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Windows can't take cartooning screenshots due to security policy with Android

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  Windows can't take cartooning screenshots due to security policy with Android Marion <marion@facts.com> - 2025-04-04 22:01 +0000
    Re: Windows can't take cartooning screenshots due to security policy with Android David <David.is@home.today> - 2025-04-04 23:42 +0100
      Re: Windows can't take cartooning screenshots due to security policy with Android Marion <marion@facts.com> - 2025-04-05 08:09 +0000
        Re: Windows can't take cartooning screenshots due to security policy with Android David <David.is@home.today> - 2025-04-05 09:54 +0100
          Re: Windows can't take cartooning screenshots due to security policy with Android Marion <marion@facts.com> - 2025-04-05 09:18 +0000
            Re: Windows can't take cartooning screenshots due to security policy with Android Marion <marion@facts.com> - 2025-04-05 09:32 +0000
              Re: Windows can't take cartooning screenshots due to security policy with Android David <David.is@home.today> - 2025-04-05 12:04 +0100
        Re: Windows can't take cartooning screenshots due to security policy with Android Andy Burns <usenet@andyburns.uk> - 2025-04-09 09:15 +0100
          Re: Windows can't take cartooning screenshots due to security policy with Android sms <scharf.steven@geemail.com> - 2025-04-10 09:44 -0700
            Re: Windows can't take cartooning screenshots due to security policy with Android Marion <marion@facts.com> - 2025-04-11 11:14 +0000
      Re: Windows can't take cartooning screenshots due to security policy with Android sms <scharf.steven@geemail.com> - 2025-04-05 07:46 -0700
        Re: Windows can't take cartooning screenshots due to security policy with Android Marion <marion@facts.com> - 2025-04-05 20:27 +0000
          Re: Windows can't take cartooning screenshots due to security policy with Android Marion <marion@facts.com> - 2025-04-06 05:22 +0000
            Re: Windows can't take cartooning screenshots due to security policy with Android Marion <marion@facts.com> - 2025-04-06 05:47 +0000
              Re: Windows can't take cartooning screenshots due to security policy with Android Paul <nospam@needed.invalid> - 2025-04-06 03:03 -0400
                Re: Windows can't take cartooning screenshots due to security policy with Android Marion <marion@facts.com> - 2025-04-06 08:07 +0000
                  Re: Windows can't take cartooning screenshots due to security policy with Android Paul <nospam@needed.invalid> - 2025-04-06 04:59 -0400
                    Re: Windows can't take cartooning screenshots due to security policy with Android Marion <marion@facts.com> - 2025-04-06 10:42 +0000
    Re: Windows can't take cartooning screenshots due to security policy with Android Alan <nuh-uh@nope.com> - 2025-04-04 15:49 -0700
      Re: Windows can't take cartooning screenshots due to security policy with Android Hank Rogers <Hank@nospam.invalid> - 2025-04-04 19:56 -0500
        Re: Windows can't take cartooning screenshots due to security policy with Android Marion <marion@facts.com> - 2025-04-06 08:57 +0000
          Re: Windows can't take cartooning screenshots due to security policy with Android Marion <marion@facts.com> - 2025-04-06 11:06 +0000
    Re: Windows can't take cartooning screenshots due to security policy with Android Paul <nospam@needed.invalid> - 2025-04-04 22:25 -0400
      Re: Windows can't take cartooning screenshots due to security policy with Android Marion <marion@facts.com> - 2025-04-05 07:29 +0000
    Re: Windows can't take cartooning screenshots due to security policy with Android Arno Welzel <usenet@arnowelzel.de> - 2025-04-06 13:35 +0200
    Re: Windows can't take cartooning screenshots due to security policy with Android Alan <nuh-uh@nope.com> - 2025-04-11 19:33 -0700

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#183237 — Windows can't take cartooning screenshots due to security policy with Android

Any tricks for taking screenshots that you're not supposed to take?
(without resorting to a 2FC (two factor camera), of course)

My Android is always mirrored on Windows (because that makes it 2 feet tall
and Irfanview is much easier to snap screenshots of the Android screen).

I have some free cartoonify apps on Android that allow me to snap
screenshots, so that I can save them BEFORE the watermark is added.
 <https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.vicman.toonmeapp>

But I have a specific Android free cartoonify program that shows the
resulting cartooned image on the Android phone without a watermark, 
but only saves it with the watermark. So I want to screenshot it 1st.
 <https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.wemagineai.voila> 

While I can always edit out the watermark using the free PhotoShop
alternative app on Windows (i.e., Paint.NET), I'd rather screenshot it.

Hence my question... 

Is there a trick you know of which will allow you to mirror an Android
screen that itself is designed (on Android) not to be screenshotted?

Note: This problem only started with Android 11. Before that, I could
screenshot anything on Windows even if Android didn't want me to do it.

