How to prevent people from taking screenshot of PDF?
As technology continues to advance and make our lives easier, it also presents new
challenges in terms of security. One of the biggest concerns for many individuals and
organizations is the ability to prevent unauthorized access to their confidential
information. This includes the ability to prevent people from taking screenshots of
their PDF documents. While it may seem like an easy task, it is actually quite
challenging to completely prevent someone from taking a screenshot of a PDF document.
However, there are several measures that can be taken to make it more difficult for someone to do so. In this article, we will discuss some of the most effective ways to prevent people from taking screenshots of PDF documents.
However, there are several measures that can be taken to make it more difficult for someone to do so. In this article, we will discuss some of the most effective ways to prevent people from taking screenshots of PDF documents.
Dynamic Watermarking
One of the simplest and most effective ways to prevent unauthorized use of your PDF
document is by adding a watermark to it. A watermark is a graphical image or text that
is added to a document to identify the owner or origin of the document. When a watermark
is added to a PDF document, it becomes much more difficult for someone to use a
screenshot of the document without your permission. This is because the watermark will
be visible in any screenshot taken of the document. The best option is to use feature
called "Dynamic Watermarking", where watermark is generated dynamically based on user's
email, name, date or other info. This way PDF is marked with person's data and harder to
share without permission. Our tool HelpRange gives you an option to enable "Dynamic
Watermarking" very easily, by just turning it on by clicking on a button.
Screenshot Prevention for Documents (DRM)
Digital Rights Management (DRM) is a technology that is used to control access to
digital content and prevent unauthorized use. DRM solutions can be used to control
access to your PDF document and prevent unauthorized use, including taking screenshots.
However, these solutions are often complex and can limit the accessibility of your
document. For example, DRM solutions may require that users install specific software or
plug-ins in order to view the document, which can be inconvenient and time-consuming..
An excellent solution for this purpose is our proprietary tool: HelpRange.
HelpRange is a comprehensive tool designed to facilitate document tracking and protection. By leveraging HelpRange, you can effectively mitigate the risk of unauthorized screenshots of your PDFs, as well as prevent photography of document screens.
We use the term 'very difficult' because even though our method is robust, it is not entirely foolproof. Our approach involves displaying only a portion of the document at any given time within the internet browser (shared as links with others), thereby thwarting users' attempts to capture screenshots or photos of the entire document. We call this feature "Screnshot Mask". This "mask" could have rectangle shape or be a circle. You can customize in your Profile Settings its appearance.
Alternatively, you can use our "Screenshot Protection" feature, so that users will need to install our Android, iPhone or iPad app to view your documents. This way you can prevent taking screenshots entirely, but as you can see it is only available for mobile devices.
If you want to utilize HelpRange to prevent people from taking screenshots of your documents, you simply need to click on the link for your uploaded PDF and enable "Screenshot Mask" or "Screenshot Protection" feature. You can see how it works by watching the following video (you can control the size of the 'visible box'):
An excellent solution for this purpose is our proprietary tool: HelpRange.
HelpRange is a comprehensive tool designed to facilitate document tracking and protection. By leveraging HelpRange, you can effectively mitigate the risk of unauthorized screenshots of your PDFs, as well as prevent photography of document screens.
We use the term 'very difficult' because even though our method is robust, it is not entirely foolproof. Our approach involves displaying only a portion of the document at any given time within the internet browser (shared as links with others), thereby thwarting users' attempts to capture screenshots or photos of the entire document. We call this feature "Screnshot Mask". This "mask" could have rectangle shape or be a circle. You can customize in your Profile Settings its appearance.
Alternatively, you can use our "Screenshot Protection" feature, so that users will need to install our Android, iPhone or iPad app to view your documents. This way you can prevent taking screenshots entirely, but as you can see it is only available for mobile devices.
If you want to utilize HelpRange to prevent people from taking screenshots of your documents, you simply need to click on the link for your uploaded PDF and enable "Screenshot Mask" or "Screenshot Protection" feature. You can see how it works by watching the following video (you can control the size of the 'visible box'):
A Few Words Of Summary
In conclusion, while it is not possible to completely prevent someone from taking a
screenshot of a PDF document, there are several measures that can be taken to make it
more difficult for someone to do so. Watermarking and DRM
solutions are some of the most effective ways to prevent unauthorized use of your PDF
document. When choosing the right security measure for your PDF document, it is
important to consider the level of security you need and the accessibility of your
document for authorized individuals.
Check out HelpRange
HelpRange is "Next-Gen Data Room For Documents Protection & Analytics
Platform".
HelpRange represents the cutting-edge platform for document access controls and in-depth
analytics, ensuring superior management and usage insights for your documents.