> Android also comes with a bunch of anti features like an api to block the user from taking screenshots.
When it came out there's a malware campaign that tries to extract MFA codes from Google Authenticator by taking screenshots, there was a lot of criticism towards Google for not setting the flag that activated that API and made screenshots impossible, and it's a good solution, there's no viable scenario in which you'd want to screenshot your MFA TOTP codes. I admit that i'm sometimes annoyed with it's use in banking apps, but IMHO it's a needed feature for security.
Re:Do you really want Linux phones
by PurpleFoxy on Thursday March 25, 2021 @06:09AM
(#26578305)
Why do random apps get access to the screenshot feature? Why would there ever be a reason to prevent a screenshot when the user presses the hardware buttons for a screenshot?
Because it's an API for a bunch of reasons ( custom apps for better features, probably taking a video of what you're doing uses the same API), so any app can use it.
Still the hardware buttons to take a screenshot could continue to work.
Why are you calling security an anti-feature?
Lineage support will hopefully get better with the new Android split between system with drivers and userspace.
Re:Do you really want Linux phones
by TheCoelacanth on Friday March 26, 2021 @04:47PM
(#26596737)
Security is when the device stops people other than the owner from doing something the owner doesn't want.
This is the opposite. The device is stopping the owner from doing something that someone else doesn't want.
Because when my device stops me, the user, from doing something I want, thats an antifeature. In this case I want to take a screenshot, and the device prevents this.
Just remove the restriction from the app. If you are in control of your phone it isn't hard.
It actually is hard. When I looked in to it the only way to fix the issue was using xposed modules which did not work on my version of android/phone and is a security risk because I now have to load some untrusted module as root so I can get the phone to stop blocking me from what I'm trying to do.
Why don't you just disable the flag in the app which blocks screenshots?
It'd be way easier if I could turn if off device-wide instead of trying to work out how to modify the obfuscated app my bank provides.
Android also comes with a bunch of anti features like an api to block the user from taking screenshots. Its better to completely replace the OS with something Google doesn't control.