iOS 11 Screen Recording And Snapchat: How Devs Are Working To Protect Privacy

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Every time we get new features on our smartphones there will invariably be some issues that pop up involving those features. Sometimes we get bugs that cause apps to crash or battery drain issues and sometimes we get features that may help others invade our privacy. iOS 11 has given us screen recording which has given new life to the dreaded Snapchat screenshot.

If you aren’t a regular Snapchat user then you may not know the drama that can come along with Snapchat screenshot. Due to the private nature of the app, the photos that people sometimes send to each other are meant to be private… Very private. The app cannot stop people from taking a screenshot but it can notify the other user when a screenshot has been taken. Then, using that information, users can make the choice to stop sending their friends, lovers, or complete strangers photos that they may not want to be captured forever. However, when people were first installing iOS 11, there was no such notification to tell users that their “friend” was using the new screen recording feature to surreptitiously sneak a permanent copy of a limited time snap.

The Snapchat devs didn’t wait long to close up the latest vulnerability in their app. Now, if someone tries to use iOS 11 screen recording to get around the Snapchat screenshot notification, users will be notified that their private snap has been recorded. Of course, this still doesn’t stop people from recording the screen and sharing your nudes… Or whatever else you send on Snapchat that’s worth recording. It just lets you know that the person you’re communicating with could potentially be an untrustworthy snake.

iOS 11 screen recording is one of the big new features introduced in iOS 11 which was released to the world earlier this week. Apple obviously planned for people to use the feature to help people create instructional videos or show off the capabilities of iOS and not sneakily record nude pictures from their friends. It is somewhat surprising that this feature wasn’t enabled in Snapchat until after iOS 11 was released. After all, iOS 11 has been in beta for awhile and someone must have known that the screen recording feature could be used in a very unwholesome way, right? Oh well. Better late than never, I guess.

At the risk of sounding like your dad, I will say this: don’t send photos or videos to people on Snapchat (or any other app) that you would not want to be seen by anyone other than the original recipient. Yes, the Snapchat screenshot notification will alert you when your friend has broken your trust but it cannot save you from having that image shared with people who never should have seen it in the first place. Instead, use Snapchat responsibly and only share photos of your pets, pumpkin spice lattes, and meals.

If you’re the type of person to use iOS 11 screen recording to secretly save images or videos that were not meant to be saved then it appears your fun has come to an end just as quickly as it began.

RIP Snapchat screenshot loophole: 2017 – 2017.

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