Hush

Product Introduction

1. Definition: Hush is a lightweight macOS menu bar utility (5MB) that instantly obscures desktop clutter during screen sharing or presentations. It operates as a sandboxed, offline-native Swift application with zero dependencies.
2. Core Value Proposition: Eliminates privacy risks and distractions by blurring desktop icons, widgets, dock, and wallpaper with one hotkey (⌘⇧H), while keeping app windows fully functional. Optimizes professional screen-sharing workflows for remote workers and presenters.

Main Features

1. Desktop Mode:

   • How it works: Activates a GPU-accelerated blur overlay covering only the desktop layer (wallpaper/icons/widgets) via CoreGraphics APIs. App windows remain interactable without repositioning. Supports 8 adjustable blur intensity levels.
   • Technology: Swift-based compositing engine leveraging macOS native Quartz Compositor.

2. Focus Mode:

   • How it works: Uses macOS Screen Recording permissions (non-intrusive) to track active window positions. Blurs all non-selected apps dynamically via real-time window tracking. Auto-follows app switches with ⌘Tab.
   • Technology: AXUIElement APIs for window focus detection combined with NSVisualEffectView for performance-optimized blurring.

3. Auto-Activation & Customization:

   • How it works: Triggers blurring automatically upon system-level screen sharing detection (e.g., Zoom/Slack). Offers custom overlays: frosted glass, solid colors, or user-uploaded images.
   • Technology: CGWindowList API for screen-sharing detection; NSMenuDelegate for per-monitor control during hot-plugging.

Problems Solved

1. Pain Point: Prevents accidental exposure of confidential/personal files (tax documents, messages) during impromptu screen shares. Mitigates "desktop clutter anxiety" in professional settings.
2. Target Audience: Remote professionals (developers, sales teams), educators, UX designers, and podcasters requiring polished screen-sharing. Ideal for hybrid workers using Slack/Zoom daily.
3. Use Cases:
   • Securely sharing financial dashboards while hiding unrelated Finder windows.
   • Presenting Keynote slides without revealing desktop game icons or personal widgets.
   • Streamlining developer screen shares by blurring irrelevant IDE instances.

Unique Advantages

1. Differentiation: Unlike manual hiding (macOS native "Hide Desktop") or full-screen apps, Hush preserves window positions/layouts. Outperforms competitors with near-zero CPU impact (~0.1% idle usage) and multi-display resilience.
2. Key Innovation: Patent-pending "selective layer blurring" technology isolating desktop elements from app windows. Combines privacy-by-design (no internet access) with Swift-native efficiency (5K LOC).

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

1. Does Hush work during Zoom or Teams screen sharing?
   Yes. Hush auto-detects macOS screen-sharing sessions via system APIs and activates blurring instantly for all conferencing apps.

2. Can Hush blur specific apps instead of the whole desktop?
   Absolutely. Focus Mode allows selecting individual apps to remain visible while blurring all others, ideal for multi-app workflows.

3. Is Hush safe for sensitive data?
   Yes. Hush is sandboxed, requires no internet permissions, and never captures screen content—Screen Recording access only reads window positions.

4. Does Hush support multiple monitors?
   Yes. It handles per-screen customization and dynamically adapts to monitor hot-plugging without restarting.

5. How does Hush impact Mac performance?
   Minimal impact: ~5MB memory usage and near-zero CPU during idle. Built for efficiency with native Swift and zero dependencies.