Best Chrome Extensions for Screen Sharing Privacy (2026)

Why You Need a Privacy Extension for Screen Sharing

Screen sharing has become a daily routine. Standups, client demos, support calls, pair programming, investor updates -- if you work remotely (or even hybrid), you are sharing your screen multiple times a week. And every time you do, you are one misclick away from flashing something you did not intend to show.

Maybe it is a Slack DM from a coworker venting about a client. Maybe it is your bank balance in a background tab. Maybe it is a customer's personal data in your CRM, or salary numbers in a spreadsheet you forgot to close. These moments happen fast, and they are hard to undo.

The core problem is simple: platforms like Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams give you exactly two options -- share your entire screen, or share a single window. Neither option gives you fine-grained control over what is visible within that screen or window. You cannot selectively hide a sidebar, a notification, or a specific cell in a spreadsheet. Even notification pop-ups can expose sensitive information.

That is where a screen sharing chrome extension comes in. The right tool lets you blur, hide, or mask specific elements on the page before or during a call, so you can present confidently without worrying about what else is on screen.

In this article, we compare the best options available in 2026: ContextBlur, BlurWeb, Privacy Screen, and the native blur features built into video conferencing platforms. We will break down how each one works, what it costs, and who it is best suited for.

What to Look for in a Screen Sharing Privacy Extension

Before diving into specific tools, it helps to know what actually matters when choosing a chrome extension blur screen solution. Not all privacy tools are built the same way, and the differences matter more than you might think.

Ease of Use

The best privacy tool is one you actually use. If it takes more than a few seconds to set up before a call, you will skip it when you are in a rush -- which is exactly when mistakes happen. Look for something that works with minimal configuration and does not require you to learn a new interface.

Persistence

Can the tool remember what you blurred last time? If you share the same dashboard every week, you should not have to re-blur the same elements every single session. Persistent blur rules save real time and reduce the chance of forgetting something.

Data Privacy

This is worth thinking about carefully. Some extensions process your page content on remote servers. Others do everything locally in your browser. When you are using a tool specifically to protect sensitive information, sending that information to a third-party server defeats the purpose. Local-only processing is the gold standard here.

Pricing

Most privacy extensions fall into one of three models: free with limits, subscription, or one-time purchase. Consider what you need long-term. A lifetime deal can pay for itself quickly if you screen share regularly.

Element-Level Control

The biggest differentiator between tools in this category is granularity. Can you blur a specific paragraph, a sidebar, a single table cell? Or does the tool only offer full-page overlays and screenshot-level redaction? For live screen sharing, element-level control is essential.

With these criteria in mind, let us look at the actual tools.

ContextBlur -- Purpose-Built for Screen Sharing Privacy

ContextBlur is a Chrome extension designed specifically for one thing: letting you blur sensitive content on any web page before and during screen sharing. It is built for people who share their screen regularly and want a fast, reliable way to hide things they do not want others to see.

How It Works

You install the extension, click on it, and then click on any element on the page to blur it. Our step-by-step guide walks through the full process. That is the core interaction. There is no setup wizard, no account creation, no configuration screen. You click the extension icon, you click the thing you want hidden, and it gets blurred instantly.

ContextBlur works at the DOM element level, which means it understands the structure of the web page. When you click on a sidebar, it blurs the sidebar. When you click on a table row, it blurs that row. This is fundamentally different from tools that just overlay a rectangle on your screen -- ContextBlur actually targets the HTML elements, so the blur adapts to the page layout and persists even if you scroll or resize the window.

Key Features

• One-click blur: Click any element on any web page to blur it. No menus, no drag-to-select, no coordinates to set.
• Auto-blur rules: Set rules to automatically blur specific elements every time you visit a page. This is particularly useful for dashboards, CRMs, and admin panels you access daily. Configure it once, and it works every time. Learn more about how this fits different workflows.
• Persistent blurs: Your blur selections are saved per site. Come back tomorrow, and everything you blurred is still blurred. No need to redo your work before every call.
• 100% local processing: ContextBlur does not send any data anywhere. Everything runs in your browser. There is no server, no analytics on your page content, no telemetry about what you blur. Your sensitive data stays on your machine.
• No account required: You do not need to sign up, verify an email, or create a profile. Install it and start using it.
• Works everywhere: Any web page in Chrome. Dashboards, email, spreadsheets, CRMs, social media, banking sites -- if it renders in Chrome, you can blur it.

Pricing

ContextBlur offers a free tier that gives you up to 5 blur elements per session. This is enough to test it out and cover basic use cases. For unlimited blurs, auto-blur rules, and all advanced features, the Pro plan is a one-time payment of $19 for lifetime access. No subscription, no renewal fees. Check out the full pricing breakdown.

Who It Is Best For

ContextBlur is built for people who screen share frequently as part of their work: customer success managers walking through dashboards, developers doing pair programming, salespeople giving product demos, managers presenting reports. If you are on calls multiple times a week and need a fast, reliable way to control what is visible, this is the tool to use.

BlurWeb -- A Solid Alternative with a Large User Base

BlurWeb is another Chrome extension focused on blurring web page content. With over 10,000 users and more than 153 reviews in the Chrome Web Store, it has been around for a while and has built a real community.

How It Works

BlurWeb lets you blur elements on web pages using a point-and-click interface. You activate the extension, hover over elements, and click to apply a blur effect. It supports adjustable blur intensity and offers the ability to save your blur preferences for specific sites.

Strengths

BlurWeb deserves credit for several things. It has a proven track record -- 10,000+ users means it works reliably for a lot of people. The pricing is competitive at $17 for a lifetime license, which is slightly less than ContextBlur. The extension handles a wide range of websites and its blur rendering is smooth.

