Show HN: Why do coding interviews expose your whole desktop. Here's a fix

Posted by jaygood on Wednesday November 26, 2025 @09:34AM
from the show-hn dept.

https://www.getcloakly.com

Coding interviews make candidates expose their entire desktop while interviewers keep their notes private. I built a Windows tool that hides selected windows from the screen-share stream so candidates finally get basic privacy.

Some people call this cheating. Others call it overdue.

Curious where this community stands.

Demo + beta sign-up: https://www.getcloakly.com

( 5 comments | on HN )

Re:Show HN: Why do coding interviews expose your whole deskt... by appreciatorBus on Wednesday November 26, 2025 @10:03AM (#46058040)

Two identical submissions in 8 hours?

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46054602

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Show HN: Why do coding interviews expose your whole deskt... by jaygood on Wednesday November 26, 2025 @11:41AM (#46059320)

Not intentional. The first post died instantly so I rewrote the title to actually spark a discussion. HN buries things fast. Happy to delete one if mods prefer. Just trying to get honest feedback on whether this kind of tool is useful or unwanted.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Show HN: Why do coding interviews expose your whole deskt... by jaygood on Wednesday November 26, 2025 @09:34AM (#46057739)

I’m genuinely curious whether people think this solves a real privacy problem or crosses a line. Not looking for praise. Want honest takes from interviewers and candidates.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Show HN: Why do coding interviews expose your whole deskt... by chasing0entropy on Wednesday November 26, 2025 @09:42AM (#46057813)

You do realize on windows or *nix you could just create a new desktop and move your interview apps to that desktop?

Further, I don't know any serious devs (hardware of software) that don't have a second (sterile) device to use for low trust interactions.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Show HN: Why do coding interviews expose your whole deskt... by jaygood on Wednesday November 26, 2025 @11:40AM (#46059310)

You’re right that virtual desktops and extra devices work. Cloakly is just a simpler option. Not everyone has a clean spare machine lying around or wants to move their whole workflow to a temporary desktop every time they interview.

[ Parent | on HN ]