Can’t Take Screenshot Due to Security Policy? Here’s How to Fix It

Do you get a black screen or a message that says “Can’t take screenshot due to Security Policies” when trying to take a screenshot? If yes, there are several reasons your phone is not letting you do so. 

The most common reason is exactly explained in the error message itself. It is due to the Security Policies. However, there are some ways you can bypass this error and successfully take a screenshot. 

In this article, we have listed a few causes and solutions to fix this issue.

Why Can’t I take Screenshot on My Phone?

Fixing “Can’t take screenshot due to Security Policies” Error

Before we start, banking and money-transfer applications may not allow us to take a screenshot, as these settings are restricted from the server. Although it is not ideal, we can take a picture of the screen using another phone.

Now, let us see how to fix the “Can’t take screenshot due to Security Policies” error or a black screenshot problem.

Open With a New Browser

If someone’s social media profile is locked, you cannot share that information by taking a screenshot. This is one of the Security Policies developed by social media companies like meta to secure their user’s data. 

Many applications handle information leaks by stopping you from taking a picture of sensitive data. This also goes for some banking or money transfer applications. 

However, we do have a workaround for this issue. If we can get the link to the page you want to take a screenshot of, you can open them in your browser. This will easily let you take the screenshot. 

For example, if you want to take a screenshot of a locked profile, you can open the profile from a web browser and take a screenshot. This will not give any error message or a black screen. Therefore, we can easily take the screenshot as long as we have the link to the information.

Company Issued Devices

If your phone is company-issued, they might have blocked the screenshot feature for security reasons. Although it is not recommended on a company-issued cell phone, you can uninstall the application that stops you from taking a picture of your screen. 

You can uninstall an application from Settings > Apps > Manage Apps. Here, select the application that is stopping you from taking a screenshot and press Uninstall.

Take Screenshots in Incognito/Private Mode

When we are on Incognito/private mode, the phone will not allow you to take any screenshots. This setting is disabled by default on most popular web browsers, like Chrome and Mozilla Firefox.

To enable screenshots on Chrome’s Incognito mode,

1. Launch Chrome.
2. On the address bar, type chrome://flags .
3. Here, search for screenshot.
4. Change the settings to Enable.
5. Now relaunch Chrome.
   

To enable screenshots on Mozilla Firefox, 

1. Launch Firefox.
2. Press the three vertical dotted icons on the top-right or bottom-right corner.
3. Click on Settings.
4. Scroll down and select Private Browsing.
5. Here, ensure that the Allow screenshots in private browsing are toggled ON.

Use Screen Cast

Another interesting way to take a screenshot of your phone is by sharing the phone’s screen. If you can find a way to cast your phone’s screen to another display device, you can easily take a screenshot from the connected device.

You can cast any phone to your Smart TV as long as it can connect to a network.

Cast the screen on android by following these steps. 

1. Go to Settings.
2. Search for “Connection and Sharing.”
3. Click on Cast. If you cannot find Cast, the Settings menu will have the option to search. Search for “cast.”
4. Turn on Cast screen content to an external monitor.
   
5. Now, make sure that both the phone and your smart TV are connected to the same router.

For iOS devices, you either need an Apple TV or an AirPlay 2-Enabled Smart TV to cast your screen. Follow these steps to cast the screen from iOS devices.

1. First, make sure that both the iPhone and the TV are connected to the same network.
2. Open Control Center and tap Screen Mirroring.
3. From the list, choose your Smart TV or Apple TV.
   
4. AirPlay code should appear on the monitor. Enter this code on your iOS Device.

Take the screenshot once you have projected your phones’ screen to your TV. The latest Smart TV will have the feature to take a screenshot using an in-built feature or a 3rd party application. Please read the user manual of your Smart Television to screenshot.

Why Can’t My Phone take a Screenshot?

If some error message pops up when trying to take a screenshot, it is probably because of some security issue. When we take a screenshot, the device will give some indication, like a sound or visual cue. However, when your device does not respond to the screenshot action, it may be an internal problem.

You can try the following fixes if the device does not respond to a screenshot.

Enable Screenshots on Device

We must set what button should be pressed or what action should be performed to take a screenshot. However, if this setting is set to None, the phone will not respond to any action when we take a picture of our screen. 

To enable this setting in Android, please follow these steps:

Go to Settings > Additional Settings > Buttons Shortcut. Now, tap on Take a screenshot. Here, you will see a list of actions that you can perform to take a screenshot. Choose any option except None.

If you cannot find the screenshot settings on your device, you can search for “screenshots” in Settings and choose a screenshot action. Try to take a screenshot to see if you fixed the problem.

On iOS devices, there are no settings to disable the screenshot. 

Third-Party Application

We can also use a third-party application to take screenshots if we cannot use the phones’ screenshot feature. Google’s Play Store and Apple store have hundreds of applications that will help you take a picture of your screen. 

However, make sure that the application is verified, and it doesn’t have other application permission except the files and folder to store the screenshot.

Full Storage

Another reason your phone is not letting you take a screenshot is that there is no free storage to store the screenshot. However, this will warn you like the Storage Device is full or Cannot keep the image. 

We can easily fix this problem by deleting unnecessary applications or media files. If the phone has an external storage device, you can replace it to store more data.

Use Google Assistant

If nothing works, we can also use screenshot features like google assistant or Siri to take a picture of the screen. 

In most of the latest mobile devices, we have features like Google Assistant or Siri to navigate through our device using voice commands. We can take a screenshot fairly easily if normal methods do not work using these voice commands.

For Android devices:

1. Say “Hey Google” or “Ok Google.”
2. Once you hear a sound cue, Say, “take a screenshot.”
3. The Google Assistant will take a screenshot if you have enabled them from Google Assistant Settings.
   

For iOS devices:

You can simply say, “Hey Siri, take a screenshot”. Your Apple device will automatically take a screenshot.

Related Questions

How do you take a screenshot on your iPhone?

There are multiple ways you can take a screenshot on iOS devices. Depending on the model, you can try any of these steps.

For iPhone 13 and higher models with Face ID, press high volume and lock button on the right side. For iPhone with a Touch ID, Press the Home button and lock button.

Why are my screenshots not showing up in my gallery?

If you are using a third-party application to take a screenshot, you must give the application permission to save the file on the phones’ storage device. The application will take a screenshot, but it won’t access the storage device. Therefore, you cannot see the screenshot in your gallery.

To fix this, follow these steps

1. Go to Settings > Apps > Manage Apps. 
2. Here, click on the third-party screenshot application. 
3. Click on Apps Permission. Now, click on files & mediaand click on Allow management of all files.

Now the application can store the screenshots on your device. 

Make sure that the device is not low on storage. The device on low storage may also be why the screenshot does not show up in the camera roll.