Mobile User Experience Options When Screen Sharing is Not Allowed for DLP
Learn to Prevent App Screen Sharing in Mobile apps, in mobile CI/CD with a Data-Driven DevSecOps™ build system.
What are the Risks of App Screen Sharing?
App screen sharing involves sharing the content of a mobile device screen with other users or devices, thus allowing the other user to view all of the content on your screen.
While there are many legitimate uses for screen sharing, hackers also use screen sharing for many malicious reasons, and apps that handle sensitive data, such as banking and share-trading apps, are a prime target of data extraction attempts. Even when communication and data transfer from an app is restricted, screen sharing, screen recording, and screenshots may still be used for extracting sensitive data. Preventing these functionalities adds another layer of DLP (Data Leak Prevention).
Nevertheless, you may still want to allow users to take screenshots, recordings, or screen capture in certain areas of your app that you want the user to be able to capture.
How does Appdome Allow and Prevent Screen Sharing?
With the Appdome feature turned on, the default User experience is to send the user a notification (the “App Compromise Notification” message) when trying to share the screen in your app (when this toggle is enabled). However, in areas and in circumstances where you do want to enable screenshots, recordings, or screen capture by enabling and implementing Threat-Events. When using Threat-Events your application will receive the event when the security event is triggered and you can implement your own rules and logic on what to do when this event is triggered.
NOTE: With Threat-Events, Appdome is no longer enforcing the security but passes the events to your app where you have to enforce the protection and notify the user as desired.
Prerequisites for Using Prevent App Screen Sharing:
To use Appdome’s mobile app security build system to Prevent App Screen Sharing , you’ll need:
- Appdome account (create a free Appdome account here)
- A license for Prevent App Screen Sharing
- Mobile App (.ipa for iOS, or .apk or .aab for Android)
- Signing Credentials (see Signing Secure Android apps and Signing Secure iOS apps)
Prevent App Screen Sharing on Mobile apps using Appdome
On Appdome, follow these 3 simple steps to create self-defending Mobile Apps that Prevent App Screen Sharing without an SDK or gateway:
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Upload the Mobile App to Appdome.
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Upload an app to Appdome’s Mobile App Security Build System
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Upload Method: Appdome Console or DEV-API
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Mobile App Formats: .ipa for iOS, or .apk or .aab for Android
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Prevent App Screen Sharing Compatible With: Obj-C, Java, JS, C#, C++, Swift, Kotlin, Flutter, React Native, Unity, Xamarin, and more
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Build the feature: Prevent App Screen Sharing.
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Building Prevent App Screen Sharing by using Appdome’s DEV-API:
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Create and name the Fusion Set (security template) that will contain the Prevent App Screen Sharing feature as shown below:
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Follow the steps in Sections 2.2.1-2.2.2 of this article, Building the Prevent App Screen Sharing feature via Appdome Console, to add the Prevent App Screen Sharing feature to this Fusion Set.
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Open the Fusion Set Detail Summary by clicking the “...” symbol on the far-right corner of the Fusion Set. Copy the Fusion Set ID from the Fusion Set Detail Summary (as shown below):
Figure 2: Fusion Set Detail Summary
Note: Annotating the Fusion Set to identify the protection(s) selected is optional only (not mandatory). -
Follow the instructions below to use the Fusion Set ID inside any standard mobile DevOps or CI/CD toolkit like Bitrise, App Center, Jenkins, Travis, Team City, Circle CI or other system:
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Build an API for the app – for instructions, see the tasks under Appdome API Reference Guide
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Look for sample APIs in Appdome’s GitHub Repository
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Figure 1: Fusion Set that will contain the Prevent App Screen Sharing feature
Note: Naming the Fusion Set to correspond to the protection(s) selected is for illustration purposes only (not required). -
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Building the Prevent App Screen Sharing feature via Appdome Console
To build the Prevent App Screen Sharing protection by using Appdome Console, follow the instructions below.
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Where: Inside the Appdome Console, go to Build > Security Tab > Mobile Privacy section.
