A user asked us to make our AI assistant disappear during screen sharing

We thought a compact mode was enough for an AI assistant used during meetings.

In Speechara.AI, minimizing the main workspace leaves a small always-on-top view so the user can continue following the live transcript and translation. It seemed like a reasonable balance between visibility and convenience.

Then a tester described a situation we had underestimated: they sometimes share their entire laptop screen with other people in the room and do not want their personal AI workspace to remain visible.

Their point was simple: smaller is not the same as invisible.

We added a Hide completely action. It removes the Speechara.AI interface while the user-started meeting workspace continues running in the background. When the screen-sharing moment is over, the compact view can be restored with its context intact.

This is a visibility and privacy control, not a way to start or capture a conversation secretly.

The broader lesson for us was that every "always available" product may also need an equally intentional "get out of my way" state. Privacy is not only about how data is stored. It is also about controlling who can see the interface in a particular moment.

If you build software that stays visible during meetings or focused work, what "disappear now" control did users ask for that you had not anticipated?