Should mobile apps be able to prevent screen capturing?
On the mainstream mobile operating system, Android and iOS, applications are able to prevent the device owner from capturing the screen. This includes screenshots and screen casts. This is also known as "screenshot blocking".
Well-known uses of it are banking apps, Google Chrome's "incognito mode", and WhatsApp "view once" messages and profile pictures.
Mobile apps should be able to prevent screen capture[edit source]
Arguments for[edit source]
- ⟬⟬⟭: Screen capture blocking prevents sensitive details in banking apps from getting outside.
- ⟬⟬⟭: This is not a justification for not giving the user the ability to override the block at their own risk.
- ⟬⟬⟭: Not every single part of a banking app contains sensitive details.
- ⟬⟬⟭: This protects the privacy of people on messaging apps, WhatsApp in particular.[1]
- ⟬⟬⟭: Profile picture screenshots are not a privacy violation, because one should not upload something onto a visible spot on the Internet that one does not wish to be preserved by others, such as a picture of ones face. A profile picture is such a spot.
- ⟬⟬⟭: A profile picture is something one voluntarily chooses to make public, and not even a mandatory requirement to be able to use WhatsApp.
- ⟬⟬⟭: Users who want to override screen capture blocking can unlock the bootloader and root their devices.
- ⟬⟬⟭: This is difficult to do and does not work on all devices, and voids the warranty. In particular, Samsung made it impossible to unlock their devices' bootloaders in 2025. Additionally, some applications don't work properly with rooted devices, particularly those using the "Play Integrity API" that exists for this exact purpose.
Arguments against[edit source]
- ⟬⟬⟭: The device owner paid for the device, so they should have the highest authority, and therefore, no app should be able to prevent the device owner from capturing screen shots.
- ⟬⟬⟭: It can and has been overused by app developers. For example, the Booking.com app has used it to disable screenshots of rooms.[2]
- ⟬⟬⟭: It prevents users from documenting issues with apps, making it harder to get help in online forums.
- ⟬⟬⟭: It prevents users from creating bug reports.