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#183240

On 04/04/2025 23:01, Marion wrote:
> Any tricks for taking screenshots that you're not supposed to take?
> (without resorting to a 2FC (two factor camera), of course)
> 
> My Android is always mirrored on Windows (because that makes it 2 feet tall
> and Irfanview is much easier to snap screenshots of the Android screen).
> 
> I have some free cartoonify apps on Android that allow me to snap
> screenshots, so that I can save them BEFORE the watermark is added.
>   <https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.vicman.toonmeapp>
> 
> But I have a specific Android free cartoonify program that shows the
> resulting cartooned image on the Android phone without a watermark,
> but only saves it with the watermark. So I want to screenshot it 1st.
>   <https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.wemagineai.voila> 
> 
> While I can always edit out the watermark using the free PhotoShop
> alternative app on Windows (i.e., Paint.NET), I'd rather screenshot it.
> 
> Hence my question...
> 
> Is there a trick you know of which will allow you to mirror an Android
> screen that itself is designed (on Android) not to be screenshotted?
> 
> Note: This problem only started with Android 11. Before that, I could
> screenshot anything on Windows even if Android didn't want me to do it.


I asked ChatGPT on your behalf, Marion! 🙂

Here's the answer given:-

https://chatgpt.com/share/67f06002-92c0-8013-a73b-15b87b5f9a23

HTH

-- 
David

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#183254

On Fri, 4 Apr 2025 23:42:43 +0100, David wrote :


> Here's the answer given:-
> 
> https://chatgpt.com/share/67f06002-92c0-8013-a73b-15b87b5f9a23

Thanks for that direct link to "Using adb to take screenshots on Android
when it's blocked" which is the same issue I'm having with FLAG_SECURE
since scrcpy mirrors Android two-feet tall onto Windows using ADB.

The hope is that adb operates at a lower level than does Android screencap.
Hence, the suggestion is to try the command below on my Windows PC.
 C:\> adb shell screencap -p /sdcard/screenshot.png 

I didn't need the next line of the suggestion but others might need it:
 C:\> adb pull /sdcard/screenshot.png .

Since my entire Android phone is already a Windows drive letter, that puts
the screenshot onto Windows (effectively from the Windows command line).

I just used it to answer my sister (who texts a LOT!!!!!!!!) such that I
could see her looooooooong text in an Irfanview window while I typed up a
response in the Android text window using the Windows keyboard & mouse.

You can open multiple Android mirror on Windows but they're all the same so
you need to open a few historically to read these "three pages of text".

But then I hit upon a solution using the screen capture command above!

I just kept hitting the Windows keyboard "F3" key to capture the next
scroll (people shouldn't abuse texting by figuring out how to type well!).

Since the phone is on Windows in every way, the main issue is just keeping
the mouse focus on the correct window when going back & forth between them.

OK. I'm done with my three-page text back to my sister, and I'm ready to
test the adb screenshot feature against the toonify app that restricts it.

Hmm. That's interesting. Three things to note about what happened.
1. The phone screen shows the toonified image (of course)
2. The two-foot-tall scrcpy mirror of the phone on Android showed black
3. The ADB command did not cause an error - but it didn't create an image

On a FLAG_SECURE, it just did nothing. No error. But no screenshot. Drat.
Apparently ADB's screencap command is blocked by the FLAG_SECURE setting.

When screencap tries to read the frame buffer of a secure window, the
system is apparently returning successfully a completely blank buffer.

So adb doesn't complain. It got nothing. It saved nothing. 
There must be a way around this though. There always is. But what?
-- 
I may be ignorant, but if I don't learn from every post, then I'm stupid.

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#183255

On 05/04/2025 09:09, Marion wrote:
> On Fri, 4 Apr 2025 23:42:43 +0100, David wrote :
> 
> 
>> Here's the answer given:-
>>
>> https://chatgpt.com/share/67f06002-92c0-8013-a73b-15b87b5f9a23
> 
> Thanks for that direct link to "Using adb to take screenshots on Android
> when it's blocked" which is the same issue I'm having with FLAG_SECURE
> since scrcpy mirrors Android two-feet tall onto Windows using ADB.
> 
> The hope is that adb operates at a lower level than does Android screencap.
> Hence, the suggestion is to try the command below on my Windows PC.
>   C:\> adb shell screencap -p /sdcard/screenshot.png
> 
> I didn't need the next line of the suggestion but others might need it:
>   C:\> adb pull /sdcard/screenshot.png .
> 
> Since my entire Android phone is already a Windows drive letter, that puts
> the screenshot onto Windows (effectively from the Windows command line).
> 
> I just used it to answer my sister (who texts a LOT!!!!!!!!) such that I
> could see her looooooooong text in an Irfanview window while I typed up a
> response in the Android text window using the Windows keyboard & mouse.
> 
> You can open multiple Android mirror on Windows but they're all the same so
> you need to open a few historically to read these "three pages of text".
> 
> But then I hit upon a solution using the screen capture command above!
> 
> I just kept hitting the Windows keyboard "F3" key to capture the next
> scroll (people shouldn't abuse texting by figuring out how to type well!).
> 
> Since the phone is on Windows in every way, the main issue is just keeping
> the mouse focus on the correct window when going back & forth between them.
> 
> OK. I'm done with my three-page text back to my sister, and I'm ready to
> test the adb screenshot feature against the toonify app that restricts it.
> 
> Hmm. That's interesting. Three things to note about what happened.
> 1. The phone screen shows the toonified image (of course)
> 2. The two-foot-tall scrcpy mirror of the phone on Android showed black
> 3. The ADB command did not cause an error - but it didn't create an image
> 
> On a FLAG_SECURE, it just did nothing. No error. But no screenshot. Drat.
> Apparently ADB's screencap command is blocked by the FLAG_SECURE setting.
> 
> When screencap tries to read the frame buffer of a secure window, the
> system is apparently returning successfully a completely blank buffer.
> 
> So adb doesn't complain. It got nothing. It saved nothing.
> There must be a way around this though. There always is. But what?

