jony1993 / screenlife-capture-android

Source code for the ScreenLife Capture Android application. Please consult the researcher guide available at https://www.andrewzhyee.com/screenlifec/ for more information on how to set this up without programming knowledge. The full paper piloting this app can be found at https://link.springer.com/article/10.3758/s13428-022-02006-z

ScreenLife Capture Android App

Changelog

v. 1.1.0

• Fixed multiple bugs regarding QR scanner, starting issue on Pixel devices
• Added a descriptor field in file names

v. 1.1.0

28 Feb 2023

• Added notice screens when user intentionally pause/resume recording
• Updated gradle for SDK 32 (Android 12), fixed issue with intent passing for android 12
• Updated gradle and fixed method calls for notification and datetime utils for SDK 25 and below (Android 7 and below)

This repo contains the Android Application used in the ScreenLife Capture study. The application allows participants to record and upload screenshots taken every X number of seconds. The general layout of the code is explained below.

Usage guide

Installing via Android Studio (debug mode)

Refer to the official guide here for running an app on a physical device.

Summary of steps:

• Ensure your Android device has USB debugging mode turned on.
• Connect your Android device using data cable and select file transfer mode. Android Studio should automatically register your device.
• In Android Studio, select your device from the device list on the top toolbar. Click "Run app". The app should be installed in your device.

Packaging APK for distribution

App structure

Activities

Activity Name	Purpose
RegisterActivity	Handles registration for new users.
MainActivity	Contains the main interface of the app, allowing participants to start/stop the screen capture.
DevToolsActivity	Contains tools to tweak how the app works, including the number of images to send per batch, the number of batches to send in parallel etc.

Service

Service Name	Purpose
CaptureService	Responsible for capturing screenshots every X number of seconds. Runs continously throughout the duration of the study.
UploadService	Responsible for uploading of screenshots to the cloud functions. Is triggered at certain times by UploadScheduler

Other Files

File Name	Purpose
Constants	Contains the constants used throughout the application.
Batch	Contains a "batch" of files, used by UploadService.
Encryptor	Used during the encryption process by CaptureService.
InfoDialog	The dialog that is shown when the "information" button is pressed on the main activity.
InternetConnection	A set of functions to check if the device is connected to the internet, and through what type of connection (WiFi vs mobile data).
Logger	Utility functions to save logs to SharedPreferences.
UploadScheduler	Schedules the UploadService at certain times a day.

Constants

Most app-related constants are located in the Constants file. The constants are explained below.

Constant Name	Explanation
REGISTER_ADDRESS	The address of the "register" cloud function.
UPLOAD_ADDRESS	The address of the "upload" cloud function.
COUNT_ADDRESS	The address of the "count" cloud function.
BATCH_SIZE_DEFAULT	TODO
MAX_TO_SEND_DEFAULT	TODO
MAX_BATCHES_TO_SEND	TODO
REQ_TIMEOUT	TODO

Shield:

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.