this post was submitted on 18 Dec 2024
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Not sure if this is the correct place to post, but I just wanna kinda rant a bit.

I'm not the only one that hates this, right?

An app can just do a "This App Does Not Allow Screenshots"? Like... wtf?

Like, its my phone, and some app can just decide to disable a fuction of my phone. It's my phone and if I wanna take a screenshot, I'm taking a screenshot. I don't care about whatever "security" the app developer wants.

Imagine if every online shopping app whether fast food or amazon, just used this to block you from taking a screenshot so you can't save the records in case of a dispute.

Which android developer thought it was a good idea to let an app disable a function on your phone. Even iPhone doesn't have this stupid concept.

Sorry for the rant.

Anyone wanna share your stories?

(P.S. I have a cheap secondary phone to take photos of the screen. "This App Does Not Allow Screenshots" my ass lmao, I'm taking the screenshot whether the app wants it or not.

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[–] [email protected] 19 points 2 days ago (2 children)

Ironically, Google's new creepy Circle to Search feature gets to override the screenshot denial lockout that Google themselves created.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 4 hours ago

Doesn't appear to work in my case. I can a blank screen like I would when trying to screenshot.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 day ago

Of course. When you run a monopoly, you get to make your own rules.

EU should force Google to open Android back up.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 2 days ago (1 children)

The only apps where this makes any sense are dating apps and similar social apps where a level of social vulnerability is more likely.

Otherwise agree that all others are BS.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Password manager. Bitwarden does this. Signal too but that falls into your social media category.

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[–] [email protected] 22 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Man, my banking app recently switched to a different keyboard. One that doesn't allow integrations like bitwarden. I also cannot copy paste my password into the password field so I have to enter my 32 character password by hand.

Mind you, this is not an app that does ANY banking in the first place it is just to authorize access to my bank account or for transactions.

So it is always a few minutes copying the password, making sure I haven't miss-typed on the shitty keyboard or because of my sausage fingers and then being logged out of my bank account in the browser because it took so much time copying that password.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 days ago

This type of dumbass design is the reason we have passwords like password12345.

[–] [email protected] 28 points 2 days ago (5 children)

Wanna know what's even more fucked up? Few years back, I had exactly this problem. Searched the internet for a solution. Guess what?

Enable Google Voice Assistant and say "Ok Google. Take a screenshot." Google magically has the rights to make a screenshot on the App that doesn't let you, the user, take the screenshot.

Next phone I get is gonna be something with a alternate OS, no Android or iOS.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 2 days ago (2 children)

That OS won't have those banking apps in the first place, so what's the difference to just not installing them on Android?

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[–] [email protected] 13 points 2 days ago (6 children)

Good luck with finding an alternative. I tried running a Pinephone Pro with Linux and it was just too buggy to use.

If your current phone lasts 4 more years it might be ok software wise but good god is it bad now.

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[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I just open my tab switcher, then take a screenshot from there =P

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 day ago (6 children)

You mean the "recent apps"?

What Android version?

In any recent Android versions, anything within the app in the "recent apps" would show as all white or all black in any screenshots or screen recordings.

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[–] [email protected] 9 points 2 days ago (1 children)

I don't have much to add other than my agreement. They've been tightening the noose around our necks little by little for years now. But don't worry, screenshots and copying and pasting text will return...as a microsubscription! /s

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[–] [email protected] 20 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (2 children)

I hate the whole bloody smartphone ecosystem for shit like this. Microsoft Palladium was widely seen as a nightmare scenario when it proposed ceding a bunch of user control to the OS and app developers a couple decades ago, even by the mainstream press. It seems Apple and Google used it as a roadmap, likely because people don't know how to use computers, and that doesn't seem to be improving.

The part of the modern mobile OS security model that does have merit is that apps aren't trusted. The PC model, even in multiuser operating systems with fancy permissions was that apps are user agents which are always doing something the user asked for, and therefore trusted as much as the user. The glut of spyware for Windows in the early 2000s proved that false.