Marion,

Please ask that question directly of ChatGPT - it's FREE! (And really good!)

https://chatgpt.com/

HTH

-- 
David

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#183256

On Sat, 5 Apr 2025 09:54:51 +0100, David wrote :


> Please ask that question directly of ChatGPT - it's FREE! (And really good!)
> 
> https://chatgpt.com/

From a while ago, I dismissed that chatgpt URL becuse, apparently it asked
for a login. As a rule, I don't log into anything that doesn't need it.
There's no reason chatgpt should require a log in account. Right?

BTW, 1.800-chat-gpt also works verbally - but you're limited to 20 minutes
per month, but apparently as of February 5, 2025, you can access the
ChatGPT browser interface without needing to log in to an account.

There are penalty limitations if you don't log into chat gpt though, such
as it using GPT-3.5 rather than GPT-4 and it won't save history (good!) and
voice input is disabled, and, oh, oooh ooh... and you can't upgrade to a
subscription without logging into it first. Drat. :)

As a rule, we all should fight the login requirement for products that
don't need it - and a chat mechanism has absolutely no need for a login.

For AI, Gemini and CoPilot don't need logins, although Gemini seems to need
a login on Android using the app but on a Windows browser, it doesn't.

Anyway, Usenet is better than chatgpt as you can see from the result below.
 <https://i.postimg.cc/9Mh6YMcY/chatgpt-adb.jpg>

But as a 'search engine', I think the non-login AI mechanisms are great. 
They make a typical search much easier to ask the questions before posting.

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#183257

On Sat, 5 Apr 2025 09:18:28 -0000 (UTC), Marion wrote :


> as of February 5, 2025, you can access the
> ChatGPT browser interface without needing to log in to an account.

Well, like anything said but empirically tested, that's only partly true. 
 <https://chatgpt.com/auth/error?error=OAuthSignin>

I tried the https://chatgpt.com URL on my ungoogled chromium browser and it
did not require a login but then I switched to a privacy browser, it did.

In my test, that URL doesn't work without a login when you use Epic.
 <https://auth.openai.com/authorize?audience=https%3A%2F%2Fapi.openai.com>

Nor can it work without a login when you use the Windows Opera VPN Browser.
 <https://chatgpt.com/auth/error?error=OAuthSignin>

When I switched back to Ungoogled Chromium but on a VPN, it worked for some
(mostly USA) variants, but I have thousands of free VPN servers to test on.

In summary, up until about a month ago, chatgpt required a login account,
which negated its usefulness to me; but thanks for letting me know that
they have removed that login requirement. It works OK when on VPN now.

Much appreciated your helpful advice!
-- 
I may be ignorant, but if I don't learn from every post, then I'm stupid.

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#183258

On 05/04/2025 10:32, Marion wrote:
> On Sat, 5 Apr 2025 09:18:28 -0000 (UTC), Marion wrote :
> 
> 
>> as of February 5, 2025, you can access the
>> ChatGPT browser interface without needing to log in to an account.
> 
> Well, like anything said but empirically tested, that's only partly true.
>   <https://chatgpt.com/auth/error?error=OAuthSignin>
> 
> I tried the https://chatgpt.com URL on my ungoogled chromium browser and it
> did not require a login but then I switched to a privacy browser, it did.
> 
> In my test, that URL doesn't work without a login when you use Epic.
>   <https://auth.openai.com/authorize?audience=https%3A%2F%2Fapi.openai.com>
> 
> Nor can it work without a login when you use the Windows Opera VPN Browser.
>   <https://chatgpt.com/auth/error?error=OAuthSignin>
> 
> When I switched back to Ungoogled Chromium but on a VPN, it worked for some
> (mostly USA) variants, but I have thousands of free VPN servers to test on.
> 
> In summary, up until about a month ago, chatgpt required a login account,
> which negated its usefulness to me; but thanks for letting me know that
> they have removed that login requirement. It works OK when on VPN now.
> 
> Much appreciated your helpful advice!

*THANK YOU*!

How nice. 🙂

Have a wonderful day.

-- 
David

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#183405

Marion wrote:

> When screencap tries to read the frame buffer of a secure window, the
> system is apparently returning successfully a completely blank buffer.

Will the app you wish to screenshot run in an android emulator? If so, 
you could presumably screenshot from the host?

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#183499

On 4/9/2025 1:15 AM, Andy Burns wrote:

> Will the app you wish to screenshot run in an android emulator? If so, 
> you could presumably screenshot from the host?

Yes, I just tried this with the Costco App and it does work on Windows 
with the Bluestacks Android emulator. No black screen! Good advice!

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#183536

On Thu, 10 Apr 2025 09:44:12 -0700, sms wrote :


> On 4/9/2025 1:15 AM, Andy Burns wrote:
> 
>> Will the app you wish to screenshot run in an android emulator? If so, 
>> you could presumably screenshot from the host?
> 
> Yes, I just tried this with the Costco App and it does work on Windows 
> with the Bluestacks Android emulator. No black screen! Good advice!

