Support
Overview
If you are seeing black or blank screenshots when Netflix is open on a monitored device, this is expected behavior. Netflix uses hardware-accelerated video rendering and digital rights management (DRM) technology that prevents screen capture tools — including Veriato's screenshot recorder — from capturing the video content.
Why this happens
Netflix and other streaming services use a technology called Hardware-Accelerated GPU Scheduling (HAGS) combined with Widevine DRM to protect their content from being recorded or captured. When the Veriato agent attempts to take a screenshot while Netflix is playing, the DRM layer blocks the capture and returns a black frame instead of the actual screen content.
This is a limitation imposed by the streaming service, not a bug in the Veriato agent.
Affected applications
Other applications that may produce black screenshots for the same reason include:
- Netflix (browser and desktop app)
- Disney+
- Amazon Prime Video
- HBO Max
- Apple TV+
- Other DRM-protected streaming services
What you can still capture
Even when video content is blocked, the Veriato agent continues to record:
- Window titles and application activity
- URLs visited in the browser
- Keystrokes (if keystroke logging is enabled)
- Application usage time
If you need to verify that a user was watching Netflix, you can use the Application Activity and URL History reports in the Veriato console as an alternative to screenshots.
Need more help?
If you are seeing black screenshots in applications that are not streaming services, please contact Veriato Support for further investigation.