Fake work screen (decoy)
Hiding a window leaves whatever was behind it — sometimes that's worse: an empty desktop at 2pm looks exactly like someone who just hid something. A fake work screen (a decoy) solves the second half of the problem: when your real windows vanish, something believable takes their place.
The manual way (and why it falls short)
The classic trick is keeping a spreadsheet or an email draft open behind everything, then Alt+Tab-ing to it. Two problems:
- Alt+Tab is slow and visible — you fumble through the switcher while someone is already reading your screen.
- The taskbar still betrays you — the game or chat app is still right there as a button, and its tray icon is still in the corner.
The gohide way: hide + decoy in one keystroke
gohide's privacy cover screen (a Pro feature) shows a full-screen, believable decoy the moment you hit your hide hotkey:
- Pick the apps gohide manages and assign a hide/show hotkey.
- Enable the cover screen in settings and choose what it shows.
- One keystroke: your selected apps disappear — window, taskbar button and tray icon — and the decoy appears on top. Press again: decoy gone, everything restored exactly where it was.
Because gohide also hides taskbar buttons and tray icons, the decoy holds up to a second look — there's no leftover icon contradicting the innocent screen.
Good decoys
A decoy works when it's boring and plausible for your job: a spreadsheet, a document, a terminal with a build running, a training video paused mid-frame. Avoid anything interactive that would look frozen if someone watches for a few seconds.
Free vs Pro
Hiding windows, taskbar buttons and tray icons with a hotkey is free for up to 3 apps — download gohide. The decoy cover screen, process suspend, unlimited apps and dynamic selection are part of gohide Pro — a one-time purchase, no subscription. See pricing.