I thank both Andy for suggesting a solution & Steve for testing it out.

Free Android emulators on Windows are Google, Arm, Microsoft, Genymotion,
Andyroid, Bluestacks, Nox, Koplayer, Remixos and MeMu emulators.

I have written a tutorial for every one of them on Windows, so I will try
one of them out when I get a chance to test Andy's helpful suggestion.
(see sig for summary)

If it works, and I think it might, it may work based on the *version* of
the Android operating system (which you can control in some emulators).

Or, it may innately work just because the "FLAG_SECURE" isn't respected
by the PC method that we use (e.g., IrfanView) to snap that screenshot.

When I get a chance, I'll test it out and update this thread accordingly.

While I operate my phone from the PC almost 100% of the time, this has the
advantage that a real phone doesn't even need to exist to get it to work. 
-- 
 C:\app\editor\android\emu\{google,arm,ms,geny,andy,blue,nox,ko,mumu,remix}
  Google (Android ?, fails on older AMD CPUs but is the default for AS)
  Arm (Android ?, nobody recommends as they are too slow to be usable)
  Microsoft (Android 6, works great on older AMD CPUs, integrates into AS)
  Genymotion (Android 7.1, everyone recommends for speed & compatibility)
  Andyroid (Android 7.1.2, simple setup where AS instantly recognized it) 
  Bluestacks (Android 7.1.1, simple setup, runs fast, but AS didn't see it)
  Nox (Android 4.4.2, targeted to gamers)
  Ko (Android ?)
  MeMu (Android Lollipop)
  RemixOS* (Android Marshmallow, incompatible with AMD)
 
 *Google Emulators* (Android 9)
  Google Emulators are the cat's meow, all the way to Android 9
  But they don't work on older AMD CPUs (on Windows only, apparently)
  One great thing about the Google emulators, is some have Google Play
  That allows people to run other software, e.g., NewPipe as one example
  Comes pre-integrated with Android Studio
 
 *Arm Emulators* (Android 9?)
  They are too slow on my machine to be worth the trouble
  Most people suggest ARM eabi-v7a for older AMD CPUs it's slow
  Does not appear to come with Google Play (which is important)
  Comes pre-integrated with Android Studio
 
 *Microsoft Emulators* (Last version, forever, is Android 6)
  The Microsoft Emulators are fantastic - but they stop at Android 6
  The Microsoft emulators don't appear to have Google Play installed
  They're the only emulators that work with Windows 10 Pro Hyper-V enabled!
  Very easy to integrate into Android Studio (as an external tool)
  <https://visualstudio.microsoft.com/vs/msft-android-emulator/>
 <https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/comp.mobile.android/aW64zYeBtF0%5B1-25%5D>
 
 *Genymotion Emulator* (Android 4 to 7 - and maybe 8 & 9)
  Generally considered superior to all other emulators on Windows!
  Most complex to set up (if things fail) due to Win10 & VMWare needs
  Very well integrated into Android Studio (even has its own plugin)
  I don't see Google Play (yet)
  <https://www.genymotion.com/fun-zone/>
 <https://groups.google.com/d/msg/comp.mobile.android/ix9empN-mxg/07ZmH2AWAQAJ>
 
 *Andyroid Emulator* (Android 7.1.2)
  This is very simple to set up (turn off Windows 10 Hyper-V!)
  This installs Bonjour and VMWare bundled "services"
  Comes with Google Play & F-Droid NewPipe came up, ran, but failed 
  Android Studio recognized it instantly so it's nicely integrated
  <https://www.andyroid.net/>
 <https://groups.google.com/d/msg/comp.mobile.android/FkZu5vAswYo/wISRtpUUAQAJ>
 
 *Bluestacks4 Emulator* (Android 7.1.1)
  This is very simple to set up (turn off Windows 10 Hyper-V!)
  They seem to be very focused on running Android games on Windows
  Comes with Google Play & successfully ran F-Droid NewPipe tests
  I need to learn how to integrate it into Android Studio
  Drawback is that it has ads
  <https://www.bluestacks.com/bluestacks-4.html>
  <https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/comp.mobile.android/JBRjZ39w4Ok>
 
 *Nox* (Android 4.4.2)
  Targeted to gamers
  No ads
  https://www.bignox.com/
 
 *MeMu (Android Lollipop)
  Targeted to gamers
  Good support for AMD & Nvidia chips
  https://www.memuplay.com
 
 *Ko Player* (Android )
  Targeted to gamers
  Ad supported
  Said to be buggy
  http://www.koplayer.com/ 
  Updated: Nov 26, 2018 Version: 2.0.0 
  http://down1.koplayer.com/Emulator/koplayer-2.0.0.exe
 
 *Remix* (Android Marshmallow)
  Incompatible with AMD chips 
  Jide Technology has stopped supporting this
  It's an Android boot system
  http://www.jide.com/remixos
  Version 3.0.207 Release date: November 25, 2016
  It doesn't seem to be available in 2018

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#183261

On 4/4/2025 3:42 PM, David wrote:

<snip>

> https://chatgpt.com/share/67f06002-92c0-8013-a73b-15b87b5f9a23

Ironically, iOS doesn't have the capability for apps to restrict 
screenshots. I've used an iPhone, on at least two occasions, to do a 
screenshot of a virtual ID card that I wanted to add to my Google 
Wallet. Transferred the image from the iPhone to my Android phone.

