Unable to access UI elements, record video or take screenshots during Android Native Application tests on Real Devices and Emulators – Sauce Labs

If you experience issues finding UI elements for an Android app, it might be that the developer has used an Android security feature in their app to block taking screenshots, so the UI elements are protected and not accessible.

If this is the case, you'll see this in the device log when trying to take a screenshot during a test:

W SurfaceFlinger : FB is protected: PERMISSION_DENIED

Since Android 7, Google has gradually fixed and tighten the controls on what can be recorded and/or accessed when an app is running under "secure mode".

Our tests show the following:

Android 6.0
Video and screenshot work

Android 7.0 & 8.0
Video works but not screenshot
(Video on EMUSIM works because its of the entire VM as opposed to just the screen)

Android 9.0, 10.0 and beyond
Video and screenshot don't work
(Video on EMUSIM works because its of the entire VM as opposed to just the screen)

This behavior is seen not only via Appium but also via native adb commands like:
adb shell screencap
adb shell screenrecord

This is relevant to testing on any emulator/real device and therefore is not a Sauce Labs specific issue but a Android OS security feature.