How to take a screenshot when not allowed by app on Android


There are multiple everyday situations when we cannot capture a screenshot on our Android smartphone, no matter how important it is. We simply get a message that says ‘taking screenshots is not allowed by app’, ‘capturing screenshot goes against device policy’, or something like that! There are legit reasons why taking screenshots isn't allowed by an app or its developer, but not always. 


So, today I will talk about how to take screenshots when not allowed by an app. The only catch is, that you need to connect your smartphone to your PC, however, the silver lining is, that you will not have to root your Android phone to capture screenshots the way I will discuss here. This will surely benefit you in a number of everyday situations.

So, without any further delay, let’s get started with how to take screenshots when not allowed by an app on Android.

How to take a screenshot when not allowed by the app?

The first step is to enable ‘Developer Options’ on your Android, and have ‘USB Debugging’ enabled. Here’s a small guide on how you can do that.

The next step is to download Scrcpy from Github. Here’s the link. Scrcpy, which basically refers to Screen Copy, is an open-source project that can be used to control a smartphone remotely through ADB, and capture protected screenshots, which is our basic objective here.

You should download Scrcpy 32-bit or the 64-bit version based on the version of Windows that you are using. If you are using a fairly new computer, or you have more than 4 gigs or RAM, you are using a 64-bit version of Windows, and hence go with the 64-bit version of Scrcpy.

You can also visit System settings to find out whether you are using 32-bit or 64-bit version of Windows.


After you download Scrcpy, unzip the contents of the file to a folder of your choice. Now, connect your Android to your Windows computer, and simply open the ‘scrcpy.exe’ file within the Scrcpy folder that you extracted earlier.


Now, you should be able to find your Android device screen on your Windows PC.



In this situation, you can take a regular screenshot on your Windows PC, and that will evidently include the display output from your Android smartphone. You can crop out the area that contains the display output from your Android, and use it for some legit purpose.

Scrcpy will also display content on your Windows PC, even if your smartphone is displaying some restricted content. This will thus show all content, taking a screenshot of which goes against Android device policy.

Shortcomings of Scrcpy

Well, even though Scrcpy is a great tool to capture screenshots when not allowed by your Android, there are a few shortcomings.

  • The biggest shortcoming is, you need a computer to capture restricted screenshots with Scrcpy.

  • I found that Scrcpy didn’t work with Android 12. I tried using a Realme and iQOO device running Android 12, and Scrcpy didn’t work with any of them.

  • Lastly, if you are trying to capture a screenshot from a video, say Netflix, you cannot do that.

Even though there are issues with Scrcpy, it can still come in handy is several everyday situations.

So, that being said, you should use the feature responsibly. You should definitely not capture screenshots, which might breach others’ privacy, or can be harmful for you in the long run. There are several reasons, why a developer might restrict an user from capturing a screenshot in certain situations. So, if you are going a step forward, breaking that restriction, you should be extra careful too.

So, that was all about how to capture restricted screenshots on your Android. Do you have any questions? Feel free to comment on the same below.


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