North Korean smartphones have added a screenshot operate, although it doesn’t work with sure content material or functions associated to the nation’s leaders.
A Samtaesung 8 smartphone just lately obtained by Day by day NK includes a “sensible gesture” menu the place customers can allow screenshots by activating the “swipe downward with three fingers” choice. Under this feature, small textual content explains: “Take a screenshot by swiping downward with three fingers on the display screen you need.”
When customers carry out this gesture on the Samtaesung 8, a seize of the present display screen is saved as a picture file on the SD card. Screenshots are saved as “Screenshot_(picture date)_(picture time).png” and will be transferred to different gadgets by connecting the cardboard to a pc.
Beforehand, North Korean smartphones lacked screenshot capabilities. Authorities seemingly blocked this operate to stop data from being shared with or leaked to the surface world. Nevertheless, as smartphone utilization has grown in North Korea, screenshot performance seems to have been added to enhance person expertise.
But the operate doesn’t work universally. For example, within the “Collected Works” app—which incorporates the works and revolutionary historical past of North Korea’s supreme leaders—screenshots don’t operate on the beginning display screen or with saved paperwork. This seems to be intentional, as authorities might think about using a downward swipe on content material associated to the supreme chief disrespectful.
This restriction parallels how the mouse pointer disappears when hovering over Kim Jong Un’s face in photographs on North Korean media web sites just like the Rodong Sinmun newspaper or KCNA. This prevents the pointer from obscuring the chief’s face—a measure tied to North Korea’s chief idolization insurance policies.
The screenshot operate additionally doesn’t work within the “Kongse” app, which supplies entry to Rodong Sinmun, North Korean magazines, and different publications. This restriction seems aimed toward stopping inside data leaks.
Curiously, apps like “Mongnan Reader” or “Chongso”—which permit customers to view movies or digital paperwork—do allow screenshots of supplies like Kim Il Sung’s memoirs, books praising the nation’s leaders, and picked up works of earlier leaders that customers have uploaded themselves. Moreover, if somebody sorts “Kim Jong Un” in a textual content message, translation, or dictionary app, they will take screenshots even when the textual content isn’t complimentary.
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