-- 
“If you are not an expert on a subject, then your opinions about it 
really do matter less than the opinions of experts. It's not 
indoctrination nor elitism. It's just that you don't know as much as 
they do about the subject.”—Tin Foil Awards

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#183262

On Sat, 5 Apr 2025 07:46:36 -0700, sms wrote :


> Ironically, iOS doesn't have the capability for apps to restrict 
> screenshots. I've used an iPhone, on at least two occasions, to do a 
> screenshot of a virtual ID card that I wanted to add to my Google 
> Wallet. Transferred the image from the iPhone to my Android phone.

As far as I am aware, Steve is correct that iOS is designed completely 
differently than Android in that iOS traditionally has not provided the 
same level of granular control to applications (like mirroring software) to 
prevent screenshots on a system level or on a per-application basis as 
Android does.

In fact, I've written tutorials posted to Usenet of the differences.
 <https://i.postimg.cc/xjz3V8Gs/vysor32.jpg> ScrCpy vs Vysor PC mirror 

I've compared screen copying with my iPads with that of Android also.
 <https://i.postimg.cc/k5gv0yw8/vysor34.jpg> Apple iOS & Android mirroring

In general, I find the screen mirroring for iOS only works with Vysor.
 <https://i.postimg.cc/TYvqdxCT/vysor35.jpg> iOS & Android PC mirroring

As Steve has astutely correctly noted, Android applications can implement 
the FLAG_SECURE window flag, which signals to the operating system that
the content of that window should not be captured in screenshots. 

Apple's iOS works differently in that when you take a screenshot on iOS, 
the system captures the entire screen content visible at that moment. There 
isn't a native iOS feature to selectively disable this for mirroring 
sessions on external devices like a Windows PC running Vysor.

Interestingly, since Windows is involved here, if you are in a managed 
environment using Microsoft Intune, it's App Protection Policies can 
prevent screenshots within specific work applications on the iOS device, 
which would then be reflected as a blank screen in Vysor.

Luckily I have plenty of iOS devices to test Steve's suggestion upon.
Although I generally do not create an account on either iOS or Android.
 <https://i.postimg.cc/TY9fbqJP/ios18-4-update.jpg>

Which doesn't hurt Android at all but which turns iOS into an even 
dumber terminal than iOS normally is (since iOS needs the net to work).

I will use this information that Steve kindly provided to try it out!
Since I always strive to add value for the next person, here are links.

iOS "Voila"
 <https://apps.apple.com/us/app/voil%C3%A0-ai-artist-cartoon-ghibli/id1558421405>
Android "Voila"
 <https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.wemagineai.voila>

iOS "ToonMe"
 <https://apps.apple.com/us/app/toonme-ai-cartoon-face-maker/id1508120751
Android "ToonMe" 
 <https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.vicman.toonmeapp>

iOS "Photo Lab"
 <https://apps.apple.com/us/app/photo-lab-playground-ai/id6443653724>
Android "Photo Lab"
 <https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=vsin.t16_funny_photo>

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#183266

On Sat, 5 Apr 2025 20:27:38 -0000 (UTC), Marion wrote :


> Luckily I have plenty of iOS devices to test Steve's suggestion upon.
> Although I generally do not create an account on either iOS or Android.
>  <https://i.postimg.cc/TY9fbqJP/ios18-4-update.jpg>
> 
> Which doesn't hurt Android at all but which turns iOS into an even 
> dumber terminal than iOS normally is (since iOS needs the net to work).
> 
> I will use this information that Steve kindly provided to try it out!

As folks already know, Apple products don't work in the real world because
Apple restricts people to the subterranean cave called the ecosystem. 

That is, when I try to test Steve's suggestion, something as trivial as
copying a photo from the PC to the iPad is extremely difficult to do
without the Internet having to be involved or Apple's iTunes bloatware.

Since Apple products are designed NOT to work in the real world without
paying Apple just to move a photo, it's not as easy as you'd think.

One way I will explore is this method - but Apple' makes this hard because
Apple's strategy is to make trivial things hard without Apple servers.

1. Install Feem on your Windows PC 
   <https://feem.io/#downloads>
   <https://apps.microsoft.com/detail/9wzdncrdsfg0?hl=en-US&gl=US>
   <blob:https://apps.microsoft.com/453fdad6-d2cd-4104-8669-ab0fa758fc2f>
   Name: Feem Installer.exe
   Size: 1096224 bytes (1070 KiB)
   SHA256: 027F10EAD2BF3084F4B5F82E4792A86AEDA553A633A7B054EF95AC8032715210
2. Install Feem on your Apple iPad
   <https://feem.io/#downloads>
   <https://apps.apple.com/us/app/feem-share-files-offline/id1046483430>
3. Ensure both devices are on the same Wi-Fi network.
4. Open Feem on both devices. They should automatically detect each other.
5. On your Windows PC, select the photo you want to send 
6. On your Windows PC, choose your iPad as the recipient.
7. The photo will be transferred over your local Wi-Fi network.
8. On the Ipad, save the photo to the photos app.

