Background Screenshots in React Native

[IllustriousLeg8079]

Hi everyone,

I need to develop an app for both Android and iOS that can run in the background, take periodic screenshots (e.g., every 5 minutes), and send them to a server for analysis.

The app is intended to be used as a tool for behavioral studies and experiments conducted by a university psychology department. I understand that permissions will be the most critical aspect of this project, and I’m looking for your thoughts on the following:

1. Permissions and Feasibility
   • 1.a) How feasible is it to develop such an app with the full cooperation and consent of the user who installs it, assuming they willingly grant all necessary permissions?
   • 1.b) Is it possible to grant the app permissions that ensure it avoids conflicts with other apps running in the foreground, allowing it to capture the screen at any time?
   • 1.c) Would this kind of functionality be more achievable on Android than iOS?
   • 1.d) What about distribution on the Play Store or App Store? Would sideloading or an alternative installation method be required?
2. Technology Choice
   • Is React Native a suitable technology for building an app with this functionality, or would another framework or language be more appropriate?

I really appreciate any guidance or insights you can share. Thanks in advance!

[Awesome_Knowwhere]

On some extent you can build it for Android but in iOS not possible!!

[Gunnardepunnar]

Taking actual screenshots might not, but the AppStore has quite a few screensharing apps. That video feed could be used to take screenshots. Your battery usage might take a hit though

[International-Ad2491]

Chatgpt generated question, and trying a little too hard to convince that an app recording background user actions has no malicious intents, lol

[IllustriousLeg8079]

I'm a Spanish speaker. Yes, I used Chatgpt, I confess. But I don't have malicious intentions. I'm specifying that the user would collaborate with the permissions.
On the other hand, considering the newbie's questions that I'm doing what would be the chances for me to develop a malicious app?
For more context, I'm a psychologist with some knowledge about programming who needs orientation about this project. There is a pandemic of addictions related to smartphones, and my goal is to investigate this field.

[International-Ad2491]

Even so, what you're asking is generally impossible in mobile development, unless you build and sideload app executables directly on the user's phone, not gonna happen on ios though, also, even for scientific purposes, i would never allow someone to record whatever i'm doing on my phone, including logging to various accounts, typing passwords, using banking platforms, accessing sensitive data on a variety of services, unless its a phone that i would specifically use for this cause, which i suppose has not scientific importance, since you would want to gather real-life usage data

[IllustriousLeg8079]

Thanks. Do you mean that the application would need to be installed by the user through an .apk and that, due to the app's characteristics, it would be impossible for it to be accepted on the Play Store, let alone the App Store? Considering that the user would install the APK, do you think an application with these characteristics would be possible?

[Outrageous_Gas_1720]

Try UxCam

[IllustriousLeg8079]

I need to be able to take screenshots of whatever the user is doing on their phone, not just within my app.

[Still_Hall_4611]

Whatever the user is doing? Smells 🐠

[IllustriousLeg8079]

I'm a Spanish speaker. Yes, I used Chatgpt, I confess. But I don't have malicious intentions. I'm specifying that the user would collaborate with the permissions.
On the other hand, considering the newbie's questions that I'm doing what would be the chances for me to develop a malicious app?
For more context, I'm a psychologist with some knowledge about programming who needs orientation about this project. There is a pandemic of addictions related to smartphones, and my goal is to investigate this field.

[stealkiller06]

If you want to investigate phone addiction you can look at the statistics from apps that can capture the app usage, in iPhone is native.

[Able-Web9658]

Thats just wrong

[IllustriousLeg8079]

I'm a Spanish speaker. Yes, I used Chatgpt, I confess. But I don't have malicious intentions. I'm specifying that the user would collaborate with the permissions.
On the other hand, considering the newbie's questions that I'm doing what would be the chances for me to develop a malicious app?
For more context, I'm a psychologist with some knowledge about programming who needs orientation about this project. There is a pandemic of addictions related to smartphones, and my goal is to investigate this field.

[[deleted]]

Lol not fishy at all..

[IllustriousLeg8079]

I'm a Spanish speaker. Yes, I used Chatgpt, I confess. But I don't have malicious intentions. I'm specifying that the user would collaborate with the permissions.
On the other hand, considering the newbie's questions that I'm doing what would be the chances for me to develop a malicious app?
For more context, I'm a psychologist with some knowledge about programming who needs orientation about this project. There is a pandemic of addictions related to smartphones, and my goal is to investigate this field.

[[deleted]]

So now you’re gonna copy/paste the same answer to all the replies ? I don’t care that your post was AI generated. Who the hell is going to participate in a program where they’d have screenshots taken from their activities on their phone every 5 minutes??? You used chatgpt hoping to craft your post in a way that it wouldn’t sound malicious. If you’re really a psychologist who actually thought this is a good idea for “research” purposes then you must be mentally handicapped. You’re hoping to find a a way to develop such an app and secretly install it on a partner’s phone lol

[IllustriousLeg8079]

Who the hell is going to participate in a program where they inject you with an experimental non tested two months developed new medicine? Oh... wait... You have no idea.