Expo ScreenCapture

A library that allows you to protect screens in your app from being captured or recorded.

Android

iOS

Included in Expo Go

GitHub

npm

Changelog

Recommended version:

~55.0.18

expo-screen-capture allows you to protect screens in your app from being captured or recorded, as well as be notified if a screenshot is taken while your app is foregrounded. The two most common reasons you may want to prevent screen capture are:

If a screen is displaying sensitive information (password, credit card data, and so on)
You are displaying paid content that you don't want to be recorded and shared

This is especially important on Android since the android.media.projection API allows third-party apps to perform screen capture or screen sharing (even if the app is in the background).

On Android, the screen capture callback works without additional permissions only for Android 14+. You don't need to request or check permissions for blocking screen capture or using the callback on Android 14+.

If you want to use the screen capture callback on Android 13 or lower, you need to add the READ_MEDIA_IMAGES permission to your AndroidManifest.xml file. You can use the android.permissions key in your app config. See Android permissions for more information.

The READ_MEDIA_IMAGES permission can be added only for apps needing broad access to photos. See Details on Google Play's Photo and Video Permissions policy.

For testing screen capture functionality: On Android Emulator, run adb shell input keyevent 120 in a separate terminal to trigger a screenshot. On iOS Simulator, you can trigger screenshots using Device > Trigger Screenshot from the menu bar.

Installation

Terminal

- npx expo install expo-screen-capture

- yarn expo install expo-screen-capture

- pnpm expo install expo-screen-capture

- bun expo install expo-screen-capture

If you are installing this in an existing React Native app, make sure to install expo in your project.

Usage

Example: hook

Screen Capture hook

import { usePreventScreenCapture } from 'expo-screen-capture';
import { Text, View } from 'react-native';

export default function ScreenCaptureExample() {
  usePreventScreenCapture();

  return (
    <View style={{ flex: 1, alignItems: 'center', justifyContent: 'center' }}>
      <Text>As long as this component is mounted, this screen is unrecordable!</Text>
    </View>
  );
}

Example: Blocking screen capture imperatively

Blocking screen capture

import * as ScreenCapture from 'expo-screen-capture';
import { useEffect } from 'react';
import { Button, StyleSheet, View } from 'react-native';

export default function ScreenCaptureExample() {
  const activate = async () => {
    await ScreenCapture.preventScreenCaptureAsync();
  };

  const deactivate = async () => {
    await ScreenCapture.allowScreenCaptureAsync();
  };

  return (
    <View style={styles.container}>
      <Button title="Activate" onPress={activate} />
      <Button title="Deactivate" onPress={deactivate} />
    </View>
  );
}

const styles = StyleSheet.create({
  container: {
    flex: 1,
    alignItems: 'center',
    justifyContent: 'center',
  },
});

Example: Callback for screen capture

Callback for screen capture

import * as ScreenCapture from 'expo-screen-capture';
import { useEffect } from 'react';
import { Button, StyleSheet, View } from 'react-native';

export default function useScreenCaptureCallback() {
  // Only use this if you add the READ_MEDIA_IMAGES permission to your AndroidManifest.xml
  const hasPermissions = async () => {
    const { status } = await ScreenCapture.requestPermissionsAsync();
    return status === 'granted';
  };

  useEffect(() => {
    let subscription;

    const addListenerAsync = async () => {
      if (await hasPermissions()) {
        subscription = ScreenCapture.addScreenshotListener(() => {
          alert('Thanks for screenshotting my beautiful app 😊');
        });
      } else {
        console.error('Permissions needed to subscribe to screenshot events are missing!');
      }
    };
    addListenerAsync();

    return () => {
      subscription?.remove();
    };
  }, []);
}

API

import * as ScreenCapture from 'expo-screen-capture';

Hooks

`usePermissions(options)`

Android

iOS

Parameter	Type
options(optional)	`PermissionHookOptions<object>`

Check or request permissions necessary for detecting when a screenshot is taken. This uses both requestPermissionsAsync and getPermissionsAsync to interact with the permissions.

Returns:

[PermissionResponse | null, RequestPermissionMethod<PermissionResponse>, GetPermissionMethod<PermissionResponse>]

Example

const [status, requestPermission] = ScreenCapture.usePermissions();

`usePreventScreenCapture(key)`

Android

iOS

Parameter	Type	Description
key(optional)	`string`	If provided, this will prevent multiple instances of this hook or the `preventScreenCaptureAsync` and `allowScreenCaptureAsync` methods from conflicting with each other. This argument is useful if you have multiple active components using the `allowScreenCaptureAsync` hook. Default:`'default'`

A React hook to prevent screen capturing for as long as the owner component is mounted.

Returns:

void

`useScreenshotListener(listener)`

Android

iOS

Parameter	Type	Description
listener	`() => void`	A function that will be called whenever a screenshot is detected. This hook automatically starts listening when the component mounts, and stops listening when the component unmounts.

A React hook that listens for screenshots taken while the component is mounted.

Returns:

void

Methods

`ScreenCapture.allowScreenCaptureAsync(key)`

Android

iOS

Parameter	Type	Description
key(optional)	`string`	This will prevent multiple instances of the `preventScreenCaptureAsync` and `allowScreenCaptureAsync` methods from conflicting with each other. If provided, the value must be the same as the key passed to `preventScreenCaptureAsync` in order to re-enable screen capturing. Default:`'default'`

Re-allows the user to screen record or screenshot your app. If you haven't called preventScreenCapture() yet, this method does nothing.

