Microsoft Teams should be able to prevent screenshots in future

In future, Microsoft Teams will offer the option of preventing unauthorized screen recordings of Teams conferences. The aim is to better protect the content of the conference, such as shared screen content or the webcam views of individual participants.

As can be read in the Microsoft 365 roadmap, the software company is working on a corresponding function called "Prevent Screen Capture". When this is activated, the Windows window with the Teams conference turns black as soon as a user attempts to take a screen capture.

Outdated Teams versions are restricted

Microsoft does not provide any further details, but logically this should only happen for users who are trying to take a screen recording. However, it is still unclear whether the new function will be switched on by default or whether the organizers of a conference will have to switch it on first. Theoretically, it would also be conceivable to allow all participants to decide individually – then screen recording would no longer be possible as soon as just one user prohibits screen recording.

However, it could be stupid for users whose device does not support the new function: In future, they will only be able to participate with audio view if their Teams client does not support the new function. Here too, Microsoft has failed to provide more precise details, such as which constellations could fall into this category. Anyone who only has an outdated version of Teams, on the other hand, will quickly be at a loss anyway: Microsoft wants to make Teams clients that are older than 90 days unusable.

The new function is planned for Android, Windows, Mac, iOS and the Teams web app and is due to arrive in July 2025. Of course, it will not be possible to completely prevent unwanted recordings of Teams conferences. With the new function, it would still be possible to film or photograph the screen with an external camera, for example on your own smartphone.

Microsoft's approach is somewhat reminiscent of Netflix. The streaming provider also rigorously attempts to prevent screen recordings while users are streaming its content. In the past, for example, users of the OBS video software reported in the OBS support forum that browser windows with Netflix could only be recorded in black and without sound.

Screenshot ban for Recall too?

It will also be interesting to see how the screenshot ban in Teams fits in with the controversial Microsoft Recall. This more or less consists of continuously taking screenshots of the user's screen – in order to evaluate them later with Microsoft's AI Copilot and offer the user helpful recapitulations of their activities, or so Microsoft claims. Although Recall is not yet available in the EU anyway –, Microsoft will have to consider how Recall fits in with the ban on screen recording in Teams. The roadmap is also silent on this.

(nen)