On Android, developers may disable screenshots by using FLAG SECURE. This has the intended side effect of preventing app previews from appearing in the multitasking menu, as those previews are effectively snapshots of the program in its most recently used form. This protected flag is often used by banking applications and DRM-restricted apps like Netflix, but it is the only option to prevent that preview from being displayed. Now, it appears that Android 13 will only enable developers to block image previews while still enabling users to capture screenshots.
According to Esper, Android 13 has the setRecentsScreenshotEnabled API. There are several reasons why a developer could want to use this functionality. The most essential of which I can think of is that when dealing with sensitive material, it trusts the user to judge whether or not it is safe to screenshot it. FLAG SECURE is currently used to prevent applications showing copywritten material from having their contents recorded, and it has the unintended consequence of not enabling app previews to be displayed in the multitasking menu.
Assume you need to email someone a snapshot of a bank transfer. The developer of your banking app may either set FLAG SECURE or use the new setRecentsScreenshotEnabled API to prevent screenshots of the app from appearing in the multitasking preview. You can't send a screenshot of that transmission when FLAG SECURE is active. However, customers may not want their bank's sensitive data, such as their bank balance or recent transfers, to be displayed in the multi-tasking menu. This API's introduction solves that precise problem.
It is, without a doubt, a solution to a particular problem, but I'm sure there are more scenarios with comparable circumstances. Developers utilizing FLAG SECURE to conceal app previews in the recents menu was obviously a workaround that wasn't really meant for that usage, and it's refreshing to see Google providing developers a choice in how those app previews are hidden.
