Introduction

When creating blog posts about smartphone tips and hacks, screenshots from your phone can be very useful illustrations of step-by-step guides and walkthroughs. But there are some considerations to keep in mind to make sure your screenshots adhere to legal and SEO rules. In this blog post, I'll address these rules and provide tips on how to optimize your screenshots for professionalism.

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Legality of Using Phone Screenshots for Tutorials and Commercial Projects

Using phone screenshots of your home screen or apps to illustrate how-to tutorials is generally considered legal. From Google’s point of view, this is usually fine, too. Here’s why:

1. For instructional or educational purposes, screenshots that show user interface (like those from your own phone) are commonly treated as fair use. If you are demonstrating a process and not republishing someone else's creative work for profit, this type of use is widely accepted.
2. Apple and Android, for example, generally allow the use of screenshots of their iOS interface for instructional and review purposes. That said, it's a good idea to avoid including extraneous information (like notifications or personal data) in your screenshots.
3. From a Google AdSense and general web policy standpoint, screenshots used in tutorials are acceptable as long as they don't include any copyrighted material that you don't have permission to use. Because these screenshots are functional—illustrating steps rather than showcasing artistic imagery—they rarely raise issues with AdSense.

While nothing is set in stone legally, and I'm not offering formal advice, most bloggers in the tech and tutorial space use such screenshots without any trouble. If you're using your own screenshots that show how to operate an app or an iOS functionality, you're generally in the clear.

If you're ever in doubt, double-check that your screenshots are clean (no personal notifications or extraneous icons that might be subject to separate copyright claims) and serve an educational purpose.

Photo by Clker-Free-Vector-Images on Pixabay

How to Stay in the Safe

While using screenshots for tutorials is not in itself an issue, there are additional steps you can take to further protect yourself from potential legal complications and search engine penalties. Consider these extra precautions to minimize risks, especially with the constantly changing rules of using digital content.

Mention the Source of Your Screenshots

To add more transparency to your content, consider writing a note under each screenshot explaining basic details about it. For example, you can mention that the screenshots are original and created by the author, briefly describe the content of your image, the date, the OS or app version, and any other relevant information. At the end of your blog post, you can write a short disclaimer to clarify the usage of these visuals (i.e., for educational purposes) and that they adhere to the fair use rules.

Blur the Unnecessary Parts

You might often capture parts that are not essential to your tutorial, like third-party icons, images, and logos that could be protected under the copyright law or that just create unnecessary distraction to your tutorial. Consider options like blurring the unnecessary parts with third-party editing tools. Or even better, you can remove them with Photoshop or AI.

Don’t Use Raw Screenshots

Using raw, unedited screenshots might seem like a quick win for a tutorial post; however, taking the time to polish the images and make them look professional can add more credibility to your posts. Edit your screenshots with professional tools to create high-quality images that fit all screen sizes.

Optimize for SEO

Search engines love it when you tell them what your visuals are about. It helps them index your images appropriately, which improves your chances of appearing in image search results as well as your overall content structure for SEO visibility. Consider naming your images with descriptive titles instead of generic ones (like tutorial.jpg), and include alt text and descriptions for each of your screenshots.

Consistency

No one likes to struggle with poorly formatted images that are difficult to navigate. Ensure all your screenshots are the same in size, style, and branding throughout your posts. This consistent approach improves the overall structure of your blog posts and makes your tutorials more inviting and trustworthy.

Final Say

While it’s generally acceptable to use screenshots in your tutorials and blog posts, dropping raw screenshots without carefully reviewing potential copyrighted elements or private content may not be the best approach. You may also want to make sure that your screenshots are not poor quality. Always stay up to date with the latest changes in the digital copyright laws.