[toc] | [prev] | [next] | [standalone]

#183267

On Sun, 6 Apr 2025 05:22:43 -0000 (UTC), Marion wrote :


> 1. Install Feem on your Windows PC 
>    <https://feem.io/#downloads>
>    <https://apps.microsoft.com/detail/9wzdncrdsfg0?hl=en-US&gl=US>
>    <blob:https://apps.microsoft.com/453fdad6-d2cd-4104-8669-ab0fa758fc2f>
>    Name: Feem Installer.exe
>    Size: 1096224 bytes (1070 KiB)
>    SHA256: 027F10EAD2BF3084F4B5F82E4792A86AEDA553A633A7B054EF95AC8032715210

Drat. Feem won't install without a Microsoft Account. 

I'll try another method, but the fact that something as trivial as copying
a photo from Windows to iOS without using the Internet, shows that the
subterranean caves known as the "Apple Ecosystem" are hard to break out of.

 *How to copy a photo from Windows to iOS without needing Internet servers*
 <https://www.novabbs.com/computers/article-flat.php?id=4785&group=comp.mobile.ipad#4785>

I'm sure there's a way, perhaps not over USB cable but over a local LAN
wi-fi server, much like VLC copies videos from the PC to iOS for playing.

I'll write back when/if I'm successful doing something as trivial as
copying a photo from Windows to iOS without using the insecure Apple iTunes
bloatware abomination or an Internet server account.

In the meantime, if anyone on these newsgroups has been successful, copying
a photo from Windows to iOS without putting that photo on the net, let me
know how you accomplished that task as I'm having trouble breaking out of
the subterranean caverns that are the Apple Ecosystem for that simple task.

[toc] | [prev] | [next] | [standalone]

#183268

On Sun, 4/6/2025 1:47 AM, Marion wrote:
> On Sun, 6 Apr 2025 05:22:43 -0000 (UTC), Marion wrote :
> 
> 
>> 1. Install Feem on your Windows PC 
>>    <https://feem.io/#downloads>
>>    <https://apps.microsoft.com/detail/9wzdncrdsfg0?hl=en-US&gl=US>
>>    <blob:https://apps.microsoft.com/453fdad6-d2cd-4104-8669-ab0fa758fc2f>
>>    Name: Feem Installer.exe
>>    Size: 1096224 bytes (1070 KiB)
>>    SHA256: 027F10EAD2BF3084F4B5F82E4792A86AEDA553A633A7B054EF95AC8032715210
> 
> Drat. Feem won't install without a Microsoft Account. 
> 
> I'll try another method, but the fact that something as trivial as copying
> a photo from Windows to iOS without using the Internet, shows that the
> subterranean caves known as the "Apple Ecosystem" are hard to break out of.
> 
>  *How to copy a photo from Windows to iOS without needing Internet servers*
>  <https://www.novabbs.com/computers/article-flat.php?id=4785&group=comp.mobile.ipad#4785>
> 
> I'm sure there's a way, perhaps not over USB cable but over a local LAN
> wi-fi server, much like VLC copies videos from the PC to iOS for playing.
> 
> I'll write back when/if I'm successful doing something as trivial as
> copying a photo from Windows to iOS without using the insecure Apple iTunes
> bloatware abomination or an Internet server account.
> 
> In the meantime, if anyone on these newsgroups has been successful, copying
> a photo from Windows to iOS without putting that photo on the net, let me
> know how you accomplished that task as I'm having trouble breaking out of
> the subterranean caverns that are the Apple Ecosystem for that simple task.
> 

Some of the advertising material is just hilarious.

   "However, here, one thing that you need to note down is that you can achieve
    iPhone to PC Bluetooth file transfer for only a few types of files. In fact,
    you can share only a limited amount of data over Bluetooth as it is hectic
    to select files manually for iPhone to windows 10 Bluetooth file transfer.
    And Bluetooth is certainly not the best way to transfer files. For this reason,
    we have explained another great method in the next section."

That's the first time I've seen a technical protocol described as "hectic" :-)

Maybe I should start writing missives about "bone-headed help I find on web pages" :-)

The couple of articles making the claim, seem to claim that just "pairing" devices
is 70% of the battle. Then open a gallery, highlight an image, and some menu
should offer the fsquirt protocol that other OSes offer. There must be a flavor
of BT profile for this, being it is so common. They forget to tell you to
enable "Receive" on the PC end, from the Bluetooth menu, so the Receiver is
ready for the file initiation.

It's going to be 75KB/sec, which is hectic, isn't it :-)

I think hectic means, the writer did not get to sell you something.

*******

Any protocol ("Feem") which is only available for Apps, and a win32
does not exist, makes me immediately suspicious.

Do they seek to abuse the Trust system, by loading peoples computing devices
via Store delivery ? How many Store environments have the source
for the code ?

*******

   "LocalSend: Open-source, cross-platform file sharing to nearby devices"

    https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39662721

It's a shame, there is a mixture of solution types in the thread,
as some of those are bound to involve non-local things.

I don't understand, why a developer would make a Metro.App and
would be incapable of making a win32 one. If your protocol is
encapsulated in a library, and the library claims to "run anywhere",
you could make a command line version pretty easily.

