes to the answer model while a session runs. Sparrow’s service forwards them and doesn’t store their contents.
  • On Sparrow’s service: an anonymous record for your computer with its minutes balance, session times and purchases. No name or account.

The full details are in the Privacy Policy.

Still stuck? Contact support and tell us your operating system and what you see.