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> prevents me from taking screenshots if an app author doesn't want me to The most frustrating part about this "feature" is that you don't know it's enabled un
by hypeatei 1y ago
> prevents me from taking screenshots if an app author doesn't want me to
The most frustrating part about this "feature" is that you don't know it's enabled until the screenshot is taken and you're left with a picture of nothing.
That and some app authors thinking they're protecting you with this (referring to banking apps in particular)
- nerdponx 1y agoPretty sure Twitch on iOS does this now. Screen recording still works though.
- nine_k 1y agoNow consider the fact that an arbitrary other app can take a screenshot clandestinely, via API. Would you like it to happen when you're looking at the summary of your accounts? your list of credit card numbers? The problem is that certain actions should only be acceptable if initiated by the user, physically. Think of the way Ctrl+Alt+Del works in Windows. This, of course, is not possible if you don't have enough fingers for the action, or something; here comes the loophole of assistive technologies, widely (ab)used for that on most platforms.
- wiseowise 1y agoThat’s why taking screenshots should be a runtime permission thing.
- Foobar8568 1y agoI want to send my new IBAN to my company, I can, no screenshot allowed on the screen with banking information. So I need to log on their website to do it. At least my new bank allows such screenshot and to copy account information directly from the app.
- akomtu 1y agoTwo mirrors will make it allowed.
- looofooo0 1y agoThere is a special place in hell for people providing non copyable text information in the form of screenshots.
- microtonal 1y agoPerhaps true, but some modern OSes (like macOS and iOS) allow you to copy text from screenshots. And since the text quality of screenshots is typically good, it works well.
- interloxia 1y agoWindows with power toys and android have it too. The Penny supermarkt app on android disables both screenshots and text selection with the error that it is disabled by admin.
- ponector 1y agoDo you prefer a voice message instead? /s
- godelski 1y agoIt's amazing how many "little" things there are like this. Like I honestly can't remember the last time I filled out a form which required something like my country and I didn't have to scroll to find it. All the information's there to make a good guess. But this is just one example of a million. There's just too many papercuts.
- NicuCalcea 1y agoThe other day I wanted to send someone proof that a transaction has gone through. A screenshot would have been the obvious choice, but of course, my banking app wouldn't let me do it.
- t_mann 1y agoA screenshot would also be trivial to counterfeit. That being said, I am not aware of any banks that provide any actually tamper-proof, shareable transaction confirmations.
- cenamus 1y agoThey literally had me photocopy the phone screen because of the same issue.
- FinnKuhn 1y agoWhy not copy it from the App?
- spixy 1y agoI have checked all my mobile banking apps (3 czech, 1 slovak, 1 lithuanian bank) and all of them can copy my IBAN.
- godelski 1y agoIn some sense they are. But being protected either from a consequence of my own stupidity or a consequence of their lack of security. I think the worst part of all is that these "bandaids" are being used in place of actual security. I don't need to be protected from my own stupidity nor do I need security theater.
- Aerroon 1y agoIt doesn't really protect anything though, because you can always just use an external camera to take a picture of your screen.
- Cloudef 1y agoIts probably meant to try mitigate damage in case bad actor gets remote access to your phone or you have malware.
- const_cast 1y agoIf your phone is remotely rooted, the screenshot is providing no security.
- godelski 1y agoSounds like they need to spend more money on security and their "good enough" solutions aren't actually good enough.
- ncruces 1y agoIt protects less proficient users from accidentally taking a screenshot.
- mr_mitm 1y agoI think the threat model here is that a different, malicious app (compromised, installed accidentally or by the means of social engineering) might take screenshots of your screen and forward them to take advantage of you. You can file this under one's "own stupidity" as well, sure, but in the end they're not protecting you, they're protecting themselves, because banks might be liable for these kind of things, and by imposing these restrictions, they're reducing the amount of fraud and thus improve their bottom line.
- mihaaly 1y agoJesus Christ! Who are the product designers of the present with these single-minded attitude not checking how the implementation affects the life of paying customers< Children?! Most take pride - on paper! - about what one can do 'so easily' with their product, just to raise barricades getting there, using it, or those pop up suddenly while using it, bumping into it like into a bollard ona highway. Or just chain them to it against will! I am not aiming at Android only here as this is a generic attitude I found from organization being so self obsessed about what THEY want that no-one else benefits, no-one else have real benefits - only mixed ones with sizeable drawbacks -, defying the purpose of having modern technology. When the life becomes differently complicated, then that is no progress at all, just messing around. I am thinking three, four, or more times nowadays buying any technology, which is sad, as I was so enthusiastic only one but especially two decades ago, discovering advances and gadgets. Not anymore. I spend my money - and TIME! - on things bringing benefit or joy instead, or on those I am FORCED into. Yes, this obsession of providing non-technology services (banking, bureaucracy, identification, ...) apps first (sometimes only, at least to various, sometimes important details of the use/access) which is a hugely demanding matter on users (choose, purchase, pay, setup, learn, re-learn, update, maintain, subscribe, know and accept terms, charge, protect, both physically and data wise, click away suggestions and self promotions while busy with something important) that it is a very bitter pill to swallow.
- figmert 1y agoYou're tech savvy enough, you're not the target for such a feature. The target is the grandmas and grandpas, and other people who have no idea about such things.
- GuB-42 1y agoIt is not for preventing you from taking screenshots, if you insist, you can do it with another camera. It is to prevent malware and "helpful" AI tools from doing it for you and then uploading the picture to who knows where. Signal does this too, though I think it is optional. Beyond preventing screenshots, it blacks out the window content in the task switcher, which is useful if someone is looking over your shoulder. This, by the way, is a good way to check if screenshots are allowed. If the window appears black in the task switcher, screenshots won't work. The idea is similar to the "**" password fields.
- thmsths 1y agoI mean if the goal is to prevent potential malicious apps from taking screenshots automatically; instead of saving a clueless user from themselves or worse getting in the way of legitimate users I believe that the proper solution is to disallow programmatic screenshots while still allowing screenshots when there is the correct button press (and ensure that this cannot be emulated). Windows reserves ctrl-alt-delete as a direct signal to the kernel for security purposes. Why can't android do the same?
- mdp2021 1y ago> the proper solution includes the ability from a user to take screenshots programmatically in case of need. You do not want third parties to be able to; you want the User (yourself) to be able to.
- dzikimarian 1y agoIt's really stupid idea, that results in photos of sensitive information displayed on my device on other devices that I don't control and sensitive information wrote on paper in random places. Password fields are inputs. Screens are bi-directional.
- spixy 1y agoThen ask for my fingerprint after screenshot is made.
- deleted 1y ago[deleted]
- stronglikedan 1y ago> The most frustrating part about this "feature" is that you don't know it's enabled until the screenshot is taken and you're left with a picture of nothing. That's doesn't sound right. On mine, a message is displayed saying that the app does not allow screenshots, and no image is written to the device.