Returns:

Promise<void>

`ScreenCapture.disableAppSwitcherProtectionAsync()`

iOS

Disables the privacy protection overlay that was previously enabled with enableAppSwitcherProtectionAsync.

Returns:

Promise<void>

`ScreenCapture.enableAppSwitcherProtectionAsync(blurIntensity)`

iOS

Parameter	Type	Description
blurIntensity(optional)	`number`	The intensity of the blur effect, from 0.0 (no blur) to 1.0 (maximum blur). Default is 0.5. Default:`0.5`

Enables a privacy protection blur overlay that hides sensitive content when the app is not in focus. The overlay applies a customizable blur effect when the app is in the app switcher, background, or during interruptions (calls, Siri, Control Center, etc.), and automatically removes it when the app becomes active again.

This provides visual privacy protection by preventing sensitive app content from being visible in:

App switcher previews
Background app snapshots
Screenshots taken during inactive states

For Android, app switcher protection is automatically provided by preventScreenCaptureAsync() using the FLAG_SECURE window flag, which shows a blank screen in the recent apps preview.

Returns:

Promise<void>

`ScreenCapture.getPermissionsAsync()`

Android

iOS

Checks user's permissions for detecting when a screenshot is taken.

Only Android requires additional permissions to detect screenshots. On iOS devices, this method will always resolve to a granted permission response.

Returns:

Promise<PermissionResponse>

A promise that resolves to a PermissionResponse object.

`ScreenCapture.isAvailableAsync()`

Android

iOS

Returns whether the Screen Capture API is available on the current device.

Returns:

Promise<boolean>

A promise that resolves to a boolean indicating whether the Screen Capture API is available on the current device.

`ScreenCapture.preventScreenCaptureAsync(key)`

Android

iOS

Parameter	Type	Description
key(optional)	`string`	Optional. If provided, this will help prevent multiple instances of the `preventScreenCaptureAsync` and `allowScreenCaptureAsync` methods (and `usePreventScreenCapture` hook) from conflicting with each other. When using multiple keys, you'll have to re-allow each one in order to re-enable screen capturing. Default:`'default'`

Prevents screenshots and screen recordings until allowScreenCaptureAsync is called or the app is restarted. If you are already preventing screen capture, this method does nothing (unless you pass a new and unique key).

On iOS, this prevents screen recordings and screenshots, and is only available on iOS 11+ (recordings) and iOS 13+ (screenshots). On older iOS versions, this method does nothing.

Returns:

Promise<void>

`ScreenCapture.requestPermissionsAsync()`

Android

iOS

Asks the user to grant permissions necessary for detecting when a screenshot is taken.

Only Android requires additional permissions to detect screenshots. On iOS devices, this method will always resolve to a granted permission response.

Returns:

Promise<PermissionResponse>

A promise that resolves to a PermissionResponse object.

Event subscriptions

`ScreenCapture.addScreenshotListener(listener)`

Android

iOS

Parameter	Type	Description
listener	`() => void`	The function that will be executed when the user takes a screenshot. This function accepts no arguments.

Adds a listener that will fire whenever the user takes a screenshot while the app is foregrounded.

Permission requirements for this method depend on your device’s Android version:

Before Android 13: Requires READ_EXTERNAL_STORAGE.
Android 13: Switches to READ_MEDIA_IMAGES.
Post-Android 13: No additional permissions required. You can request the appropriate permissions by using MediaLibrary.requestPermissionsAsync().

Returns:

EventSubscription

A Subscription object that you can use to unregister the listener, either by calling remove() or passing it to removeScreenshotListener.

Deprecated: use subscription.remove() instead.

`ScreenCapture.removeScreenshotListener(subscription)`

Android

iOS

Parameter	Type
subscription	`EventSubscription`

Removes the subscription you provide, so that you are no longer listening for screenshots.

Returns:

void

`ScreenCapture.useScreenshotListener(listener)`

Android

iOS

Parameter	Type	Description
listener	`() => void`	A function that will be called whenever a screenshot is detected. This hook automatically starts listening when the component mounts, and stops listening when the component unmounts.

A React hook that listens for screenshots taken while the component is mounted.

Returns:

void

Interfaces

`Subscription`

Android

iOS

A subscription object that allows to conveniently remove an event listener from the emitter.

Subscription Methods

`remove()`

Android

iOS

Removes an event listener for which the subscription has been created. After calling this function, the listener will no longer receive any events from the emitter.

Returns:

void

Types

`PermissionHookOptions`

Android

iOS

Literal type: union

Acceptable values are: PermissionHookBehavior | Options

`PermissionResponse`

Android

iOS

An object obtained by permissions get and request functions.

Property	Type	Description
canAskAgain	`boolean`	Indicates if user can be asked again for specific permission. If not, one should be directed to the Settings app in order to enable/disable the permission.
expires	`PermissionExpiration`	Determines time when the permission expires.
granted	`boolean`	A convenience boolean that indicates if the permission is granted.
status	`PermissionStatus`	Determines the status of the permission.

Enums

`PermissionStatus`

Android

iOS

`DENIED`

PermissionStatus.DENIED ＝ "denied"

User has denied the permission.

`GRANTED`

PermissionStatus.GRANTED ＝ "granted"

User has granted the permission.

`UNDETERMINED`

PermissionStatus.UNDETERMINED ＝ "undetermined"

User hasn't granted or denied the permission yet.