ScreenshotTile (NoRoot)

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Screenshot Tile for Android 7.0+ without requiring root access

Video:

Fork of github.com/ipcjs/ScreenshotTile

Table of Contents

• Languages
• Contributors & libraries
• Technical details
  • Legacy/Original method
  • Native method
  • Native method with custom settings
  • Restricted Settings
  • Cast icon
  • Permission Scope
  • Permissions
• Automatic screenshots
• Screenshots via activity intent
• Miscellaneous data

Changelog • View older releases • Google store

Languages

To help translate this app, please visit crowdin.com, where the localizations are managed. If you like to add a new language, please open an issue or email me and I will add it.

You may translate the resource files directly and open a pull request. The English source is in /app/src/main/res/values-en/strings.xml and the translated files are stored in /app/src/main/res/values-XX/strings.xml (XX = language code)

Contributors & libraries

The internal image editor and image library used is github.com/burhanrashid52/PhotoEditor (MIT license) by Burhanuddin Rashid.

The open source libraries and their licenses are show-cased in-app in the app's about section with the gradle-license-plugin by Jared Burrows.

Technical details

This app supports three different methods to take screenshots

Legacy/Original method

This method uses the screen recording/screen cast capabilities of Android to record a single frame.

Requirements:

• Android 7 Nougat
• Storage permission
• ScreenCaptureIntent/MediaProjection permission

Properties:

• Custom storage location
• Custom format
• Custom notification
• Before Android 9 the ScreenCaptureIntent/MediaProjection permission was only asked once when adding the tile (with option "Don't show again"). Since Android 9 it needs to be granted frequently before taking a screenshot

Native method with system defaults enabled

This method uses the screenshot function of the device. It's exactly the same as pressing the Home+Power button or whichever key combination is used for screenshots on that phone.

Requirements:

• Android 9 Pie
• Accessibility service needs to be started in the system settings

Properties:

• No permissions needed, only activating the accessibility service once
• Functions like long screenshots, screenshot editor, notifications, thumbnail etc., which the device manufacturer may have added, can be used

Native method with custom settings

This method uses AccessibilityService#takeScreenshot which outputs a bitmap that can be compressed and stored on disk.

Requirements:

• Android 11 R
• Accessibility service needs to be started in the system settings
• Storage permission

Properties:

• Custom storage location
• Custom format
• Custom notification

Restricted Settings (only Native method)

On Android 13 and above, device manufacturers may restrict the settings that can be enabled for an app. In such cases, the option to enable the app in the accessibility settings will appear grayed out. This means that both the "floating button" and the "native method" cannot be enabled. Notably, this is the case on Pixel phones running Android 14:

To circumvent this protection, you need to enable the "restricted settings" option. First, try to enable the accessibility service. Tap on the grayed-out option, and you will see a dialog regarding the restricted settings:

Now, open the Android system settings and go to "Apps" > "All apps." Find "ScreenshotTile," and in the app info, tap the three dots in the top right corner, and select "Allow Restricted Settings":

With "restricted settings" allowed, you can reopen the app and enable either the "native method" or the "floating button." The accessibility settings will open, and you can enable the app.

Read more about this: https://support.google.com/android/answer/12623953#allowrestrictedsettings

Cast icon: (only Legacy method)

If you don't want to see the cast icon in the status bar on every screenshot, you can turn it off on most phones. I do not recommend turning it off, as it is generally a good idea to know when an app is recording the screen.
Here's an explanation on how to turn it off: PCTattletale.com - How to turn off Android's Pesky Chromecast Icon

Permission Scope (only Legacy method)

From Android 14 onwards, the permission dialog for the screen recording let's you choose between recording the current screen or choosing an app to capture: If you select "Choose an app" in the app settings, you can choose in the permission dialog to record an app or select "Entire screen" to capture the current screen. If you select "Current screen" in the app settings, the permission dialog is pre-selected to "Share entire screen" and you only have to press "Share screen". In this case, you can not change the selection to "Share one app".

