Android screen recording captures the area you authorize: either the whole display or, on Android 14 QPR2 and later where supported, a single app window. What appears also depends on whether the app protects its window and whether you separately allow microphone or playback audio capture. A recording is not automatically a copy of everything on your phone.
What does Android screen recording capture?
A recording session uses Android’s MediaProjection system after the user approves a consent prompt. The output reflects the selected capture area and the content that apps allow to be shown there. Active MediaProjection access can be withdrawn from Quick Settings; withdrawing the token stops its associated media streams. Android 15 documentation also specifies that apps targeting API 34 or higher must obtain consent for each capture session. Android’s MediaProjection guide explains these session rules, and the Android 15 feature overview describes the target-API consent requirement.
Whole-display recording
When the chosen mode records the whole display, notifications or system UI may be in the captured area. Android’s documentation does not establish that notifications are excluded in every full-display recording workflow. The exact controls and resulting output can also vary by device maker and recorder.
Selected-app recording
Android 14 QPR2 introduced app-window sharing and recording. In this mode, the user selects one app instead of the entire display; Android says that status and navigation bars, notifications, and other system UI are excluded. That exclusion applies to selected-app mode, not automatically to full-display recording. See Android’s app screen-sharing documentation.
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Why is an app black or blank in a recording?
An app can mark a window as secure with FLAG_SECURE. Android then prevents screenshots of that window and prevents it from appearing on non-secure displays, such as casting to a TV or projector. This can make protected content appear blank in a recording. Android’s security guidance describes the protection and cautions that it is not a perfect defense: it does not reliably prevent every overlay attack, and its behavior can vary by device, particularly on Android 11 and older. Treat it as an app-level safeguard, not a guarantee that sensitive information can never leak. Details are in Android’s guidance on securing sensitive activities.
Android 14 also provides an app-facing API for detecting screenshots. A screenshot is a still image, so that API should not be confused with detecting an ongoing video recording. Android 15 adds a separate callback that lets an app learn when its content becomes visible or invisible within a screen recording. An app may use that information to respond during a sensitive operation; it does not mean Android always displays a system-wide warning whenever any app is recorded. See the screenshot detection documentation and Android 15 feature overview.
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Does screen recording capture microphone or phone audio?
Visual capture and audio capture are separate. A screen recording does not necessarily include microphone audio or every sound playing on the device. Microphone access requires the relevant permission; Android’s guidance says an app should wait for the user to grant RECORD_AUDIO before accessing the microphone. The permission guidance is at Android’s sensitive-information access page.
Microphone audio
Microphone audio is sound picked up through the device’s microphone, such as narration. Whether a recorder offers a microphone option and how it is labeled depends on the recorder and device. Permission to record the screen alone does not establish that microphone capture is enabled.
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Playback audio from another app
Capturing another app’s playback is governed by Android’s playback-capture rules. The capturing app needs RECORD_AUDIO, a user-approved MediaProjection session, and must capture from the same user profile as the app playing the audio. The playback must use an eligible audio usage—USAGE_MEDIA, USAGE_GAME, or USAGE_UNKNOWN—and the playback app’s capture policy must allow it. Apps targeting Android 10 or later allow playback capture by default unless they disable it; apps targeting older Android versions default to disallowing it unless enabled. These are platform rules, not a promise that every built-in recorder exposes the same audio controls. See Android’s playback-capture guide.
Ordinary playback capture excludes usages such as voice communication, notifications, assistance, and assistant audio. Apps can set policies that allow no capture, allow system capture only, or allow broader capture. Under the system-only policy, captured audio cannot leave the device or be passed to another app; Android specifies a maximum quality of 16 kHz, 16-bit mono for that case. The AudioAttributes API reference describes these usage and policy distinctions.
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Can an app tell that you are recording?
Android 15 adds an app-facing callback for when the app’s content becomes visible or invisible in a screen recording. An app can use it to change behavior or notify the user, for example around a sensitive operation. This is an app capability; it does not establish that every Android device shows a universal recording alert inside every app. The release-specific details are in Android 15’s feature documentation.
Separately, Android displays active MediaProjection tokens in Quick Settings and lets users withdraw a token. That is a system control over an active capture session, not evidence that each app receives the same notification. See Android’s MediaProjection documentation.
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Which Android version changes the answer?
| Android release or target | Relevant behavior |
|---|---|
| Android 14 QPR2 | Selected-app sharing or recording is available; this mode excludes system bars, notifications, and other system UI. |
| Android 15 | Apps can receive a callback when their content becomes visible or invisible in a screen recording. Apps targeting API 34 or higher must obtain consent for each MediaProjection session. |
| Android 14 | Apps can use screenshot detection for still-image screenshots; this is distinct from detecting video recording. |
| App targeting Android 10 or later | Playback audio is allowed by default unless the app disables capture. This concerns audio, not screen visuals. |
These are platform-level behaviors. They do not establish identical recorder menus or settings across every manufacturer’s phone. Android’s broader release overview is available at Android Privacy.
Quick Recap
Practical privacy checks before recording
- Choose the capture area deliberately. Use selected-app mode when available and appropriate; do not assume whole-display recording omits notifications.
- Review what is visible first. Close or hide private material if the recording includes the whole display.
- Check audio separately. Confirm whether microphone narration or app playback is being captured, and remember that playback apps can restrict capture.
- End sessions you no longer need. Android exposes active MediaProjection access in Quick Settings, where access can be withdrawn.
- Expect protected screens to be blank. A secure app window may not appear in the recording, and this behavior is controlled by the app and platform.
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