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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.

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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.

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 of the entire document.

Moreover, you have the option to enable a feature called "Whole Screen Mask." When activated, the screenshot mask covers the entire screen and disappears upon holding the mouse click, revealing the document. This feature is exclusively available on desktop devices. In the event of a detected screenshot, access to the document is revoked.

Alternatively, when the "Whole Screen Mask" feature is disabled, the screenshot mask covers only a section of the document. However, this functionality extends to mobile devices as well.

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". 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 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.