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How to capture scrolling screenshots on Android

NextPit Android 12 scrollshot
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Are you looking for ways to capture scrolling screenshots on your Android smartphone? It turns out you have come to the right place! In this detailed article, we have listed several methods using which you can capture scrolling screenshots or long screenshots on your Android smartphone in just a few simple steps.


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Introduction

I am sure you use the screenshot feature on your smartphone quite often. While this feature has been around on Android and iOS devices for a really long time, the same cannot be said about the scrolling screenshot feature. With Android 12, Google has finally developed a native version of capturing scrolling screenshots. In other words, it does not matter the type or brand of Android smartphone you currently use - there is a consistent method to do so once your device has Android 12 up and running on it. 

This also means that smartphones from Google and the likes of Motorola, Sony, and Nokia, all of which run stock Android, will support scrolling screenshots (if they have Android 12 running). Do take note that most smartphone vendors have managed to bake this feature on their custom Operating Systems for ages now. So, it is a fallacy to state that Android smartphones across the board cannot capture scrolling screenshots.

In this article, we will first explore how to capture scrolling screenshots on smartphones that run on stock Android. This fix will let you capture scrolling screenshots on devices made by Motorola, Nokia, and even Sony. In the second part, we take a look at the ways you can do the very same task on some of the more popular Android skins.

How to take a scrolling screenshot on Android 12

For Android 12 which was released in October 2021, Google finally added a native option to take scrolling screenshots. The feature works a bit different from usual.

It is interesting to note that Google only allows you to take extended screenshots in apps and not from websites like NextPit, for example, opened in the Chrome browser. So, you can share screenshots of a Twitter thread, but you can't do the same with a story from a webpage. Using a supported device with the beta, follow these steps:

  1. Find the page of the app you want to capture.
  2. Then, press at the same time the buttons to turn on the device and volume down.
  3. In the lower left corner of the screen will appear a preview of the screenshot and the buttons to "Share", "Edit" and "Capture more". Click Capture More.
  4. Both the top and bottom of the screen to be captured can be extended, and a magnifying glass will appear to give a better view of the content, allowing you to make a more precise cut.
  5. If you are satisfied with the result, simply click the Save button. You can also share the capture right from the last page, or edit it by adding extra text and annotations.

How to capture scrolling screenshots on Android 11 or lower

Android 11 features image
It's 2022, and we are at Android 12. But still no scrolling screenshot on smartphones running stock Android!/ © Google

As mentioned earlier, you can now capture scrolling screenshots natively on Android (as of Android 12). Of course, there are always third-party apps to get the job done if your smartphone has not yet been updated to Android 12.

While you will get a lot of apps when you search for scrolling screenshots on the Google Play Store, one app that seems to be everyone’s favorite is LongShot. It supports the auto-scroll feature, which makes the task very simple. Here’s how you can use Longshot to capture scrolling screenshots on phones running stock Android

  1. Download Longshot from the Google Play Store.
  2. Install the app and grant all the necessary permissions.
  3. In Longshot settings, make sure you tap the checkbox next to Auto Scroll.
  4. The app will now prompt you to give it additional permissions. Grant all permissions.
  5. Open the app and now clock the Blue Camera icon next to Capture Screenshot.
  6. You will see another prompt. Tap Start now and open the app on which you need to capture the long screenshot.
  7. Once on the app or webpage, click the Start button. The app will now automatically start capturing scrolling screenshots.
  8. Once it reaches the bottom, it will prompt you to save the image or edit it before saving.

How to capture scrolling screenshot on Samsung phones

Samsung Galaxy S21 5G smartphone picture
While Samsung Galaxy smartphones do support long screenshots, the auto-scroll feature is still missing / © NextPit

Surprising as it may seem, Samsung has finally offered the option to manually capture long screenshots. It somehow missed the boat when it comes to the very convenient auto-scroll feature, but thankfully that has been remedied.  

Anyway, the steps to capture scrolling screenshots on Samsung smartphones are as follows:

  1. Hold the Volume down button and Power button simultaneously.
  2. Once the screenshot is captured, tap on the Scroll capture option in the bottom left corner. 
  3. You will need to repeat the procedure until you get to the bottom of the page.

How to capture scrolling screenshots on Xiaomi phones

  1. Hold the Volume Down and Power Button.
  2. Click the Scroll option on the top right section, below the preview box.
  3. The screenshot will be taken automatically. Click stop when required.

How to capture scrolling screenshots on Oppo phones (Also applicable for Realme smartphones)

  1. Hold the Volume Down and Power buttons.
  2. When the preview of the screenshot appears, click the arrow button right beneath it.
  3. Click stop when required.

