Developer Anti Ghosting Keyboard Privacy Shield

Overview

Developer Anti Ghosting Keyboard Privacy Shield is a privacy-first Electron desktop application for Windows and macOS.

It is built for people who code, teach, stream, present, record tutorials, or work in public places and want better control over how much keyboard-related activity is visibly exposed on screen.

The app does not record what you type. It does not save typed characters. It does not upload keyboard data. It does not use analytics or telemetry.

Everything is designed to stay local to the device.

Why This App Exists

When you are coding on a livestream, teaching in Zoom, screen sharing in a meeting, or working in a coffee shop, the problem is not only what gets typed. The problem is also what becomes visible around typing:

• connected device changes
• active sharing or recording environments
• workspace exposure risk
• privacy mode readiness
• whether the app is showing too much detail at the wrong time

This app is meant to help reduce that visible exposure by giving you a local-only privacy dashboard, trusted keyboard management, protection modes, emergency privacy controls, and workspace awareness features.

What The App Does

The application helps you monitor and manage:

• connected keyboards
• trusted and untrusted devices
• workspace exposure risk
• privacy readiness
• screen sharing and recording awareness
• accessibility settings
• system and hardware awareness
• encrypted local settings and backups

It also provides:

• a realtime dashboard
• a Device Center for keyboard trust review
• workspace risk and sharing awareness
• emergency privacy controls
• privacy, security, and accessibility centers
• local reports and diagnostics
• tray controls
• optional overlay visibility

What The App Does Not Do

This application is intentionally not surveillance software.

It does not:

• record keystrokes
• save typed content
• upload keyboard data
• collect analytics
• use telemetry
• inspect source code automatically
• capture your screen
• capture clipboard contents
• record webcam footage
• record microphone audio
• track you across devices or sessions

Who It Is For

This app is designed for:

• developers
• streamers and content creators
• teachers and presenters
• students
• business users
• accessibility-focused users
• privacy-conscious people working in shared or public environments

Core Privacy Promise

The app is built around a few non-negotiable rules:

• your keystrokes are not recorded
• your typed content is never saved
• no analytics are used
• no telemetry is used
• no logs containing personal information are collected
• everything stays on your computer

How It Works

The app uses local operating-system device and environment information to build a privacy-focused view of your setup.

Depending on the platform, it can use supported local system inventory and status utilities to:

• identify likely physical keyboards
• distinguish built-in, USB, and Bluetooth keyboards when metadata is available
• detect when workspace conditions change
• observe sharing or recording-related environment signals
• show health, trust, and readiness information in the UI

It does this without reading the content of what you type.

Main Features

Protection Controls

• Protection On / Protection Off Turns privacy protection behavior on or off.

• Emergency Privacy Mode Switches the interface into a simpler, reduced-detail state for fast privacy response.

• Close behavior setting Lets users choose between Close exits app and Close minimizes to tray.

Device Trust

• detects connected keyboards in realtime
• supports built-in, USB, and supported Bluetooth keyboards
• allows trust levels such as Trusted, Verified, Known, Unknown, and Restricted
• stores trusted device preferences locally in encrypted settings
• keeps a local device connection timeline

Workspace Awareness

• monitor count awareness
• workspace risk scoring
• sharing and capture environment awareness
• public workspace recommendations
• remote work and meeting environment detection signals

Privacy and Safety Controls

• one-click sharing presets
• privacy overlay support
• emergency quick-hide behavior
• local-only diagnostics and local report ZIP export for GitHub issue reporting
• encrypted backups and restore points

Accessibility

• high contrast mode
• large text mode
• reduced motion mode
• dyslexia-friendly font option
• simplified mode
• keyboard-friendly navigation

Main Sections In The App

Dashboard

The main privacy mission control view. It gives a fast summary of protection status, readiness, trusted devices, workspace risk, security health, and performance.

Device Center

Shows connected keyboard entries, trust levels, device timeline history, detection confidence, and device metadata when available.

Workspace Center

Shows monitor awareness, workspace classification, sharing and recording awareness, workspace exposure score, and privacy recommendations.

Privacy Center

Explains the app’s privacy posture, what is stored locally, and what is never collected.

Security Center

Shows configuration integrity, encrypted settings status, IPC and local security guidance, and readiness for release review.

Accessibility Center

Lets users enable readability and lower-distraction settings without reducing the app’s privacy protections.

Diagnostics Center

Shows detection source, last refresh time, health status, scan comparison, release health, and local report ZIP generation.

Backup Center

Lets users create encrypted settings backups, verify them locally, restore them, and manage local restore points.

Quick Start For Everyday Users

1. Open the app.
2. Leave Protection On.
3. Open Device Center and review the keyboards your computer says are connected.
4. Mark only the devices you recognize as trusted.
5. Check Workspace Center before sharing your screen or streaming.
6. Use Emergency Privacy Mode if you want the fastest reduced-detail view.

