- A new spectator detection feature apparently comes to Windows 11
- This works with a presence sensor on a laptop to warn you if someone sneaks a look at your screen – plus it can also dampen the screen
- We do not yet have concrete evidence of the feature, so do not get too excited
Windows 11 will apparently be adorned with a new capacity as part of its presence -sensitive feature, with the system warning you if someone sneaks a look at your screen.
Phantomofearth, a regular leakage of Windows -Info on X, marked the potential new feature called ‘spectator detection’. When they explain, it offers you a few options for actions you can take.
New presence feature that will soon come to Windows 11: Grant detection. When your device notes that someone else is watching your screen, it can dampen the screen, notify you that someone is watching or both.May 2, 2025
When a curious spectator is discovered, Windows 11 can either dampen your screen to make it difficult for the person looking over your shoulder to find out the content or it can warn you about what’s going on. Or us can do both and mark the spectator as well as dampen the screen.
However, you need the necessary hardware on board your laptop to use a sense of presence, namely the necessary presence sensor (surprising – or more modules as there may be more than one). The technical name of this is HPD or Human Presence Detection Hardware, and it is a feature relieved by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X -Chips – in connection with the said sensor – as well as AMD and Intel Chips.
If you are unsure if your notebook has a presence sensor or not, look in the settings app, under System> Power & BatteryAnd see if the relevant options are there as described in this Microsoft Support document.
Elsewhere in the Windows 11 development, New Dev and Beta Channel buildings have arrived. In these preview versions-essentially, the same features-samples Microsoft have some fine-tuning of the interface for recall, which consists of relocating some banks of icons. (This is the AI Supercharged search function that is only for copilot+ PCs).
These buildings have also seen the addition of a bold way of highlighting apps on the taskbar that requests your attention (or is in a ‘needy state’), with a wider, more visible line under the app icon to make it clearer.
Some adjustments to HDR settings have also been made within Windows 11, which includes a choice that can be used for HDR when streaming a video, although system-covering switch for HDR is off. It’s also a nice touch.
Analysis: A top-notch feature for when you are out and about-if it happens
Currently, the presence sensor is used to offer the ability to automatically turn off your screen when you leave the PC and wake your device when you return (using Windows Hello login to make everything trouble-free and secure).
A new feature to discover anyone who sneaked a look, or actually a longer, more invasive look, by the contents of your screen would be an excellent addition to the front of privacy. Every time you work on your laptop on public transport or in a cafe, there is always a feeling that someone might be looking over your shoulder.
The catch here is that we do not yet have any concrete proof of this feature. Presumably, Phantomofearth dug references to the detection of spectators in the latest preview buildings of Windows 11, but the leaks don’t explicitly say that. The alternative is that they heard from a source at Microsoft that this feature is in pipeline, but no matter what, this is far from determined.
We will have to see the feature officially in testing before we start to get excited about its arrival. Hopefully it won’t be long before it happens, keep these digits firmly crossed.