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How: Check whether is toggled On (enabled), otherwise enable it . The feature Prevent App Screen Sharing is enabled by default, as shown below. Toggle (turn ON) Prevent App Screen Sharing, as shown below.
If needed, Customize the Threat Notification to be displayed to the mobile end-user in a standard OS dialog notification when Appdome Prevents App Screen Sharing.Figure 3: Prevent App Screen Sharing option
Note: The App Compromise Notification contains an easy to follow default remediation path for the mobile app end user. You can customize this message as required to achieve brand specific support, workflow or other messaging. -
When you select the Prevent App Screen Sharing you'll notice that your Fusion Set you created in step 2.1.1 now bears the icon of the protection category that contains Prevent App Screen Sharing
Figure 4: Fusion Set that displays the newly added Prevent App Screen Sharing protection
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Select the Threat-Event™ in-app mobile Threat Defense and Intelligence policy for Prevent App Screen Sharing:
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Threat-Events™ OFF > In-App Defense
If the Threat-Events™ setting is cleared (not selected). Appdome will detect and defend the user and app by enforcing Prevent App Screen Sharing.
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Threat-Events™ ON > In-App Detection
When this setting is used, Appdome detects when your application is being shared or mirrored and passes Appdome’s Threat-Event™ attack intelligence to the app’s business logic for processing, enforcement, and user notification. For more information on consuming and using Appdome Threat-Events™ in the app, see section Using Threat-Events™ for Prevent App Screen Sharing Intelligence and Control in Mobile Apps.
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Threat-Events™ ON > In-App Defense
When this setting is used, Appdome detects and defends against App Screen Sharing (same as Appdome Enforce) and passes Appdome’s Threat-Event™ attack intelligence the app’s business logic for processing. For more information on consuming and using Appdome Threat-Events™ in the app, see section Using Threat-Events™ for Prevent App Screen Sharing Intelligence and Control in Mobile Apps.
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- Extra Configuration with Prevent App Screen Sharing:
- Android only - Protect Dynamically Generated Windows
Extends App Screen Sharing Prevention to all Android floating windows.
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Click Build My App at the bottom of the Build Workflow (shown in Figure 3).
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Congratulations! The Prevent App Screen Sharing protection is now added to the mobile app -
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Certify the Prevent App Screen Sharing feature in Mobile Apps
After building Prevent App Screen Sharing, Appdome generates a Certified Secure™ certificate to guarantee that the Prevent App Screen Sharing protection has been added and is protecting the app. To verify that the Prevent App Screen Sharing protection has been added to the mobile app, locate the protection in the Certified Secure™ certificate as shown below:
Figure 5: Certified Secure™ certificate
Each Certified Secure™ certificate provides DevOps and DevSecOps organizations the entire workflow summary, audit trail of each build, and proof of protection that Prevent App Screen Sharing has been added to each Mobile app. Certified Secure provides instant and in-line DevSecOps compliance certification that Prevent App Screen Sharing and other mobile app security features are in each build of the mobile app
Using Threat-Events™ for App Screen Sharing Intelligence and Control in Mobile Apps
Appdome Threat-Events™ provides consumable in-app mobile app attack intelligence and defense control when App Screen Sharing is detected. To consume and use Threat-Events™ for App Screen Sharing in Mobile Apps, use AddObserverForName in Notification Center, and the code samples for Threat-Events™ for App Screen Sharing shown below.
