NoScreenshot plugin for NativePHP Mobile

A NativePHP Mobile plugin that prevents screenshots, blocks screen recording and global protection in App-switch state in your mobile app.

Mainly useful for apps that handle sensitive data, such as financial, healthcare, or enterprise applications, where protecting user privacy and data security is paramount.

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Platform Support

Feature	Android	iOS
Block screenshots	✅	⚠️ Detected, not preventable
Block screen recording	✅	✅ Black overlay
Detect live recording	—	✅
Global protection	✅	✅

How It Works

Android uses WindowManager.LayoutParams.FLAG_SECURE — an OS-level window flag that prevents the system from capturing the screen by any means: the screenshot button, the built-in screen recorder, ADB shell, and third-party capture apps all receive a blank or blocked frame.

iOS cannot prevent the system screenshot gesture at the application level. Instead the plugin:

• Observes UIScreen.capturedDidChangeNotification
• When recording starts and protection is active, immediately overlays a full-screen black UIWindow (above the status bar) that hides all WebView content
• Reports isScreenBeingRecorded in real time via UIScreen.main.isCaptured

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Requirements

	Minimum
PHP	8.2
NativePHP Mobile	3.x
Android	API 21 (Android 5.0 Lollipop)
iOS	13.0

FLAG_SECURE is available from Android API 1. API 21 is the minimum set to match NativePHP Mobile's own requirements. The iOS 13 minimum is required because the recording overlay uses UIWindowScene, introduced in iOS 13.

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Installation

composer require codingwithrk/no-screenshot

The service provider and NoScreenshot facade alias are auto-discovered by Laravel — no manual registration needed.

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Quick Start

use Codingwithrk\NoScreenshot\Facades\NoScreenshot;

// Protect the entire app
NoScreenshot::disableGlobally();

// Lift global protection
NoScreenshot::enableGlobally();

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PHP API

All methods are available via the NoScreenshot facade or by resolving Codingwithrk\NoScreenshot\NoScreenshot from the container.

disableGlobally(): bool

Activates protection for the entire app.

• Android — adds FLAG_SECURE to the activity window; all capture attempts receive a blank frame.
• iOS — registers the UIScreen.capturedDidChangeNotification observer; if recording is already in progress, the black overlay appears immediately.

Returns true on success, false if running outside NativePHP.

NoScreenshot::disableGlobally();

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enableGlobally(): bool

Removes global protection.

NoScreenshot::enableGlobally();

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toggle(): bool

Toggles global protection on/off. Returns the new isGloballyProtected state.

$isNowProtected = NoScreenshot::toggle();

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getStatus(): ?ScreenProtectionStatus

Returns the current protection state as a typed DTO, or null outside NativePHP.

$status = NoScreenshot::getStatus();

$status->isGloballyProtected;         // bool — true after disableGlobally()
$status->isScreenBeingRecorded;       // bool — iOS: live UIScreen.main.isCaptured; Android: always false
$status->isScreenshotDetectionActive; // bool — true when screenshot detection is running

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Events

Three events cover the full lifecycle of capture activity. Subscribe to them in your Livewire components or event listeners.

Event	Dispatched when
ScreenshotAttempted	A screenshot was taken (detected, cannot be blocked on iOS)
ScreenRecordingStarted	isScreenBeingRecorded transitions false → true
ScreenRecordingStopped	isScreenBeingRecorded transitions true → false

Android note: FLAG_SECURE prevents capture rather than detecting it, so events are not dispatched automatically. Dispatch them manually from your polling logic if needed.

Listening with #[OnNative]

use Native\Mobile\Attributes\OnNative;
use Codingwithrk\NoScreenshot\Events\ScreenshotAttempted;
use Codingwithrk\NoScreenshot\Events\ScreenRecordingStarted;
use Codingwithrk\NoScreenshot\Events\ScreenRecordingStopped;

class MyLivewireComponent extends Component
{
    #[OnNative(ScreenshotAttempted::class)]
    public function onScreenshotAttempted(): void
    {
        // Log the attempt, notify the user, etc.
        logger()->warning('Screenshot attempted');
    }

    #[OnNative(ScreenRecordingStarted::class)]
    public function onRecordingStarted(): void
    {
        $this->dispatch('recording-started'); // trigger frontend update
    }

    #[OnNative(ScreenRecordingStopped::class)]
    public function onRecordingStopped(): void
    {
        $this->dispatch('recording-stopped');
    }
}

Manual Dispatch from a Controller

use Codingwithrk\NoScreenshot\Facades\NoScreenshot;
use Codingwithrk\NoScreenshot\Events\ScreenRecordingStarted;
use Codingwithrk\NoScreenshot\Events\ScreenRecordingStopped;
use Codingwithrk\NoScreenshot\Events\ScreenshotAttempted;

// In a controller action polled by the frontend:
$status = NoScreenshot::getStatus();

match (true) {
    $status->isScreenBeingRecorded => ScreenRecordingStarted::dispatch(),
    default                        => ScreenRecordingStopped::dispatch(),
};

ScreenshotAttempted::dispatch();

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ScreenProtectionStatus Reference

Property	Type	Android	iOS
isGloballyProtected	bool	✅	✅
isScreenBeingRecorded	bool	Always false	Live UIScreen.main.isCaptured
isScreenshotDetectionActive	bool	API 34+ only	✅ All versions

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Platform Notes

Android — min_sdk_version: 21

• FLAG_SECURE has been available since API 1, but NativePHP Mobile itself targets API 21+.
• The flag covers the entire activity window — all capture attempts (screenshot button, built-in recorder, ADB, third-party apps) receive a blank frame.
• The flag also hides the app thumbnail in the Recents / App Switcher.
• Screenshot detection via registerScreenCaptureCallback requires API 34+. On older devices, startScreenshotDetection() returns supported: false and no events fire.

iOS — min_version: 13.0

• iOS 13 is the minimum because the recording overlay uses UIWindowScene, which was introduced in iOS 13.
• UIScreen.main.isCaptured (available iOS 11+) is true during screen recording and AirPlay mirroring — the overlay appears in both cases.
• Screenshots cannot be prevented at the application level. The image is saved to Photos before the notification fires. The plugin can detect attempts via UIApplication.userDidTakeScreenshotNotification and dispatch ScreenshotAttempted, but the file is already saved by then.
• The black overlay is a UIWindow at UIWindow.Level.statusBar + 1, placed above all app content including the NativePHP WebView.

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Testing

Device / simulator testing

# Install in your NativePHP app (uses path repository)
composer require codingwithrk/no-screenshot

# Run on Android
php artisan native:run android

# Run on iOS
php artisan native:run ios

Then trigger NoScreenshot::disableGlobally() from a controller or Livewire component and:

Android — press the screenshot button. The OS shows "Can't take screenshot due to security policy."

iOS — start a screen recording from Control Center. The black overlay should appear immediately and disappear when recording stops.

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Support

For questions or issues, email connect@codingwithrk.com

License

The MIT License (MIT). Please see License File for more information.