VdoCipherScreen Recording
Screen recording is capturing on-screen video as it plays, using built-in OS recorders or third-party software. It is the fallback piracy route that DRM cannot fully close on desktop web, because the content is decrypted for display. It can be blocked in native mobile apps and only deterred on desktop browsers.
What is Screen Recording?
Screen recording captures on-screen video as it plays, using built-in tools like the Windows Game Bar, macOS screen capture, or third-party software such as OBS. Because the video must be decrypted to be displayed, screen recording is the piracy route that pure encryption and DRM cannot fully close on their own.
What Can and Cannot Be Blocked
- Native mobile apps: Hardware DRM and OS flags (Android FLAG_SECURE, iOS capture detection) can force recordings to capture a black screen.
- Desktop web: Browsers give no reliable API to block recording, so it can only be deterred, not prevented.
- Camera of the screen: No software can stop someone filming the display with a second device.
How It Is Deterred
The most effective deterrent on web is dynamic watermarking: overlaying the viewer's name, email, or IP so any recording carries the recorder's identity. HDCP and hardware DRM close the capture-card and mobile paths. Honest platforms are clear that desktop-web recording is deterred, not eliminated.
For Platform Owners
Treat screen recording as a deterrence-and-trace problem, not a block-everywhere problem. Combine app-level blocking where possible with visible watermarking everywhere else.