Bluesky renders its iOS logo through a secure-text-entry field that iOS blanks on screenshot

Sources: timmarinin.net, 2026-08-16, HN discussion
Summary: The Bluesky iOS app renders the Follow button into the layer of a UITextField with isSecureTextEntry set to true. iOS blanks that layer when a screenshot is taken, revealing a Bluesky logo underneath that is never visible in normal use. The author locates the code in GrowthHack.tsx, added in January 2026, and reports it relies on the expo-privacy-sensitive package by the same author. Non-iOS platforms render the content unmasked. Telegram secret chats and Signal use the same technique, which is the ground for the author's expectation that Apple will not change the behavior. The post is dated 2026-08-16, and the author states he is not an iOS developer and that his explanation of the app-switch case is inference.
Why it matters: An API built to keep sensitive fields out of screenshots is being used as a branding hook, so screenshot redaction on iOS is not a reliable signal that a field holds a secret.