Privacy vs surveillance: Shield protects without spying
There's a category of software that uses your camera to watch what you do. Avalw Shield also uses your camera. The difference is fundamental: monitoring software watches you for someone else. Shield watches for you, and only for you.
The surveillance problem
Over the past few years, employee monitoring software has become a growing industry. These products take screenshots of your screen, log your keystrokes, track which applications you use, how long you use them, and send all of that data to a server where your employer can review it.
These tools use your camera, your microphone, your screen, and your keyboard as data sources. Everything they capture is sent somewhere else. Someone else decides what to do with that data. You have no control over it.
When people hear that Avalw Shield uses the camera, some assume it works the same way. It does not.
What Shield actually does with your camera
Shield uses your camera for one thing: to detect whether you are sitting in front of your computer, and whether anyone else is looking at your screen. That's it.
Here is what happens technically:
- The camera feed is processed locally on your device by a face detection algorithm
- The algorithm determines: is the registered user present? Is anyone else looking at the screen?
- Based on that, Shield either locks the screen, blurs the content, or does nothing
- The camera frames are processed in real-time and immediately discarded
- No image is ever saved to disk
- No image is ever sent over the network
- No data of any kind leaves your computer
You can verify this yourself. Open Activity Monitor on Mac or Task Manager on Windows. Check Shield's network usage. It's zero. Always zero. There is no server to send data to because Shield doesn't have a server.
What Shield does
- Processes camera frames locally in real-time
- Detects your face and the presence of other faces
- Locks your screen when you leave
- Blurs your screen when someone else looks
- Unlocks when you return
- Discards every frame immediately after processing
What Shield does NOT do
- Save images or screenshots
- Record video or audio
- Log keystrokes or application usage
- Track your activity or productivity
- Send any data to any server
- Connect to the internet while running
- Give anyone else access to your camera feed
- Allow remote control or remote deactivation
Side-by-side comparison
| Monitoring software | Avalw Shield | |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Track employee activity for employer | Protect your screen from unauthorized viewing |
| Who benefits | Your employer / manager | You |
| Camera usage | Captures photos, sometimes video | Real-time face detection only, no capture |
| Screenshots | Takes periodic screenshots, sends to server | None |
| Data storage | Cloud servers controlled by vendor or employer | Nothing stored, nothing leaves device |
| Network activity | Constant uploads to remote servers | Zero network activity |
| Who has access | Employer, vendor, potentially third parties | Nobody. Not even Avalw. |
| Can be disabled remotely | Yes, by employer or vendor | No. No remote access exists. |
| You choose to install it | Usually installed by IT department | You install it yourself, for yourself |
Why this matters
The difference isn't just technical. It's about who is in control.
Monitoring software works for someone else. It collects your data and delivers it to a third party. You are the subject being watched. The software serves the interests of whoever deployed it.
Shield works for you. It protects your screen from being seen by people who shouldn't see it. No data is collected, no reports are generated, no one else is involved. The software serves your interests and only your interests.
This is why Shield has no server, no cloud dashboard, no admin panel for employers, no API for data extraction. These features don't exist because they would turn Shield from a privacy tool into a surveillance tool. The absence of these features is the product.
But what about the Security Capture feature?
Shield has an optional feature that captures a photo when an unauthorized person is detected looking at your screen. This might sound like surveillance, but it's the opposite.
- The photos are stored locally on your device, encrypted
- Only you can access them
- They are never uploaded anywhere
- You can disable this feature entirely
- You can delete the photos at any time
This feature exists so that you know when someone tried to look at your screen while you were away. It's evidence for you, stored by you, controlled by you. It's security, not surveillance.
The simple test
Ask yourself one question: who does this software serve? If the answer is "someone else," it's surveillance. If the answer is "me," it's privacy. Shield's answer is always "you."