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I just spent a year and a half building and rolling out a web version of a popular native app. We had to make a lot of compromises to get it out the door. Nati

I just spent a year and a half building and rolling out a web version of a popular native app. We had to make a lot of compromises to get it out the door. Native apps can block screenshots. Apple doesn't always like it, but you can plead your case to the reviewers. Web apps don't have an API to prevent screenshotting or to know when one is about to be taken and hide their contents. This is important to protect privacy (nudes) and people have come to expect it. Know what's interesting? Screenshot protection is available for Encrypted Media Extension (DRM) video if you have Hollywood $$$. Browsers (on desktop) also have dev tools built in. They make it easy to download any image you can see even if we put all the right click prevention scripts and CSS hacks in the world in place. Imagine having to explain to the privacy protection team that you can't disable dev tools for your site when that's not even an issue on native mobile without extra steps. Those are platform wide issues, and I seriously doubt the people setting web standards are going to be on board with new standards that keep information (even very, very personal information) from being free. I've championed the web since 1996. And PWAs may be fine to replace some basic e-commerce and information apps. But the platform needs to make some changes before it can totally replace native apps.

wilsonnb3 3y ago
> Native apps can block screenshots > This is important to protect privacy (nudes) and people have come to expect it. Considering you can just, ya know, take a picture of it, this doesn't seem important at all.
- smelendez 3y ago
  That was my first thought too. My next thoughts were: - it protects the platform, to some extent, by reducing the number of unwanted screenshots - it sets a social norm that taking screenshots is unwanted and makes the screenshot taker look extra creepy if they share the image with anyone - if a platform provides screenshot blocking, and users (who have all seen pictures of one screen taken from another device) value that protection and make decisions about what to post based on it, the company should think long and hard before deploying a version that breaks that assumption
  - csixty4 3y ago
    This is basically it. Yes, there are a million ways around the best protection (even on mobile!) but it's all about user trust and setting norms.
  - arch-choot 3y ago
    I think it just leads to a false sense of security for most "normie" users. E.g. Snapchat, people think it must give a screenshot notification or whatever, so it is "safe" for nudes. Well it is quite trivial to save the photos, either by network interception or patching the app etc. , which ordinary users may not even consider. Not quite related, but I think "deleting messages" falls into a similar problem. It makes end users think they are "safe" or whatever, but the reality is that if a message was delivered to the other parties phone, they could easily have the original text despite any deletions, e.g. a cached notification or similar.
    - smelendez 3y ago
      I wonder about this, versus culturally giving users permission to send nudes, even though they know there's always the possibility they'll be saved.
judge2020 3y ago
> Apple doesn't always like it, but you can plead your case to the reviewers Since when? What app does this? SnapChat just notifies the counterparty of screenshots, which is largely "nudes", but no other app I've used actually manages to block my screenshots.
- csixty4 3y ago
  ScreenShieldKit is the gold standard for iOS screenshot blocking. They have a messaging app called Confide that includes the feature. (It's not the app I worked on but it's out there as an example)
downWidOutaFite 3y ago
Sorry but I'm glad you aren't able to implement those features on the web.
- CaptainFever 3y ago
  Right. I'm frustrated when my software works against me.
- sjfjsjdjwvwvc 3y ago
  You aren’t really able to implement them in real life anyway - just like any other form of DRM. If the device can show/play it you can capture it.
vitiral 3y ago
Blocking screenshots is a solution in search of a problem. How do you plan to block another phone or high definition camera taking a picture?
- ronsor 3y ago
  Hard mode: capturing straight from the internal display interface
bl4kers 3y ago
> This is important to protect privacy (nudes) and people have come to expect it. Well that's unfortunate. I can take any camera and point it at a screen to capture its contents. Any expectation of privacy on that front is artificial and naive
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
- Tijdreiziger 3y ago
  How many people are going to bust out another camera to take a picture vs. hitting two buttons to take a screenshot? There's a difference in scale.
  - bl4kers 3y ago
    I'm betting the number of people doing it will increase at the same rate as the number of apps blocking screenshots. Also would have a relationship to the expectation of security. If more people believe it's secure then the amount of sensitive content will increase Wanting to get around artificial barriers seems pretty engrained into human nature
- tziki 3y ago
  There is a difference between trivially bypassing protections and having to go though some effort to bypass it.
dilyevsky 3y ago
I can just take a photo with another phone, you know that right? It wont be hd but will be enough to compromise privacy if that’s really your concern
- eropple 3y ago
  You can, but most people's phone is their only phone and their only camera. Tech people aren't the primary audience for those applications.
  - dilyevsky 3y ago
    they compensate for their lack of tech skills with determination =)
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
morkalork 3y ago
How can you say you're a champion of the free web in the same breath as lamenting not being able to wrest away users control over their own devices?!
- Klonoar 3y ago
  You must have somehow missed the end of their comment that more or less sums up the nuance. ;P
  - dilyevsky 3y ago
    The nuance is basically to drop the “free” - it’s cleaner. Otherwise their business model of sending nudes to random strangers on the internet does not work
- csixty4 3y ago
  We can have a free web or we can have a web that replaces app stores completely. We can't have both. I personally prefer a completely free & open web, but I understand that means I'm going to be installing binaries for some things. I'd much rather have to download netflix.exe than have the current state of browser drm for example.
  - WWLink 3y ago
    You'd rather have a locked down connection because you want to control what users do with the content you're selling.
ClassyJacket 3y ago
Native and web apps shouldn't be able to block (or detect) screenshots. It's MY device. I should be able to screenshot whatever I want. And you want to disable right click download? Then simply do not upload those images. You do not have the right to take that control away from me as a user. Why "champion the web" if your whole goal is to take control of users' devices away from them and destroy their freedom in some of the most basic ways?
- bee_rider 3y ago
  It’s your device, you can download a program that blocks screenshots if you like.