The specifications and options for Threat-Events™ for App Screen Sharing are:
Threat-Event™ Elements | Prevent App Screen Sharing Method Detail |
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Appdome Feature Name | Prevent App Screen Sharing |
Threat-Event Mode | |
OFF, IN-APP DEFENSE | Appdome detects, defends and notifies user (standard OS dialog) using customizable messaging. |
ON, IN-APP DETECTION | Appdome detects the attack or threat and passes the event in a standard format to the app for processing (app chooses how and when to enforce). |
ON, IN-APP DEFENSE | Uses Appdome Enforce mode for any attack or threat and passes the event in a standard format to the app for processing (gather intel on attacks and threats without losing any protection). |
Certified Secure™ Threat Event Check | |
Visible in ThreatScope™ | |
Developer Parameters for Preventing App Screen Sharing Threat-Event™ | |
Threat-Event NAME | BlockedScreenCaptureEvent |
Threat-Event DATA | reasonData |
Threat-Event CODE | reasonCode |
Threat-Event REF | 6802 |
Threat-Event SCORE | |
currentThreatEventScore | Current Threat-Event score |
threatEventsScore | Total Threat-events score |
Threat-Event Context Keys | |
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message | Message displayed for the user on event |
failSafeEnforce | Timed enforcement against the identified threat |
externalID | The external ID of the event which can be listened via Threat Events |
osVersion | OS version of the current device |
deviceModel | Current device model |
deviceManufacturer | The manufacturer of the current device |
fusedAppToken | The task ID of the Appdome fusion of the currently running app |
kernelInfo | Info about the kernel: system name, node name, release, version and machine. |
carrierPlmn | PLMN of the device. Only available for Android devices. |
deviceID | Current device ID |
reasonCode | Reason code of the occurred event |
buildDate | Appdome fusion date of the current application |
devicePlatform | OS name of the current device |
carrierName | Carrier name of the current device. Only available for Android. |
updatedOSVersion | Is the OS version up to date |
deviceBrand | Brand of the device |
deviceBoard | Board of the device |
buildUser | Build user |
buildHost | Build host |
sdkVersion | Sdk version |
timeZone | Time zone |
deviceFaceDown | Is the device face down |
locationLong | Location longitude conditioned by location permission |
locationLat | Location latitude conditioned by location permission |
locationState | Location state conditioned by location permission |
wifiSsid | Wifi SSID |
wifiSsidPermissionStatus | Wifi SSID permission status |
context | Context of the security event |
With Threat-Events™ enabled (turned ON), Mobile developers can get detailed attack intelligence and granular defense control in Mobile applications and create amazing user experiences for all mobile end users when App Screen Sharing is detected.
The following is a code sample for native Mobile apps, which uses all values in the specification above for Prevent App Screen Sharing:
Important! Replace all placeholder instances of <Context Key> with the specific name of your threat event context key across all language examples. This is crucial to ensure your code functions correctly with the intended event data. For example, The <Context Key> could be the message, externalID, OS Version, reason code, etc.
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IntentFilter intentFilter = new IntentFilter();
intentFilter.addAction("BlockedScreenCaptureEvent");
BroadcastReceiver threatEventReceiver = new BroadcastReceiver() {
public void onReceive(Context context, Intent intent) {
String message = intent.getStringExtra("message"); // Message shown to the user
String reasonData = intent.getStringExtra("reasonData"); // Threat detection cause
String reasonCode = intent.getStringExtra("reasonCode"); // Event reason code
// Current threat event score
String currentThreatEventScore = intent.getStringExtra("currentThreatEventScore");
// Total threat events score
String threatEventsScore = intent.getStringExtra("threatEventsScore");
// Replace '<Context Key>' with your specific event context key
// String variable = intent.getStringExtra("<Context Key>");
// Your logic goes here (Send data to Splunk/Dynatrace/Show Popup...)
}
};
if (Build.VERSION.SDK_INT >= Build.VERSION_CODES.TIRAMISU) {
registerReceiver(threatEventReceiver, intentFilter, Context.RECEIVER_NOT_EXPORTED);
} else {
registerReceiver(threatEventReceiver, intentFilter);
}
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val intentFilter = IntentFilter()
intentFilter.addAction("BlockedScreenCaptureEvent")
val threatEventReceiver = object : BroadcastReceiver() {
override fun onReceive(context: Context?, intent: Intent?) {
var message = intent?.getStringExtra("message") // Message shown to the user
var reasonData = intent?.getStringExtra("reasonData") // Threat detection cause
var reasonCode = intent?.getStringExtra("reasonCode") // Event reason code
// Current threat event score
var currentThreatEventScore = intent?.getStringExtra("currentThreatEventScore")
// Total threat events score
var threatEventsScore = intent?.getStringExtra("threatEventsScore")
// Replace '<Context Key>' with your specific event context key
// var variable = intent?.getStringExtra("<Context Key>")
// Your logic goes here (Send data to Splunk/Dynatrace/Show Popup...)
