I work for a company that builds an app /sdk that handles credit cards / payments. It's one of the (many) requirements for getting an industry standard certification (like PCIDSS / MPOC). The app Must block screenshots, and Must disable the camera while using it...
this post was submitted on 18 Dec 2024
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I agree that it's infuriating! I downloaded an LSPosed module called CaptureSposed that overrides it.
It shouldn't take a specific module hack on a rooted phone with a custom OS with an unlocked bootloader to get this functionality back.
I like that it's possible, but I think it should be treated like a permission with a user accessible toggle in settings for each app.
I would like to see the same thing for clipboard read access. In the same way app has to prompt you for location permission it would have to prompt you to read the clipboard and you would actually have the option to allow it all the time which is handy for some apps like clipboard manager, or don't allow it alltogether which is handy for some random apps you don't trust.
Oh yea, something needs to be done about the clipboard. It's unsettling to know that a random app can just get your clipboard. Sometimes bitwarden doesn't detect a password field for some reason so I have to copy it to the clipboard 😖 don't feel safe...
I believe Bitwarden has a setting to “wipe” the clipboard after some time.
Not perfect, but better
That's nothing. My workplace disabled copy/paste on everyone's work iPhones completely. Not in their own apps but system wide. Apparently that's something ios allows them to do. Doesn't affect me much because I use the phone as a glorified dual auth token but some people have it as their primary phone.
work iPhones
some people have it as their primary phone.
Bruh, I have no idea how people can put up with their employer being able control their device. Like... the employer can freak out about some perceived "security breach" and decide to wipe everyone's phone and you lose all your data like photos. Also, their employer can see if they are shit talking about the employer or mangement people, and it's a terrible idea if they want to unionize.
As an IT guy that manages MDMs, no we cannot see communications on the device
As another guy that does, yeah we can push ediscovery apps to the phone and pull all kinds of data
They are okay with it because it isn't their phone. It's a free phone that comes with the job.
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My work phone battery lasts for like 5-6 days because I only have Slack, MFA app, and outlook on it. It's crazy to use it for personal use
The point of many of android's "protection" features isn't to protect the user from apps, but to protect apps from the user. I hate it.
In this case, I think it's protecting apps from other apps. No secret screen recording going on while you're looking at bank statements, etc. I find that annoying, too, but I'm less annoyed by the reasoning in this case.
Now if Google could explain why toggling wifi through Tasker requires root, I would LOVE to hear the reasoning...
In this case, I think it's protecting apps from other apps. No secret screen recording going on while you're looking at bank statements, etc.
I think with all the engineers at Google developing Android they could come up with a solution of how to discern whether the act of screenshot was triggered solely by the user, or an app on the phone. They are the ones in power of all the APIs that allow other apps to capture the screen content in the first place. Maybe I am simplifying it too much, but this seems as a bad excuse to me.
Maybe it would be too hard of a solution since there's so many ways third party apps could capture screen content (including for example the Android accessibility service which also allows apps to read content of the screen and even simulate screen touches and gestures which many automation apps make use of) that blocking the screenshot alltogether is by far the most feasible solution.
There is already a solution:
Third-party apps, unless a user specifically go to settings and find that option, don’t have the permission known as “Draw Over Top” that’s required to do screen recordings/screenshots.
So by default, a user is already safe from a malicious app trying to steal info. (That is, unless they just be an idiot and give the app "Draw Over Top" permission)
Some password managers want draw over top.
Bitwarden required it, iirc
Well you are gonna be trusting the password manager anyways, since its literally storing all your passwords. If you trust Bitwarden to store all your passwords, then you can trust it to not abuse the "Draw Over Top" permission.
For me and my family, I think the best solution would be to leave it as-is but with a way to lift the restrictions for power users that doesn't involve root access. Something akin to enabling developer mode without having to buy a specific rootable phone
Or changing or just adding a system font.
Or setting a charge capacity limit.
Or adding separate quick access tikes for wifi and cellular.
The first two don't bug me but dam, give me my 6 buttons back!! I hate these fat notification tray icons. And yes, fuck Google for making it take MORE clicks to toggle wifi/cellular than before.
Third-party apps, unless a user specifically go to settings and find that option, don't have the permission known as "Draw Over Top" that's required to do screen recordings/screenshots.
Fair enough, though experience with my unsavvy family makes me think a lot of people will do whatever an app tells them to do
They changed it the other day where airplane mode doesn’t require root. That one’s nice for me.
Never mind that shortcuts on iOS has been able to do that simple task from its inception.
When did airplane mode ever require root?
Up until Android 14 I think. Android 13 for sure does not support it.
Unless an ADB trick counts https://tasker.joaoapps.com/userguide/en/help/ah_secure_setting_grant.html
You used to be able to do everything I wanted through tasker without root but Google has been stripping away functionality for years
Ok but why is my browser doing this in incognito mode? Incognito mode isn't a banking app. It's me not wanting my browser to save my Facebook login info or history.
The target use case for incognito mode is to prevent the device from saving your activity during the browsing session through things like cookies and history. To that end, incognito also blocks it to prevent other apps from saving your activity through screen recordings or screenshots.
Being able to block screenshots is "supposed" to protect users from having malware take screenshots of banking apps and other such information.
If app developers were good, this could have been a good feature.
But I agree with OP. It still should be the user's choice.
My Banking App does have the option to disable this feature.
It's all fine if it's a user choice, very annoying if it's not.
"Protections" are fine, as long as there's an override for it.
User doesn't like potential malware from "sideloading"? Then don't enable "Install from Unknown Sources".
Same thing with everything else, there should be an override switch.
Like, its my phone, and some app can just decide to disable a fuction of my phone.
Is it your phone though?
Yes, and we should not give app developers a free pass because "everybody is doing it".
🙃
It should be, but the reality is that is isn't.
Drives me nuts too! Signal at least has a toggle for it, so the user can decide. I wish more apps would do the same, maybe with a pop up warning explaining the risks.
iPhone absolutely has this concept
Interesting, I never seen an app in iOS that can block screenshots.
You can’t screen shot in streaming apps like Netflix and Disney. When you do the resulting image is just a black screen
You can hit "take screenshot" but it results in a black frame iirc. Same for screen record.
I know Netflix has/had this if you video recorded. I thought I found a great way to download shows/movies until it was just a black screen.
Ticketmaster.
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I understand the reasoning for it since many apps can see photos on your device so if it is something that should stay private you probably shouldn't be taking screenshots anyway, but I also can see how it could be annoying. I quite like the feature on messaging apps actually.
I get banking and financial apps doing it. But shopping apps yea, wish we had a permissions override
My doctor's app does this and it annoys the fuck out of me. I get test results and I want to share them with my wife and it's like nope.
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I've seen public transportation apps doing that to curb sharing the ticket/barcode with someone else.
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