How to capture scrolling screenshots on OnePlus phones

  1. Hold the Volume Down and Power Button.
  2. An Expanded Screenshot button will appear in the lower right corner of the screen. Select that.
  3. The scrolling screenshot will be captured automatically. Tap anywhere to stop scrolling.

How to capture scrolling screenshots on LG phones

LG V60 smartphone picture
Make use of the Extended Capture feature to take long screenshots on LG smartphones  / © NextPit

Note that LG smartphones do not yet support the very convenient auto-scroll feature. What you can do, however, is to use the Extended Capture feature to take long screenshots. Here is what you need to do:

  1. Open the web page of your choice.
  2. Pull down the notification bar, then find and select Capture+.
  3. Return to the web page and select Extended in the lower right corner.
  4. Once the process has started, the screen will scroll. Once you have captured everything you want, you can simply tap to stop it.
  5. To save the screenshot, tap the tick in the upper left corner and select where you want it saved.

Note: LG has since exited the smartphone business, so you might want to take good care of yours as spare parts will get harder to come by. 

How to capture scrolling screenshots on Huawei phones

  1. Locate the screen that you want to take a scrolling screenshot of.
  2. Hold down on the Power and Volume down buttons at the same time.
  3. After several seconds, an animation will appear, letting you know that you’ve successfully captured the image.
  4. Before the animation disappears, tap on the Scrollshot option.
  5. Almost immediately, your phone will begin scrolling down on the screen and add to the original screenshot. It will continue to scroll until you tap on the screen, which tells it to stop.
  6. The scroll shot will now appear on your display for you to inspect. From here, you can Share, Edit, or Delete the image.

Do you frequently use the screenshot function on your Android smartphone? And have you ever felt the need for the aforementioned long screenshots? Do let us know in the comments below!


This article was last updated in March 2022. Older comments have been retained. 

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Go to comment (9)
Rahul Srinivas

Rahul Srinivas
Senior Editor

Among the most experienced tech journalists from India, Rahul has spent the better part of the past decade writing and experiencing technology. In his decade-long career, Rahul has contributed to several Indian and International publications, including Mobilegeeks, Onlygizmos, iPhoneHacks, and The Inquisitr. Before joining NextPit, he held the position of Senior Editor at MySmartPrice - one of India's largest product research platforms.

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9 comments
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  • 1
    TFA Apr 5, 2022 Link to comment

    the google implementation on Andr12 is just so poor, it doesn't even go half of the size what e. g. Samsung oneUI does, often fail to start and has no auto cropping feature, poor Google try to catch up and end up as laughing stock


  • 3
    mikedavis May 12, 2021 Link to comment

    Yes, Redmi mobile have in-built function for take scrolling screenshot so there is no need of any app. Also longshot app is really working fine in other mobiles.


  • 2
    natelive Jan 25, 2020 Link to comment

    I'm not sure if this is specifically an "app" question, this is just one of the more helpful Android subreddits - and I didn't think this was an appropriate question for r/Android since it seems like mostly news lol.

    Hopefully this works out here.

    My S7 used to have this feature where when I was taking a screenshot I could press a button to scroll down and I could screenshot a whole page.

    Can I do this with my Pixel 3?

    I would be open to downloading something to do it if I have to, although I would prefer if it's just some kind of native setting?


  • 49
    storm Jan 24, 2020 Link to comment

    Hmm. Never encountered the need. Web page contents are easily enough copied and pasted or the share function goes a long way too.


  • aggressivescroller 2
    aggressivescroller Aug 1, 2019 Link to comment

    The annoying thing is that scroll screenshots also capture the animated effect of some apps when you scroll all the way to the bottom. Sometimes the "bottom-bump" effect is really quick and the screen capturing process is slow so it doesn't get captured, but 80% of the time my scrollshots have a bottom effect! Wish there was a way around that.

    TFA


  • 25
    Deactivated Account Feb 14, 2019 Link to comment

    Screen Master is a wonderful 3rd party app for taking long Screenshots.


  • Carlos Gil Pinheiro 2
    Carlos Gil Pinheiro Dec 12, 2017 Link to comment

    Letv/Leeco phones have that since 2 years ago and work very well.

    TFA


    • 2
      João Vitor Rodrigues Feb 18, 2018 Link to comment

      Yes, that's true, i have a Le Max 2 and this feature was my favorite, but i changed the ROM to an custom Oreo, and i lost this feature, that's why i'm here haha


      • Deepak Gupta 3
        Deepak Gupta Oct 31, 2018 Link to comment

        What if one would like this feature on a custom ROM? Did you find any alternative?

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