How to change screenshot format on Android - PNG to JPG and back

By default, the Android operating system saves all your screenshots using the PNG file format. But what if you want to change the screenshot format from PNG to JPG? Or what if your phone's manufacturer changed this default behavior and your new Android device stores screenshots as JPG files? You may then want to change the screenshot format from JPG to PNG. This tutorial shows how to switch the screenshot format on your Android smartphone or tablet, regardless of whether you want JPG or PNG for your images:

Contents

1. How to change the screenshot format from Settings (Samsung Galaxy)
2. How to change screenshot format with a third-party app, like Screen Master (works on all Android devices)
3. How did you change the screenshot format on your Android?

NOTE: This guide applies to Android 10, and it was created using Nokia 5.3 and Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra 5G. The procedures are similar on most Android-powered devices, although you might come across some small differences, depending on your device's manufacturer.

How to change the screenshot format from Settings (Samsung Galaxy)

On some devices, like the ones from Samsung, you can change the default screenshot format from the Settings app. Open Settings and, if you don't see a search field, tap on the magnifying glass button to access it.

Press on the magnifying glass to start searching

Type "screenshot" in the search field on top and, if the search function returns a result like Screenshot format, tap on it.

Access Screenshot format or any similar entry on your Android device

NOTE: If your search does not return anything similar to the result above, then your version of Android does not support changing the screenshot format. For an alternative solution, scroll down to the next section of this tutorial.

Tapping on Screenshot format takes you to the "Screenshots and screen recorder" screen. The current file format used by your Android device is displayed under the Screenshot format entry. To change it, tap on it.

Tap once more on Screenshot format

To change the screenshot format on your Android to JPG or PNG, tap on the file type you want to use from the dropdown menu.

Tap to select the file type you want to use

The new screenshot format is immediately displayed under the corresponding entry.

The new format is immediately displayed

If you change your mind and want the old file format back, access Screenshot format again and select the alternative.

Change your mind and revert to the previous format at any time

How to change screenshot format with a third-party app, like Screen Master (works on all Android devices)

If you can't change the screenshot format on your Android device from Settings, the only solution is a third-party app for taking screenshots. Open the Google Play Store and look for third-party apps for taking screenshots.

One of the best, in our opinion, is Screen Master: Screenshot & Longshot, Photo Markup. Install and open it - check out this tutorial if you need help getting an app from the Google Play Store.

Get Screen Master from Google Play

After opening the app, set its permissions, and then access the Settings tab in the bottom-right corner.

Tap on Settings to change screenshot format

You are shown a list of advanced settings, including the "Image file format" for screenshots. Tap on this entry to change the current screenshot format (displayed underneath).

Tap on Image file format

Tap to select the file format that you want to use: JPG or PNG.

Tap on PNG or JPG to set the screenshot format

Back on the app's homepage, don't forget to tap the "Turn on Screen Capture" button for the Screen Master app to take screenshots.

NOTE: The app needs to be displayed over other apps to do that, so, at this point, it should ask for that permission also. Allow display over other apps and continue.

Turn on Screen Capture to have the app take screenshots

Next, you get a brief tutorial on using Screen Master. To get a great user experience from this app, you should familiarize yourself with all its settings and experiment with it until it works the way you like. The Screen Master floating icon becomes visible, and you can drag and drop it around to position it anywhere you want at the edge of your screen for easy use.

The Screen Master icon

How did you change the screenshot format on your Android?

We hope this tutorial helped you change the screenshot format on your Android smartphone or tablet. If it didn't, what difficulties did you encounter? If you found another way to do this on your device, please let us in the comments, and we will update this guide to help as many people as possible.