*******

Fsquirt by the way, is pretty clunky. You have to enable Receive on the
receiving end, before starting the transmit end. I've used it a few times,
where I needed to keep a Win machine isolated from Ethernet, and I was
sending over a 3KB config file. Worked fine for that.

This is all done via Bluetooth menus (maybe in the taskbar lower right).
I only know it as fsquirt.exe , by seeing it in Task Manager or
seeing it in Linux "top" or the like. I don't know what the actual
profile name for that transfer mode is.

   Paul

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#183269

On Sun, 6 Apr 2025 03:03:01 -0400, Paul wrote :


> Some of the advertising material is just hilarious.

Thanks Paul for helping out, as what I want to do, billions of people must
want to do, which is simply copy a photo from Windows to the iOS device
(without needing to put that photo on an Internet server somewhere).

For obvious reasons, I abhor the insecure iTunes bloatware abomination.
And, due to the effort, I don't want to go to all the trouble of setting up
iFuse (either inside of WSL or via a grub-based dual boot with the PC).

There's no reason I should need to create an Internet account on the
Microsoft Servers (or any server) just to copy a photo two feet to the PC.

> It's going to be 75KB/sec, which is hectic, isn't it :-)

I think the only way to do copy a photo to Linux is via a bluetooth or
Wi-Fi server, which is fine by me if only I could find one that works.

As you can tell, Feem won't work because it can't be downloaded for Windows
without having a Windows account, and I don't want any mothership accounts.

It would be helpful if we can download feem WITHOUT a M$ account.
 <https://apps.microsoft.com/detail/9wzdncrdsfg0?hl=en-US&gl=US>

> I think hectic means, the writer did not get to sell you something.

Since all I want to do is transfer a single photo from Windows to the iOS
device, it's fine to use the "hectic" bluetooth or Wi-Fi protocols.

As long as the photo stays on the local network, either is fine for me.

> Any protocol ("Feem") which is only available for Apps, and a win32
> does not exist, makes me immediately suspicious.

There are free apps to copy over Wi-Fi for videos, for example, where I've
used VLC to transfer a full-length movie using VLC's own HTTPS server.

I simply need to find a BT/Wi-Fi app that does the same for photos.
 *How to copy a photo from Windows to iOS without needing Internet servers*
 <https://comp.mobile.ipad.narkive.com/AjZhDi9j/how-to-copy-a-photo-from-windows-to-ios-without-needing-internet-servers>


> Fsquirt by the way, is pretty clunky. You have to enable Receive on the
> receiving end, before starting the transmit end. I've used it a few times,
> where I needed to keep a Win machine isolated from Ethernet, and I was
> sending over a 3KB config file. Worked fine for that.

Hmm. Fsquirt? Never heard of it. Lemme' look for it to see what it does.
Oh. Now I remember. You've mentioned the Windows "fsquirt" command before.

Looking it up, I find this which may mean Apple has disabled fquirt use.
  "The fsquirt command is specifically designed for Bluetooth file 
   transfers, but iOS devices, while having Bluetooth, don't typically
   use bluetooth for file transfers in the same way as Windows does."

> This is all done via Bluetooth menus (maybe in the taskbar lower right).
> I only know it as fsquirt.exe , by seeing it in Task Manager or
> seeing it in Linux "top" or the like. I don't know what the actual
> profile name for that transfer mode is.

I looked this up and I think Apple is way ahead of us in eliminating the
use of Bluetooth for file transfers. Here's a direct quote of how it works.
  "Apple's iOS has strict limitations on Bluetooth file transfers. 
   iOS primarily uses Bluetooth for connections with peripherals like 
   headphones or keyboards, and not for general file sharing in the 
   same way that some other operating systems do."

While Bluetooth file transfers are likely blocked by Apple (on purpose), 
what may work is SMB, HTTPS, WebDav, or USB file transfers though.

There's also something called "Apple Devices app for Windows" which looks
suspiciously like a renamed trojan for Apple's defunct iTunes abomination.
 <https://support.apple.com/guide/devices-windows/install-the-apple-devices-app-mchl5ded2763/windows>
 <https://apps.microsoft.com/detail/9np83lwlpz9k?hl=en-US&gl=US>
 Name: Apple Devices Installer.exe
 Size: 1096224 bytes (1070 KiB)
 SHA256: 695EC05F9123AB9B0A3F248EA04835018DF4DF05A18BFFBBCE5CC4692F6F9437

This is a stub installer but it seems to download the 200MB installer file.
I couldn't find WHERE it put the 200MB installer file though, so I'll get
back to this iTunes imposter if, at the end, nothing else seems to work.

The sad thing is all I'm trying to do is copy a single photo from Windows
to an iOS device without needing to put that photo onto the Internet first.

[toc] | [prev] | [next] | [standalone]

#183271

On Sun, 4/6/2025 4:07 AM, Marion wrote:

> 
> While Bluetooth file transfers are likely blocked by Apple (on purpose), 
> what may work is SMB, HTTPS, WebDav, or USB file transfers though.

Pair the iPhone and the Windows box.

In the Windows box, use the Bluetooth menu in the Task Bar, to enable Receive.

