How to screenshot apps that block screenshots on Windows 10
Screenshots are harmless for the most part but there are always exceptions. Some apps, particularly those that play DRM protected content tend to disable capturing screenshots. Netflix is an obvious example of this though there are ways around it. If you have an app that is blocking screenshots, and you’re using a Windows 10 system, taking that screenshot is easier than you think it is. All you need is a super simple tool to run the app in a sandbox. The only catch here is that this is only for desktop apps and not for UWP apps because the app of choice we’re going to recommend for sandboxing is Sandboxie and it can’t run UWP app.
Screenshot apps that block screenshots
Download Sandboxie and install it. Once installed, run the app and click the Browse button. Select the EXE of the app you want to run in sandboxed mode and screenshot. If you have a shortcut to the app on your desktop (or elsewhere) you can select that instead.
When the app is running, you will see a yellow border around it. This indicates that the app is running in sandboxed mode. Go ahead and set it up for the screenshot and then click outside it. This will make it so that the app is not active. No keyboard or mouse input will be detected by the app since it is both inactive/in the background, and because it’s running in a sandbox.
You can now use your screenshot tool of choice to capture a screenshot. It is best to capture a full-screen screenshot instead of one that targets the window itself, or an area on your screen.
This works with Netflix running in a browser. Normally, Netflix is able to disable screenshots even when it’s running in a browser. For any other apps, this should work too. It is possible that you’ll be able to use this same trick to record a screencast as well.
When an app disables screenshots, it is either protecting content from being plagiarized or it is keeping sensitive data safe. If you decide to go with this workaround, make sure that any data you’re screenshotting is safe and any DRM content you capture isn’t misused.
As for UWP apps, your options are limited. You’re going to have to set up a virtual machine and run the UWP app in it if you want to screenshot it. If you have Windows 10 Pro, it comes with a sandbox feature that can run UWP apps.
