LiveCue › Is Cluely Safe?
Is Cluely Safe? Privacy, Screen Share & Data Risks Explained
Quick summary
Cluely is a legitimate product — not malware, and it does not add a bot to your meetings. It has three meaningful concerns: (1) your call audio and screen content are processed on Cluely's servers and your meeting history is stored there, (2) screen-share invisibility is only included on the $149.99/month tier, so on Starter and Pro the overlay can show up when you share your screen, and (3) its "cheat on everything" positioning can put you on the wrong side of interview and workplace AI policies. Whether these matter depends on your use case.
The three privacy risks of Cluely
🔴 High risk: Screen-share invisibility is a paid add-on
Cluely advertises that it never shows up in shared screens — but on its pricing page that capability belongs to the Pro + Undetectability tier at $149.99/month. On the free Starter and $19.99 Pro plans the overlay is an ordinary window, so if you share your screen on a sales call or interview, the coaching panel can be visible to everyone. Most people evaluating Cluely do not realize invisibility is the expensive tier.
🟡 Medium risk: Positioned for undetected use
Cluely's "cheat on everything" branding is aimed squarely at going unnoticed in interviews and meetings. Many interview processes and employers explicitly prohibit undisclosed AI assistance. Using a tool whose entire pitch is undetectability is a professional risk if it comes out, regardless of how well the software works.
🟡 Medium risk: Audio processed in the cloud
Cluely processes your call audio and screen content on its servers, and paid plans include access to past meeting history, so meeting data is retained in Cluely's cloud. For calls involving confidential information — financial, legal, medical, NDA-covered — retention is the part your IT or legal team will care about; read Cluely's privacy policy for specifics. For fairness: LiveCue also uses cloud providers: audio is streamed to a speech-to-text service and short transcript snippets go to an AI provider to generate cues, but we do not store your meeting audio or transcripts — see our privacy policy.
🟢 Low risk: Cluely itself is legitimate
Cluely is a real company building a real product. It is not malware, not a scam, and has published a privacy policy. The risks are about their product architecture choices, not about the company being malicious.
Can Cluely be seen on screen share?
This is one of the most common questions, and the answer is: it depends on your plan.
It depends on your plan. Cluely markets itself as invisible to screen share, but on its pricing page that capability belongs to the Pro + Undetectability tier at $149.99/month. On the free Starter and $19.99 Pro plans, the overlay is a normal window and can appear when you share your screen. LiveCue's overlay is excluded from macOS screen capture on every plan, including the free trial.
For context: LiveCue uses macOS's native window privacy API to exclude its overlay from screen capture — including Zoom, Meet, and Teams screen share — and that is part of the free trial and every paid plan, not a premium tier.
Does Cluely record your calls?
Cluely captures your call audio and screen content in real time and processes it on its servers, and paid plans include past meeting history, so meeting data is retained. Their privacy policy governs what is kept and for how long — read it at cluely.com/privacy before using the product with sensitive business conversations.
If retention is the concern, the difference with LiveCue is storage, not location: LiveCue also uses cloud providers: audio is streamed to a speech-to-text service and short transcript snippets go to an AI provider to generate cues, but we do not store your meeting audio or transcripts — see our privacy policy.
Cluely privacy vs LiveCue privacy
| Privacy concern | Cluely | LiveCue |
|---|---|---|
| Meeting audio / history stored | ✗ Yes — past meeting history in Cluely's cloud | ✓ Not stored — processed transiently |
| Bot visible to others | ✓ No bot | ✓ No bot |
| Screen-share-safe overlay | ✗ Only on the $149.99/mo tier | ✓ Every plan |
| Cloud AI providers used | Yes — see cluely.com/privacy | Yes, transiently — see our privacy policy |
| Positioning | ✗ "Cheat on everything" | ✓ Responsible-use meeting help |
Who should be most concerned?
Cluely's privacy model is fine for casual use — job seekers doing practice interviews, freelancers on informal client calls, or anyone not sharing their screen. The risks compound if you are:
- A sales rep who regularly shares your screen with prospects and is not on the $149.99/month tier
- In an interview with a company that prohibits AI tool use
- Discussing confidential business information (legal, financial, medical, NDA-covered)
- At a company with IT policies about meeting data being retained by third-party vendors
- On a Mac and looking for a native, private experience
Frequently asked questions
Is Cluely safe to use?
Cluely is a legitimate product, not malware, and it does not add a bot to your meetings. The concerns are that your audio and screen content are processed and your meeting history stored in Cluely's cloud, that screen-share invisibility is only included on the $149.99/month tier, and that its "cheat on everything" positioning can conflict with interview and workplace policies. Whether these are risks depends on your use case.
Can Cluely be seen during screen share?
It depends on your plan. Cluely markets itself as invisible to screen share, but on its pricing page that capability belongs to the Pro + Undetectability tier at $149.99/month. On the free Starter and $19.99 Pro plans, the overlay is a normal window and can appear when you share your screen. LiveCue's overlay is excluded from macOS screen capture on every plan, including the free trial.
Does Cluely record your calls?
Cluely processes call audio and screen content on its servers and paid plans keep past meeting history; their privacy policy governs retention. LiveCue also uses cloud speech-to-text and AI providers to generate cues, but stores no meeting audio or transcripts.
What is a private alternative to Cluely?
LiveCue is a Mac-native alternative built for privacy: a screen-share-safe overlay on every plan, no meeting bot, and no stored meeting audio or transcripts. See the full comparison →
The private alternative to Cluely
LiveCue — bot-free Mac workflow with a screen-share-safe private overlay. Built for Mac.
macOS 13+ · Free download