Taking a snapshot of your Android phone’s screen is easy, and there are all sorts of situations where a screenshot could come in handy, whether you want to share your home screen with friends or obtain pictorial proof of your latest high score.
This guide uses the Samsung Galaxy S7, S7 Edge, Galaxy Note 5, Galaxy S6, Galaxy S5, Galaxy S4, Galaxy S3, Galaxy Note 4, Galaxy Note 3, Galaxy Note 2, and Galaxy Note as examples.
More: Enlist in the Android Army: A beginner’s guide to Android
We’ve also included a guide to taking a screenshot on any other device using Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, Jelly Bean (4.1, 4.2, 4.3), KitKat (4.4), Android 5.0 Lollipop, Android 6.0 Marshmallow, and Android 7.0 Nougat (that’s most of them).
How to take a screenshot on a Galaxy device by swiping the screen
Taking a screenshot on the Galaxy S7 — or almost any other Galaxy phone — with a swipe of your hand is easy.
Set your hand vertically on either side of the screen, and shape it like you are karate chopping the phone.
Horizontally swipe across the screen like your hand is a photo scanner.
You should hear the camera shutter, see a screenshot move across the screen, and receive a notification that a picture has been saved to the gallery.
It takes a few tries.
This technique works with the following devices, as well as most Samsung phones that came out after 2013.
Galaxy S7
Galaxy S7 Edge
Galaxy S6
Galaxy S6 Edge
Galaxy S6 Edge Plus
Galaxy S5
Galaxy S4
Galaxy Note 5
Galaxy Note 4
Galaxy Note 3
How to check if “Palm swipe to capture” is enabled on your Galaxy
If you can’t get it to work, you may have to enable the swipe feature in Settings.
Open Settings > Motions and gestures (in the Motion category).
Tick the Palm swipe to capture box.
Close the menu and find the screen you want to capture.
Enjoy!