Recommended Usage

• Use Developer Protection Mode for normal coding sessions.
• Use presentation or classroom modes before demos or teaching.
• Use streaming or creator modes before OBS, Discord, Zoom, Teams, or similar tools.
• Review the keyboard list whenever you plug in or remove a keyboard.
• If a device name looks generic, compare the vendor ID and product ID before trusting it.

Platform Support

Windows

Windows is the most fully developed environment in the current codebase.

Current support includes:

• local keyboard inventory detection
• workspace monitoring
• system and hardware awareness
• Windows-aware local settings alignment
• tray behavior and diagnostics

macOS

macOS support is now included for:

• keyboard inventory awareness
• built-in, USB, and supported Bluetooth keyboard detection when local metadata is available
• workspace monitoring
• local diagnostics
• standard packaged app usage

Because macOS hardware metadata can vary by device and connection path, real hardware QA is still important before public release.

Linux

The repository includes a Linux build target, but the main product experience is currently focused on Windows and macOS.

Keyboard Detection Notes

The app tries to show likely real physical keyboards instead of every low-level side-interface the operating system exposes.

That matters because some systems represent a single keyboard as multiple underlying device entries.

The app attempts to:

• collapse duplicate-looking entries
• prefer stronger keyboard signals
• keep branded names when the operating system exposes them
• show confidence information when naming is partial or generic

Even with that logic, device naming can still vary across hardware, docks, hubs, Bluetooth stacks, and operating-system versions.

Development Setup

Requirements

• Node.js
• npm
• VS Code recommended

Run In Development

npm install
npm run dev

Useful Scripts

• npm run dev
  Start the Electron app in development mode.

• npm run lint
  Run ESLint.

• npm run test
  Run the local automated test suite.

• npm run security-check
  Verify required files and security-sensitive structure.

• npm run release:version-check
  Verify package.json, package-lock.json, and CHANGE-LOG.md are aligned.

• npm run diagnose:keyboards
  Generate a local-only keyboard detection diagnostic file.

• npm run qa:release
  Run lint, tests, security checks, and build together.

• npm run build
  Create an unpacked Electron build.

• npm run build:win
  Build Windows packages.

• npm run build:mac
  Build macOS .dmg output.

• npm run build:linux
  Build Linux AppImage output.

Project Structure

src/
  main.js
  preload.js
  main/
  modules/
  renderer/
scripts/
build/
extensions/
tests/
docs/

Important Areas

• src/main.js Main Electron lifecycle, state publishing, tray wiring, and close behavior.

• src/preload.js Secure allowlisted bridge between renderer and main process.

• src/main/ipc.js IPC handlers with validation, sanitization, and explicit channel control.

• src/modules/ Detection, monitoring, settings, protection, reports, diagnostics, and security utilities.

• src/renderer/ UI rendering, dashboard sections, controls, and interaction logic.

• tests/ Local automated tests for settings, IPC, detection parsing, workspace logic, and renderer smoke checks.

Security Design

The app uses Electron security-focused defaults, including:

• context isolation
• sandboxed renderer processes
• no Node integration in the renderer
• allowlisted IPC channels
• sanitized settings and input payloads
• encrypted local settings and backups
• strict local-only behavior for core data flows

Dependency Security

Version 0.4.50 includes a dependency maintenance pass that resolves the current npm audit findings without forcing breaking package downgrades.

The lockfile is expected to report:

• npm audit: found 0 vulnerabilities
• npm outdated: no package output

Accessibility

Accessibility support includes:

• High Contrast Mode
• Large Text Mode
• Reduced Motion Mode
• Dyslexia-Friendly Font Option
• Simplified Mode
• keyboard-friendly controls

Accessibility settings are stored locally and designed to remain usable alongside privacy features.

Reports And Diagnostics

The app can generate local-only reports and diagnostics for:

• privacy readiness
• workspace readiness
• accessibility readiness
• device security
• protection coverage
• local audit summaries

Diagnostics and local report ZIP files are intended to help with troubleshooting without including typed content. When generated from the app, the ZIP is saved to the end user's Documents folder.

If you need to report a bug, create a local report ZIP from the app, find it in Documents, and attach it to a GitHub issue in the project repository.

Public Release Documentation

Additional release and support documentation is available in docs/.

• Privacy Policy
• Support and Troubleshooting
• Known Limitations
• Release Process
• Windows and macOS Installer Guide
• Windows Hardware QA
• Installer and Upgrade QA
• Code Signing and Windows Release
• Security Review
• Accessibility QA
• Production Readiness Checklist
• Support Workflow
• Release Notes Template

Current Status

This project is feature-rich and locally functional, but public production release still depends on:

• real hardware QA across more machines
• accessibility QA across the full app
• installer and upgrade validation
• release signing and packaging review
• continued keyboard detection stabilization across more setups

Current documented release version: 0.4.50.

License

GNU General Public License v3.0