}
}
if (Build.VERSION.SDK_INT >= Build.VERSION_CODES.TIRAMISU) {
registerReceiver(threatEventReceiver, intentFilter, Context.RECEIVER_NOT_EXPORTED)
} else {
registerReceiver(threatEventReceiver, intentFilter)
}
x
let center = NotificationCenter.default
center.addObserver(forName: Notification.Name("BlockedScreenCaptureEvent"), object: nil, queue: nil) { (note) in
guard let usrInf = note.userInfo else {
return
}
let message = usrInf["message"]; // Message shown to the user
let reasonData = usrInf["reasonData"]; // Threat detection cause
let reasonCode = usrInf["reasonCode"]; // Event reason code
// Current threat event score
let currentThreatEventScore = usrInf["currentThreatEventScore"];
// Total threat events score
let threatEventsScore = usrInf["threatEventsScore"];
// Replace '<Context Key>' with your specific event context key
// let variable = usrInf["<Context Key>"];
// Your logic goes here (Send data to Splunk/Dynatrace/Show Popup...)
}
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[[NSNotificationCenter defaultCenter] addObserverForName: @"BlockedScreenCaptureEvent" object:nil queue:nil usingBlock:^(NSNotification *org_note) {
__block NSNotification *note = org_note;
dispatch_async(dispatch_get_main_queue(), ^(void) {
// Message shown to the user
NSString *message = [[note userInfo] objectForKey:@"message"];
// Threat detection cause
NSString *reasonData = [[note userInfo] objectForKey:@"reasonData"];
// Event reason code
NSString *reasonCode = [[note userInfo] objectForKey:@"reasonCode"];
// Current threat event score
NSString *currentThreatEventScore = [[note userInfo] objectForKey:@"currentThreatEventScore"];
// Total threat events score
NSString *threatEventsScore = [[note userInfo] objectForKey:@"threatEventsScore"];
// Replace '<Context Key>' with your specific event context key
// NSString *variable = [[note userInfo] objectForKey:@"<Context Key>"];
// Your logic goes here (Send data to Splunk/Dynatrace/Show Popup...)
});
}];
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const { ADDevEvents } = NativeModules;
const aDDevEvents = new NativeEventEmitter(ADDevEvents);
function registerToDevEvent(action, callback) {
NativeModules.ADDevEvents.registerForDevEvent(action);
aDDevEvents.addListener(action, callback);
}
export function registerToAllEvents() {
registerToDevEvent(
"BlockedScreenCaptureEvent",
(userinfo) => Alert.alert(JSON.stringify(userinfo))
var message = userinfo["message"] // Message shown to the user
var reasonData = userinfo["reasonData"] // Threat detection cause
var reasonCode = userinfo["reasonCode"] // Event reason code
// Current threat event score
var currentThreatEventScore = userinfo["currentThreatEventScore"]
// Total threat events score
var threatEventsScore = userinfo["threatEventsScore"]
// Replace '<Context Key>' with your specific event context key
// var variable = userinfo["<Context Key>"]
// Your logic goes here (Send data to Splunk/Dynatrace/Show Popup...)
);
}
x
RegisterReceiver(new ThreatEventReceiver(), new IntentFilter("BlockedScreenCaptureEvent"));
class ThreatEventReceiver : BroadcastReceiver
{
public override void OnReceive(Context context, Intent intent)
{
// Message shown to the user
String message = intent.GetStringExtra("message");
// Threat detection cause
String reasonData = intent.GetStringExtra("reasonData");
// Event reason code
String reasonCode = intent.GetStringExtra("reasonCode");
// Current threat event score
String currentThreatEventScore = intent.GetStringExtra("currentThreatEventScore");
// Total threat events score
String threatEventsScore = intent.GetStringExtra("threatEventsScore");
// Replace '<Context Key>' with your specific event context key
// String variable = intent.GetStringExtra("<Context Key>");
// Your logic goes here (Send data to Splunk/Dynatrace/Show Popup...)