Permissions

android.permission.WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE "Photos/Media/Files and Storage"

Read the contents of your internal storage/USB storage
Modify or delete the contents of your internal storage/USB storage

This is required to save the screenshot files on the internal storage of your device. Since Android 10/Q this permission is no longer used.

android.permission.FOREGROUND_SERVICE

Since Android 9/Pie this permission is required to take screenshots. It basically means that this app can run without showing itself. However the app will always show a notification when it is running.

android.permission.FOREGROUND_SERVICE_MEDIA_PROJECTION

Since Android 14/U this permission is required to take screenshots. It is a more specific version of the android.permission.FOREGROUND_SERVICE permission that allows to mirror the screen.

ScreenCaptureIntent

ScreenshotTile will start capturing everything that's displayed on your screen.

This is a special permission that is requested before you take a screenshot or when you add the tile to you quick settings. It allows the app to record the screen. In this case, for a screenshot, the recording is only one image/frame.

android.permission.POST_NOTIFICATIONS

Since Android 13/Tiramisu this permission can be used to request the ability to show notifications. You can choose "Don't allow" to block all notifications.

Automatic screenshots with Broadcast intents

You can automate taking screenshots with apps like MacroDroid, Automate or Tasker. This works via Broadcast intents.

Tutorial video on youtube: https://youtu.be/q5hQF1nzOzk

First you have to activate this feature by setting a password in the app settings.

Now you can add a macro to MacroDroid:

• Open MacroDroid and tap on Macros and then Add Macro or the ➕ Symbol
• Tab ➕ on Triggers and add your desired trigger
• Tab ➕ on Actions and go to Connectivity -> Send Intent
• Under Target select Broadcast and fill out the fields:
  • Action: com.github.cvzi.screenshottile.SCREENSHOT
  • Package: com.github.cvzi.screenshottile
  • Data (class name): com.github.cvzi.screenshottile.IntentHandler
  • Extra 1 parameter: secret
  • Extra 1 value: yourPasswordFromEarlier
  • (Optional: Extra 2 parameter partial, value true to open the area selector for a partial screenshot instead of taking a screenshot)

Automatic screenshots from terminal

You can also take screenshots from the terminal:

# Take a screenshot
am broadcast -a com.github.cvzi.screenshottile.SCREENSHOT -e secret MY_PASSWORD com.github.cvzi.screenshottile
# Open the area selector for a partial screenshot
am broadcast -a com.github.cvzi.screenshottile.SCREENSHOT -e secret MY_PASSWORD --ez partial true com.github.cvzi.screenshottile

Or via adb from a computer:

adb shell am broadcast -a com.github.cvzi.screenshottile.SCREENSHOT -e secret MY_PASSWORD com.github.cvzi.screenshottile

Automatic screenshots with Activity intents

Some apps can only start an activity and cannot send a broadcast, for example the Motorola AI Key / Red Key (com.motorola.mykey), button remapper apps or custom launchers. For those you can use ScreenshotTriggerActivity, which takes the same secret and partial extras as the broadcast intent above.

First you have to activate this feature by setting a password in the app settings (the same password as for the broadcast intent).

You can take screenshots from the terminal:

# Take a screenshot
am start -a com.github.cvzi.screenshottile.TAKE_SCREENSHOT -e secret MY_PASSWORD
# Open the area selector for a partial screenshot
am start -a com.github.cvzi.screenshottile.TAKE_SCREENSHOT -e secret MY_PASSWORD --ez partial true

Or via adb from a computer:

adb shell am start -a com.github.cvzi.screenshottile.TAKE_SCREENSHOT -e secret MY_PASSWORD

Apps that store a launchable intent (like the Motorola AI Key settings) can use an intent URI:

intent:#Intent;action=com.github.cvzi.screenshottile.TAKE_SCREENSHOT;launchFlags=0x10000000;S.secret=MY_PASSWORD;end

Miscellaneous data

Some miscellaneous files (mostly images) that don't need to be in the main repository of ScreenshotTile were moved to a separate repository: https://github.com/cvzi/ScreenshotTile_miscellaneous

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