4 ms·

The Airbnb app prevents screenshots on certain pages on the OS level on Android, I'm sure the Gmail app will do the same.

enriquto 8y ago
> The Airbnb app prevents screenshots on certain pages on the OS level on Android it is creepily dystopian that this sort of behavior is even possible
- Cthulhu_ 8y ago
  I think you're overreacting there and misappropriating that term to express your outrage, without thinking of realistic use cases. It's a security feature. Bank apps and 2FA apps probably have it as well when displaying sensitive information. In Airbnb it's probably a protective measure to avoid sharing information via screenshots instead of links to the app / website though. That's not dystopian either though.
  - realusername 8y ago
    It's not a "security" feature, anything which can be displayed can be captured, you can even take a picture of your phone with another phone if you want, it just makes users annoyed without adding any security.
    - Spivak 8y ago
      Just because you can get around a policy doesn't make it ineffective. I'm sure that slight barrier reduced the number of people taking screenshots of their bank app 99%. Perfect is the enemy of good.
      - realusername 8y ago
        It just gets user annoyed for no reason, why can't they take a screenshot of their bank account anyway? It just makes no sense. I understand banks like it because they are full of regulatory security which don't make sense in real life, that's probably one more to add to the list.
  - andreareina 8y ago
    How about app makers stop infantilizing us? I'm an adult, responsible for my actions and the consequences thereof. I keep records of actions I take on my bank's website, so I have to work around them disabling right-clicks. I give them the benefit of Hanlon's razor as far as their reasoning is concerned, but it's not something to excuse.
  - enriquto 8y ago
    > It's a security feature. Bank apps and 2FA apps probably have it as well And I would be creeped out as well by a bank website disabling the ability to take screenshots! The computer is mine to command. I simply do not find acceptable that a user program can disable basic functionality.
    - ForHackernews 8y ago
      Sadly, I think the era of general-purpose computing may be drawing to a close. Too many people are happy to settle for terminal appliances rather than real computers.
- monksy 8y ago
  Ticketmaster also does that. It's incredibly shitty that they disable functionality on your phone.
  - enriquto 8y ago
    The problem is that the operating system gives this power to the app developers and not to you. The shit is on the side of the android developers, not on the app developers, which are simply using an API available to them.
Y_Y 8y ago
Netflix does the same. If I owned my device I suppose I'd be the one to make decision about when I can screenshot and can't.
- beatgammit 8y ago
  It's stuff like this that's hyping me for projects like the Librem 5[1]. Sure, I might lose out on some functionality, but at least I can use my device as I please, and I and the community can make alternatives without those restrictions. I don't think it'll "catch on", but I sure hope that it becomes relevant enough to make some of these app developers consider supporting it. [1] https://puri.sm/products/librem-5/ https://puri.sm/products/librem-5/
jjulius 8y ago
Worthless from a security standpoint, because the screenshots can still be taken from a desktop or laptop device.
- gtsteve 8y ago
  You can always steal something if it can be seen. I think it's more of to clearly express that they don't want you to screenshot whatever it is. You can subvert it but you know you're doing something you shouldn't. I don't use AirBnB so I can't actually think why you'd want to disable screenshots in certain places. I'm curious now though, can someone tell me?
  - snarf21 8y ago
    I would assume two reasons: 1) Don't let people easily scrape their content and list it on a competitor. 2) Make it hard to people to put up fake listings that look real with the intention of scamming users.

enriquto 8y ago

> The Airbnb app prevents screenshots on certain pages on the OS level on Android it is creepily dystopian that this sort of behavior is even possible

Cthulhu_ 8y ago
I think you're overreacting there and misappropriating that term to express your outrage, without thinking of realistic use cases. It's a security feature. Bank apps and 2FA apps probably have it as well when displaying sensitive information. In Airbnb it's probably a protective measure to avoid sharing information via screenshots instead of links to the app / website though. That's not dystopian either though.
- realusername 8y ago
  It's not a "security" feature, anything which can be displayed can be captured, you can even take a picture of your phone with another phone if you want, it just makes users annoyed without adding any security.
  - Spivak 8y ago
    Just because you can get around a policy doesn't make it ineffective. I'm sure that slight barrier reduced the number of people taking screenshots of their bank app 99%. Perfect is the enemy of good.
    - realusername 8y ago
      It just gets user annoyed for no reason, why can't they take a screenshot of their bank account anyway? It just makes no sense. I understand banks like it because they are full of regulatory security which don't make sense in real life, that's probably one more to add to the list.
- andreareina 8y ago
  How about app makers stop infantilizing us? I'm an adult, responsible for my actions and the consequences thereof. I keep records of actions I take on my bank's website, so I have to work around them disabling right-clicks. I give them the benefit of Hanlon's razor as far as their reasoning is concerned, but it's not something to excuse.
- enriquto 8y ago
  > It's a security feature. Bank apps and 2FA apps probably have it as well And I would be creeped out as well by a bank website disabling the ability to take screenshots! The computer is mine to command. I simply do not find acceptable that a user program can disable basic functionality.
  - ForHackernews 8y ago
    Sadly, I think the era of general-purpose computing may be drawing to a close. Too many people are happy to settle for terminal appliances rather than real computers.
monksy 8y ago
Ticketmaster also does that. It's incredibly shitty that they disable functionality on your phone.
- enriquto 8y ago
  The problem is that the operating system gives this power to the app developers and not to you. The shit is on the side of the android developers, not on the app developers, which are simply using an API available to them.

Y_Y 8y ago

Netflix does the same. If I owned my device I suppose I'd be the one to make decision about when I can screenshot and can't.

beatgammit 8y ago
It's stuff like this that's hyping me for projects like the Librem 5[1]. Sure, I might lose out on some functionality, but at least I can use my device as I please, and I and the community can make alternatives without those restrictions. I don't think it'll "catch on", but I sure hope that it becomes relevant enough to make some of these app developers consider supporting it. [1] https://puri.sm/products/librem-5/ https://puri.sm/products/librem-5/

jjulius 8y ago

Worthless from a security standpoint, because the screenshots can still be taken from a desktop or laptop device.

gtsteve 8y ago
You can always steal something if it can be seen. I think it's more of to clearly express that they don't want you to screenshot whatever it is. You can subvert it but you know you're doing something you shouldn't. I don't use AirBnB so I can't actually think why you'd want to disable screenshots in certain places. I'm curious now though, can someone tell me?
- snarf21 8y ago
  I would assume two reasons: 1) Don't let people easily scrape their content and list it on a competitor. 2) Make it hard to people to put up fake listings that look real with the intention of scamming users.