wilsonnb3 3y ago

> Native apps can block screenshots > This is important to protect privacy (nudes) and people have come to expect it. Considering you can just, ya know, take a picture of it, this doesn't seem important at all.

smelendez 3y ago
That was my first thought too. My next thoughts were: - it protects the platform, to some extent, by reducing the number of unwanted screenshots - it sets a social norm that taking screenshots is unwanted and makes the screenshot taker look extra creepy if they share the image with anyone - if a platform provides screenshot blocking, and users (who have all seen pictures of one screen taken from another device) value that protection and make decisions about what to post based on it, the company should think long and hard before deploying a version that breaks that assumption
- csixty4 3y ago
  This is basically it. Yes, there are a million ways around the best protection (even on mobile!) but it's all about user trust and setting norms.
- arch-choot 3y ago
  I think it just leads to a false sense of security for most "normie" users. E.g. Snapchat, people think it must give a screenshot notification or whatever, so it is "safe" for nudes. Well it is quite trivial to save the photos, either by network interception or patching the app etc. , which ordinary users may not even consider. Not quite related, but I think "deleting messages" falls into a similar problem. It makes end users think they are "safe" or whatever, but the reality is that if a message was delivered to the other parties phone, they could easily have the original text despite any deletions, e.g. a cached notification or similar.
  - smelendez 3y ago
    I wonder about this, versus culturally giving users permission to send nudes, even though they know there's always the possibility they'll be saved.

judge2020 3y ago

> Apple doesn't always like it, but you can plead your case to the reviewers Since when? What app does this? SnapChat just notifies the counterparty of screenshots, which is largely "nudes", but no other app I've used actually manages to block my screenshots.

csixty4 3y ago
ScreenShieldKit is the gold standard for iOS screenshot blocking. They have a messaging app called Confide that includes the feature. (It's not the app I worked on but it's out there as an example)

downWidOutaFite 3y ago

Sorry but I'm glad you aren't able to implement those features on the web.

CaptainFever 3y ago
Right. I'm frustrated when my software works against me.
sjfjsjdjwvwvc 3y ago
You aren’t really able to implement them in real life anyway - just like any other form of DRM. If the device can show/play it you can capture it.

vitiral 3y ago

Blocking screenshots is a solution in search of a problem. How do you plan to block another phone or high definition camera taking a picture?

ronsor 3y ago
Hard mode: capturing straight from the internal display interface

bl4kers 3y ago

> This is important to protect privacy (nudes) and people have come to expect it. Well that's unfortunate. I can take any camera and point it at a screen to capture its contents. Any expectation of privacy on that front is artificial and naive

deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
Tijdreiziger 3y ago
How many people are going to bust out another camera to take a picture vs. hitting two buttons to take a screenshot? There's a difference in scale.
- bl4kers 3y ago
  I'm betting the number of people doing it will increase at the same rate as the number of apps blocking screenshots. Also would have a relationship to the expectation of security. If more people believe it's secure then the amount of sensitive content will increase Wanting to get around artificial barriers seems pretty engrained into human nature
tziki 3y ago
There is a difference between trivially bypassing protections and having to go though some effort to bypass it.

dilyevsky 3y ago

I can just take a photo with another phone, you know that right? It wont be hd but will be enough to compromise privacy if that’s really your concern

eropple 3y ago
You can, but most people's phone is their only phone and their only camera. Tech people aren't the primary audience for those applications.
- dilyevsky 3y ago
  they compensate for their lack of tech skills with determination =)

deleted 3y ago

[deleted]

morkalork 3y ago

How can you say you're a champion of the free web in the same breath as lamenting not being able to wrest away users control over their own devices?!

Klonoar 3y ago
You must have somehow missed the end of their comment that more or less sums up the nuance. ;P
- dilyevsky 3y ago
  The nuance is basically to drop the “free” - it’s cleaner. Otherwise their business model of sending nudes to random strangers on the internet does not work
csixty4 3y ago
We can have a free web or we can have a web that replaces app stores completely. We can't have both. I personally prefer a completely free & open web, but I understand that means I'm going to be installing binaries for some things. I'd much rather have to download netflix.exe than have the current state of browser drm for example.
- WWLink 3y ago
  You'd rather have a locked down connection because you want to control what users do with the content you're selling.

ClassyJacket 3y ago

Native and web apps shouldn't be able to block (or detect) screenshots. It's MY device. I should be able to screenshot whatever I want. And you want to disable right click download? Then simply do not upload those images. You do not have the right to take that control away from me as a user. Why "champion the web" if your whole goal is to take control of users' devices away from them and destroy their freedom in some of the most basic ways?

bee_rider 3y ago
It’s your device, you can download a program that blocks screenshots if you like.