SightlinePermissions
| Permission | Used for |
|---|---|
| Screen Recording | Every capture and recording. macOS asks you to reopen Sightline after you allow it. |
| Microphone | Only with Record microphone on. |
| Camera | Only when you choose a camera in Settings > Recording. It is off by default. |
| Input Monitoring | Only with Show keystrokes set to Shortcuts only or All keys. Sightline listens to key presses only while you record, and macOS may ask you to reopen it. |
| Accessibility | Automatic scrolling in scrolling capture, in versions outside the Mac App Store. In the App Store version you scroll yourself. |
| Login Items | Only for Launch at login. |
Change them in System Settings > Privacy & Security. Settings > General in Sightline shows the state of Screen Recording and opens the right pane.
What stays on your Mac
- Captures and recordings stay in your save folder. Sightline has no account, no cloud and no analytics.
- Text recognition, QR codes, the History search, Remove Background, subject blur and design comparison run on the Mac.
- Names from what is in a screenshot and checks for sensitive content use Apple Intelligence on the Mac. They need the Siri language to match your Mac's language.
- Keys noted for Show keystrokes are stored next to the recording on your Mac and deleted with it. They are never noted for agent recordings or replays.
- The camera is recorded into its own file in Sightline's own storage on your Mac and is only added to a video when you save or export it from the editor. Agent recordings and replays never use the microphone or the camera.
AI agents
- Agents can't use Sightline until you turn on Allow AI agents to use Sightline, and each agent asks for approval first.
- Agents work through a local socket on your Mac. Sightline sends nothing anywhere; what an agent does with an image it receives is up to that agent and its provider.
- With Hide flagged credentials from agents on, text that looks like a password, key or token is blurred in images agents get and left out of text results.
- Details are in MCP server: Approval and safety and the privacy notice.