The fact that somebody else doesn't know how to use a computer shouldn't force me to cede control over mine to participate in the modern world. Root is a bit of an escape hatch, but it's a blunt instrument on Android, and Google tries to help app developers stop me from using that as well. I'm starting to feel like Richard Stallman was right about everything and I should go be a digital hermit, only running software I compiled from source.

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[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 days ago (2 children)

you can bypass this with a rootkit

i think they do it for security reasons. if you can take screenshots of sensitive data, so can malware. however, you should be able to disable it for netflix for example.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Netflix and other streaming apps do it to prevent screen recording their 'premium' content. These use DRM too and the region of protected content shows in black in scrcpy. These apps are much hostile to users much beyond screenshot and shouldn't be used anyway. Most movies and shows can be pirated from torrent, illegal streaming sites or simply telegram in good quality and watched in say vlc for much better experience than these crappy apps provide.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I respect your opinion, but I see it differently.

Paying for entertainment and content like well-made animations makes sense to me. After all, paying for content is some kind of democratic participation, choosing what is produced. I didn't mind pirating a lot when I was younger and didn't have the money to pay for something anyways, but now i prefer to do things "the right way".

[–] [email protected] 2 points 20 hours ago

I've no problem with paying the artists of the great contents I enjoy. I think they deserve the support and praise. What I (and we should IMO) hate is user subjugating behaviour the streaming apps and hollywood studios impose. I'd pay for the content and the bandwidth of the streaming/downloading service. Better yet, pay per download like netflix dvd days.

Digital restriction management has been proven ineffective for piracy. And piracy is the only way I get good quality content in accessible way. For example due to DRM netflix will not run on any of my devices above 720p no matter what I pay. There's simply no way I can pay the artists directly AFAIK.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 days ago

i think they do it for security reasons.

Yet, on iOS, the same app can't. So it is more like, "ooh a button to twiddle, I'll twiddle it!"

[–] [email protected] 82 points 3 days ago (8 children)

I fuckin hate that Playstation 4 and 5 do this for taking screenshots from movies. I just want to get a good screen grab for meme purposes! Do you think I'm going to screen shot every goddamn frame of a movie, one at a time, paste those back together as a video, then somehow rip the audio too, and then share this necromantically-assembled abomination with all my pirate buddies? Fuck you!

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[–] [email protected] 122 points 3 days ago (5 children)

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.

[–] [email protected] 82 points 3 days ago (27 children)

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...

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[–] [email protected] 72 points 3 days ago (15 children)

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...

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[–] [email protected] 25 points 3 days ago (3 children)

I hate this "feature" of the Dexcom GCM app. They seem to believe that HIPPA law prevents me from sharing my glucose readings with anyone I choose to.

To send readings to people, I can't screenshot the app but I can screenshot the notification which contains the same info 🤷🏼

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[–] [email protected] 35 points 3 days ago (13 children)

Aaaah! I'm so frustrated by this BS. Its MY phone. It should be MY choice.

Switching to GrapheneOS soon, and if the bank app(s) don't work, too bad. I'll use a (Linux) computer.

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[–] [email protected] 12 points 2 days ago (10 children)

The security argument is a lie, I think. I think websites like Netflix like these features so it's difficult to approach copying a video.

If security were an issue I don't think you'd be able to copy text to the clipboard in situations where you can't screenshot.

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[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (4 children)

Yes, it's simple, if you don't want me to screenshot your software then don't display it on my screen.

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[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 days ago (4 children)

You can bypass this crap, but you'll need to root your phone to achieve that.

Afterwards you'll need to install magisk (superuser app) and a bunch of plugins: play integrity fix and playcurl_next (to simulate that your phone is unrooted), and then FlagSecurePatcher (which is the actual module that's overriding the screenshot block.

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