Privacy is a top priority for some when dealing with social media applications, especially when it comes to sharing photos and videos through chat apps specifically. Telegram, as one of the most prominent and popular of these apps, offers many features to enhance the security of your messages. It was one of the first to support the self-destructing media feature, which allows users to send content that disappears after a certain period. However, users still wonder how to prevent screen capture by the person they are messaging when sharing videos and photos. We have already explained how to prevent screenshots when sending media in WhatsApp, and fortunately, this is also achievable on Telegram. Let’s review below how to protect the content you share from unwanted saving operations.
Blocking Screen Capture on Telegram
In September 2023, Telegram received a new update that improved the self-destructing media feature, now called View-Once Media. This feature works the same way as usual to protect privacy when sending media containing sensitive data like passwords or credit card numbers. When the feature is activated, you can send images and videos that the recipient can only view once. After viewing the content, the media is deleted and not saved in the recipient’s gallery. Telegram has also enhanced the feature to protect the one-time view media with a screen capture block.
So, if you want to send personal videos or images to someone on Telegram, simply activate the View Once feature to ensure that they cannot take a screenshot of the content.
Blocking Screen Capture When Sharing Media
Simply open the “Telegram” app on your iPhone or Android phone, then go to the conversation where you want to send the media. Click on the file insert icon (🧷), and from the window that appears, choose whether to take a picture or record a video immediately using the camera, or select media from your phone’s photo and video library. You can select any number of images and videos to send, then click on the image to preview it and make sure to activate the one-time view feature by clicking on the icon with the number “1” surrounded by a clock-like ring and select “View Once.” Finally, click the “Send” button to display the message in the conversation interface.
Now, when the recipient opens the image or video, they can view the content normally. However, if they try to take a screenshot or screen record the video, the content will be immediately blocked, and a completely black screen will appear, as shown in the attached image above. This screen will remain until the recipient exits the media viewer to automatically delete the content. Telegram will also notify you if the person you are messaging tries to take a screenshot of the sent content.
It is worth mentioning that if the person you are messaging is using Telegram Desktop on their computer, they will not be able to view the one-time media you have sent to them. Instead, a message will appear informing them that self-destructing media has been sent, but the content will only be displayed on the phone to prevent screen recording or screenshot captures. However, this is the secure way to send videos or photos without allowing the other party to retain a screen capture of the content. However, this does not guarantee 100% prevention of media retention as there are other ways to save your media. For example, the recipient can still capture a screenshot or record a video of the one-time view media using another camera or phone, so try not to send “sensitive” media to anyone you do not trust.
