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Is it possible for a PDF to go completely black when screen capture of some sort is enabled?

Could it be possible to do programmatically? Adding some sort of encryption?

I am working on an ebook store and I understand how to disable saving PDFs and copying PDFs but I can't seem to find a solution for preventing screenshots, I am able to find ways to do it with a video but nothing for PDFs.

Just as context I am building a web app with React.

Thanks in advance.

Pavel Halko
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    Bear in mind that a low quality form of screen capture is to take the high powered computing device everyone carries around with them these days, activate the camera and take a photo. There's literally no way of detecting that. – Damien_The_Unbeliever Dec 08 '22 at 08:59
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    You cant disable saving/copying/downloading of any resource like pdf and videos – Lk77 Dec 08 '22 at 16:09

2 Answers2

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I am not aware of any open source solution that will do this, but there are commercial document DRM solutions which claim this capability across Windows, Mac and Android OS's - e.g. (I have not used them nor have any connection with them so can't comment beyond their reported capabilities):

For Video content most OS's and many browsers now have some form of protected Media Path which is designed to do exactly what you are looking for, but for videos not PDF. You could convert the PDF to a video to use such a mechanism but it is likely overkill and would probably not give the user experience you want.

It is also worth remembering, as Damien points out in the comments that a good mobile phone camera can capture the screen regardless of these mechanisms. While the quality of this type of capture is not normally good enough for copying video, for documents it may be sufficient.

Mick
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No, as shown by Mick's answer Locklizard clearly states (and I have frequently proven no screen blocking can work) if its viewable by eye it is not protected from Plato, Aristotle or any plagarist since.

https://www.locklizard.com/stop-screenshots-grabbers/#:~:text=Is%20it%20possible%20to%20stop%20people%20from%20screenshotting
(note due to chrome/edge redirection you nay need to enter that link on its own page!, web accessibility or what!!)

1>Is it possible to stop people from screenshotting on a page? You can’t stop webpage screenshotting. This is because the user can manipulate the JavaScript in their browser to bypass anti-screenshotting controls. They can also use a third-party screen grabber application, which the browser will be unable to detect.

K J
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