Whether on mobile or desktop, taking screenshots feels natural and easy. It’s the first thing many of us think to do when we want to preserve a memorable moment, keep handy reminders, or provide more details for a help request. Some screenshots inevitably contain valuable information that could be misused if it falls into the wrong hands.
Here’s a practical list of information your screenshots should never accidentally contain and what you can do to ensure that this never happens.
Passwords
Not sharing passwords in any way is one of the most basic cybersecurity precautions people still disregard. Screenshotting a password can admittedly be useful. For example, when enabling an account on desktop that’s already active on mobile, you reveal the password and screenshot it so it’s easier to copy.
While convenient, this leaves the affected account open to takeovers if someone gets hold of the screenshot. Worse yet, people often reuse passwords. Exposing one endangers all other accounts with the same or similar passwords.
Email Addresses
Email remains one of the main means of access, either as a login detail paired with a password or a channel for account recovery. Exposing an email address opens it up to spam and phishing scams, which have become hard to spot. Interacting with a phishing email may cause you to install malware or expose account information and private data.
The Contents of Emails and Private Messages
Some people screenshot personal emails, chat histories, and other private conversations for sentimental or archival reasons. Such screenshots likely contain data on participants’ identities, contact details, and personal information that no one else has any business being privy to. Depending on their contents, exposed private messages can be used for identity theft, blackmail, account takeovers, or social engineering.
Bank Account and Card Details
There are lots of scenarios in which a screenshot can expose banking details. Tenants may send statement screenshots as proof of rent payment to landlords. Or, they may send CC info or an IBAN to a family member so they can transfer money or make a payment in their name. If such screenshots are exposed, attackers get insight into the victim’s finances, not to mention access to information that lets them transfer funds or open fraudulent accounts.
Personal Identifiers
This is a broad category that encompasses various sources from which attackers can piece together your personal information. Think government and insurance IDs, driver’s licenses, paystubs, health records, etc. These can be used for everything from falsifying official documents and identity verification to applying for loans or abusing prescription drugs.
How do Screenshots Leak?
Attackers can obtain screenshots in various ways that undermine people’s safety and privacy. For example, you think a screenshot is only saved on your phone, but cloud sync creates an online backup. If the online storage account the screenshot gets sent to is compromised, attackers get full access to it.
Similarly, encrypted chats are only as secure as both parties’ accounts. Someone who hacks a friend’s Instagram or a coworker’s Slack account suddenly has access to any screenshots sent through private conversations.
Cyberattacks can also play a more direct role. A phishing or social engineering message may take you to a fake portal where you’re asked to upload photos of your ID. Some malware can also search your device for and copy image files.
How to Protect Yourself
When it comes to screenshots, staying safe comes down to minimizing data exposure and ensuring transfers are as secure as possible.
Rather than relying on screenshots, it’s better to use secure upload processes on official webpages. These ensure any image you send is encrypted, processed according to standards and rules, and kept only temporarily.
If screenshots are inevitable, crop them so that any sensitive information, notifications, and revealing interface elements are cropped out. Manually mark up any sensitive information if you can’t crop.
How you transfer screenshots matters. Doing so over public Wi-Fi is inadvisable since such networks and the data that goes through them are easy to monitor. A trustworthy VPN software is a good workaround since it will create an encrypted tunnel that makes monitoring and copying screenshots significantly less likely.
Even with all these precautions, screenshots may be exposed accidentally. If you worry that this might have already happened, it’s a good idea to understand what is the best identity theft protection service and start using such security tools. They can then scan data breaches and the dark web for the information you fear might have been exposed. The service can instantly inform you if and when that information surfaces, giving you time to change passwords, inform your bank, cancel cards, etc., to keep the threat from escalating.