The review count is also meaningful. Over 153 reviews in the Chrome Web Store gives you real social proof and a sense of how the extension behaves across different use cases and websites.

Where It Differs from ContextBlur

The main differences come down to workflow and automation. BlurWeb focuses on manual blur selection -- you pick what to blur each time. ContextBlur adds auto-blur rules that can automatically hide specific elements whenever you visit a page, which removes the manual step entirely for pages you visit repeatedly.

On the privacy side, it is worth checking each tool's data handling practices in the Chrome Web Store listing. ContextBlur explicitly processes everything locally with zero network requests related to your page content. This is a meaningful distinction if you work with regulated data (healthcare, finance, legal) where data handling policies matter.

Both tools are legitimate options. If you are already using BlurWeb and happy with it, there may not be a strong reason to switch. If you are choosing for the first time and value automatic blur rules and guaranteed local-only processing, ContextBlur has an edge there.

Privacy Screen -- Focused on Screenshots, Not Live Sharing

Privacy Screen is a Chrome extension that approaches the problem differently. Rather than blurring elements during live screen sharing, it is primarily designed for taking redacted screenshots.

How It Works

Privacy Screen lets you select areas of a web page to black out or blur, then capture a screenshot with those redactions applied. The workflow is oriented around producing a static image you can share, rather than maintaining a live blurred view during a screen share.

Strengths

For its intended use case, Privacy Screen works well. If you need to take a screenshot of a page with certain data hidden -- for documentation, support tickets, or compliance records -- it does that cleanly. The interface is straightforward, and the screenshot output is reliable.

Limitations for Screen Sharing

The key limitation is that Privacy Screen is not really designed for the same use case as ContextBlur or BlurWeb. If you are on a live Zoom call and sharing your screen, a screenshot tool does not help you. You need something that applies blur effects to the actual page in real time, not just to a captured image.

Privacy Screen is a good tool for what it does. It is just solving a different problem. If your primary need is live screen sharing privacy, you will want one of the other options on this list.

Zoom, Teams, and Google Meet Native Blur -- Why It Does Not Solve This

Every major video conferencing platform now offers some kind of blur feature. This leads to a common misconception: people assume they already have a solution built in. They do not -- at least, not for this problem.

What Native Blur Actually Does

When Zoom, Microsoft Teams, or Google Meet offers a "blur" option, they are talking about background blur for your webcam feed. This uses AI to detect your face and body, then applies a gaussian blur to everything behind you. It hides your messy room, your roommate walking by, or your pile of laundry.

This has absolutely nothing to do with what is visible on your shared screen. Our Zoom privacy guide explains these limitations in detail.

The Gap

When you share your screen or a specific window, the video platform transmits exactly what is on that screen, pixel for pixel. There is no built-in mechanism to blur a Slack notification, a browser tab title, a sidebar with customer PII, or a cell in a spreadsheet.

Some platforms have experimented with notification suppression (hiding toast notifications while sharing), but that is a narrow fix. It does not address the core issue of sensitive content that is already visible on the page you are sharing.

The Bottom Line

Native platform blur and a screen sharing chrome extension like ContextBlur solve completely different problems. You probably want both -- background blur for your camera, and element-level blur for your screen content.

Comparison Table

Here is a side-by-side look at the key differences:

| Feature | ContextBlur | BlurWeb | Privacy Screen | |---|---|---|---| | Primary use case | Live screen sharing privacy | Web page blur | Screenshot redaction | | Element-level blur | Yes | Yes | Area-based selection | | Auto-blur rules | Yes | No | No | | Persistent blurs | Yes (saved per site) | Yes | No (screenshot-only) | | Works during live calls | Yes | Yes | No | | Local-only processing | Yes (zero network requests) | Check listing | N/A | | Account required | No | No | No | | Free tier | Yes (5 blurs/session) | Limited | Free | | Paid pricing | $19 lifetime | $17 lifetime | Free | | Chrome Web Store users | Growing | 10,000+ | Smaller |

How to Choose the Right Tool

Choosing between these tools depends on your specific situation. Here is a quick decision framework.

Choose ContextBlur if you screen share regularly and want the fastest possible workflow. The auto-blur rules are a significant time saver if you present the same dashboards or tools repeatedly. The strict local-only data handling also makes it the right choice if you work with regulated or sensitive data and need to be confident that nothing leaves your browser. See how different teams use ContextBlur in their workflows.

Choose BlurWeb if you want a well-established tool with a large existing user base and slightly lower pricing. It is a proven option that works reliably, and the extensive review history gives you confidence in its stability.

Choose Privacy Screen if your need is specifically around producing redacted screenshots rather than live screen sharing. It is a different tool for a different job, and it does that job well.

Stick with native platform blur if your only concern is hiding your physical background on webcam. But understand that this does nothing for your screen content -- you will still want a dedicated best privacy chrome extensions tool for that.

In many cases, the right answer is to use a combination. Native background blur for your camera plus ContextBlur (or BlurWeb) for your screen content covers both bases.

Conclusion

Screen sharing privacy is not a nice-to-have anymore. It is a real, practical need for anyone who works on calls. The tools exist to solve this problem well -- you just need to pick the one that fits your workflow.

Combine the right tool with strong privacy habits for the best results. If you want the simplest setup, automatic blur rules that save you time every day, and the peace of mind that comes with fully local data processing, ContextBlur is built exactly for that. It is free to start with, and the lifetime Pro upgrade means you never have to think about it again.