Android's screenshot blocking is user hostile


This post might not be of much value. It's mostly me being grumpy, feel free to skip over it.

Android allows app developers to mark activities as FLAG_SECURE. This blocks you from taking screenshots when that activity is on screen.

I'm holding my phone and I can see what's on the screen but I can't take a screenshot using a physical button press.
This isn't protecting me from someone snooping on my bank by taking screenshots using another app, if it was about preventing other apps from taking sensitive screenshots the physical button combination should still work.

The analog hole still exists. My phone screen emits photons, I can pick up another phone and take a picture.

So here I am digging out another device to report a bug to my bank because they used a feature that shouldn't exist to stop me taking a screenshot of their app.

My phone doesn't feel like a device I own. It feels like I'm using Google and Samsung's device, and sometimes they deign to let me do something with it. If I wanted to install a custom ROM which fixes this I can't because then I won't be able to use banking apps at all, thanks to safetynet.

I hate tech sometimes.

:(


tagged griping android