}
}
x
NSNotificationCenter.DefaultCenter.AddObserver(
(NSString)"BlockedScreenCaptureEvent", // Threat-Event Identifier
delegate (NSNotification notification)
{
// Message shown to the user
var message = notification.UserInfo.ObjectForKey("message");
// Threat detection cause
var reasonData = notification.UserInfo.ObjectForKey("reasonData");
// Event reason code
var reasonCode = notification.UserInfo.ObjectForKey("reasonCode");
// Current threat event score
var currentThreatEventScore = notification.UserInfo.ObjectForKey("currentThreatEventScore");
// Total threat events score
var threatEventsScore = notification.UserInfo.ObjectForKey("threatEventsScore");
// Replace '<Context Key>' with your specific event context key
// var variable = notification.UserInfo.ObjectForKey("<Context Keys>");
// Your logic goes here (Send data to Splunk/Dynatrace/Show Popup...)
}
);
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window.broadcaster.addEventListener("BlockedScreenCaptureEvent", function(userInfo) {
var message = userInfo.message // Message shown to the user
var reasonData = userInfo.reasonData // Threat detection cause
var reasonCode = userInfo.reasonCode // Event reason code
// Current threat event score
var currentThreatEventScore = userInfo.currentThreatEventScore
// Total threat events score
var threatEventsScore = userInfo.threatEventsScore
// Replace '<Context Key>' with your specific event context key
// var variable = userInfo.<Context Keys>
// Your logic goes here (Send data to Splunk/Dynatrace/Show Popup...)
});
x
import 'dart:async';
import 'package:flutter/material.dart';
import 'package:flutter/services.dart';
class PlatformChannel extends StatefulWidget {
const PlatformChannel({super.key});
State<PlatformChannel> createState() => _PlatformChannelState();
}
class _PlatformChannelState extends State<PlatformChannel> {
// Replace with your EventChannel name
static const String _eventChannelName = "BlockedScreenCaptureEvent";
static const EventChannel _eventChannel = EventChannel(_eventChannelName);
void initState() {
super.initState();
_eventChannel.receiveBroadcastStream().listen(_onEvent, onError: _onError);
}
void _onEvent(Object? event) {
setState(() {
// Adapt this section based on your specific event data structure
var eventData = event as Map;
// Example: Accessing 'externalID' field from the event
var externalID = eventData['externalID'];
// Customize the rest of the fields based on your event structure
String message = eventData['message']; // Message shown to the user
String reasonData = eventData['reasonData']; // Threat detection cause
String reasonCode = eventData['reasonCode']; // Event reason code
// Current threat event score
String currentThreatEventScore = eventData['currentThreatEventScore'];
// Total threat events score
String threatEventsScore = eventData['threatEventsScore'];
// Replace '<Context Key>' with your specific event context key
// String variable = eventData['<Context Keys>'];
});
}
// Your logic goes here (Send data to Splunk/Dynatrace/Show Popup...)
}
Using Appdome, there are no development or coding prerequisites to build secured Mobile Apps by using Prevent App Screen Sharing. There is no SDK and no library to code or implement in the app and no gateway to deploy in your network. All protections are built into each app and the resulting app is self-defending and self-protecting.
Releasing and Publishing Mobile Apps with Prevent App Screen Sharing
After successfully securing your app by using Appdome, there are several available options to complete your project, depending on your app lifecycle or workflow. These include:
- Customizing, Configuring & Branding Secure Mobile Apps
- Deploying/Publishing Secure mobile apps to Public or Private app stores
- Releasing Secured Android & iOS Apps built on Appdome.
Related Articles:
- How to Protect Android Apps from Screen Sharing Malware
- Blur Application Screens for Mobile User Privacy in iOS Apps
- How to Protect Android & iOS Apps from Keylogging Attacks
How Do I Learn More?
If you have any questions, please send them our way at support.appdome.com or via the chat window on the Appdome platform.
Thank you!
Thanks for visiting Appdome! Our mission is to secure every app on the planet by making mobile app security easy. We hope we’re living up to the mission with your project.