On the iPhone, open an image gallery, and select the file and see
what send options are offered. It's possible the named PC will appear in
the menu, as a Send tart. Or, it will give some indication it is going
to use Bluetooth. At some point, a target host needs to be selected.

I think iPhone to PC stands the best chance of working, with a
protocol like that (which is not AirDrop).

   Paul

[toc] | [prev] | [next] | [standalone]

#183274

On Sun, 6 Apr 2025 04:59:02 -0400, Paul wrote :


>> While Bluetooth file transfers are likely blocked by Apple (on purpose), 
>> what may work is SMB, HTTPS, WebDav, or USB file transfers though.
> 
> Pair the iPhone and the Windows box.
> 
> In the Windows box, use the Bluetooth menu in the Task Bar, to enable Receive.
> 
> On the iPhone, open an image gallery, and select the file and see
> what send options are offered. It's possible the named PC will appear in
> the menu, as a Send tart. Or, it will give some indication it is going
> to use Bluetooth. At some point, a target host needs to be selected.
> 
> I think iPhone to PC stands the best chance of working, with a
> protocol like that (which is not AirDrop).

Hi Paul,

I appreciate you sticking with the focus on the solution of how to copy a
photo from Windows to iOS without having to use the Internet to do it.

I figured it out just moments ago, and it works so well that I will write
up a step-by-step tutorial so that EVERYONE on Windows can do it too!

It turned out to be easy - but of course - that's after I tried a bunch of
methods, all of which failed of course - but this last method worked great!

Essentially, all you do, to get a file from Windows to iOS, is serve it
on Windows in any web server and let the iOS web browser download it.

The web server that I used, which worked after dealing with the Windows
firewall, was this open source tiny web server for Windows PCs.
 <https://sourceforge.net/projects/hfs/>
   Name: hfs2.3m.zip
   Size: 947592 bytes (925 KiB)
   SHA256: 5B99A22785D90BE6CB39C58E59C89514CC394152AD0BC83FDB5F56A7AD08E05E

When extracted, there is only a single file in the archive:
   Name: hfs.exe
   Size: 2171904 bytes (2121 KiB)
   SHA256: E678899D7EA9702184167B56655F91A69F8A0BDC9DF65612762252C053C2CD7C

I'll write up a tutorial so that others can do in two minutes what took me
two hours, which I will post for everyone else to benefit from our work!
 *Tutorial: How to copy a photo from Window to iOS without Apple restrictions*
 <https://www.novabbs.com/computers/article-flat.php?id=19950&group=misc.phone.mobile.iphone#19950>

The good news is this method should work for billions of people.
It doesn't require any other software but this open source HFS server.
I didn't have to mess with anything other than the Windows firewall.

Finally, we can do something as trivial as copy a file from Windows to iOS!

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#183241

On 2025-04-04 15:01, Marion wrote:
> Any tricks for taking screenshots that you're not supposed to take?
> (without resorting to a 2FC (two factor camera), of course)
> 
> My Android is always mirrored on Windows (because that makes it 2 feet tall
> and Irfanview is much easier to snap screenshots of the Android screen).
> 
> I have some free cartoonify apps on Android that allow me to snap
> screenshots, so that I can save them BEFORE the watermark is added.
>   <https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.vicman.toonmeapp>
> 
> But I have a specific Android free cartoonify program that shows the
> resulting cartooned image on the Android phone without a watermark,
> but only saves it with the watermark. So I want to screenshot it 1st.
>   <https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.wemagineai.voila>
> 
> While I can always edit out the watermark using the free PhotoShop
> alternative app on Windows (i.e., Paint.NET), I'd rather screenshot it.
> 
> Hence my question...
> 
> Is there a trick you know of which will allow you to mirror an Android
> screen that itself is designed (on Android) not to be screenshotted?
> 
> Note: This problem only started with Android 11. Before that, I could
> screenshot anything on Windows even if Android didn't want me to do it.

Imagine that:

You want to steal!

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#183243

Alan wrote:
> On 2025-04-04 15:01, Marion wrote:
>> Any tricks for taking screenshots that you're not supposed to take?
>> (without resorting to a 2FC (two factor camera), of course)
>>
>> My Android is always mirrored on Windows (because that makes it 2 feet 
>> tall
>> and Irfanview is much easier to snap screenshots of the Android screen).
>>
>> I have some free cartoonify apps on Android that allow me to snap
>> screenshots, so that I can save them BEFORE the watermark is added.
>>   <https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.vicman.toonmeapp>
>>
>> But I have a specific Android free cartoonify program that shows the
>> resulting cartooned image on the Android phone without a watermark,
>> but only saves it with the watermark. So I want to screenshot it 1st.
>>   <https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.wemagineai.voila>
>>
>> While I can always edit out the watermark using the free PhotoShop
>> alternative app on Windows (i.e., Paint.NET), I'd rather screenshot it.
>>
>> Hence my question...
>>
>> Is there a trick you know of which will allow you to mirror an Android
>> screen that itself is designed (on Android) not to be screenshotted?
>>
>> Note: This problem only started with Android 11. Before that, I could
>> screenshot anything on Windows even if Android didn't want me to do it.
> 
> Imagine that:
> 
> You want to steal!

He needs to dump android and get apple.

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