How to Turn Off Screen Overlay on Android

Written by Travis Boylls

Last Updated: March 29, 2019 Tested

This wikiHow teaches you how to disable the screen overlay permission for an app (a feature that allows an app to appear over other apps) on your Android phone. Sometimes, when the screen overlay comes into conflict with another app, an error message occurs. This can prevent certain apps from launching or working correctly. You can disable an app's screen overlay permission in the Settings menu on a stock Android phone, a Samsung Galaxy phone, or an LG phone.

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

On Stock Android

1
Open Settings. It’s the gray gear icon typically found in the app drawer. Or, alternatively,
- Swipe down from the top of the screen and then tap the gear icon.
It's near the top of the menu next to the icon of a grid of squares. ^{[1]
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It's at the bottom of the page.
It's the last option at the bottom of the menu.
It's the fourth option from the top.
6
Tap the app that you want to disable the screen overlay for. If you're turning this feature off because of an error message, select the app that gave you the error message or the app that you think might be causing the problem.Common apps that have screen overlays are Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, Twilight,
- On some devices, you will just see a list of apps with screen overlays with a switch next to them, in which case, simply tap the switch to turn off screen overlay for the selected app.
7
Tap the switch OFFfor the app you want to disable. This will turn off screen overlay permission for that app.
- If you don't know what app is causing the problem, you can try disabling all of them and re-enable them one by one.
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Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

On a Samsung Galaxy

1
Open Settings. It’s the gray gear icon typically found in the app drawer. Or, alternatively,
- Swipe down from the top of the screen and then tap the gear icon.
It's about halfway down the menu, next to an icon of four dots. This will open a list of all your phone's apps.
It's the three-dot icon at the top-right corner of the page. This opens a drop-down menu with some additional options.
It's the second to last option in the drop-down menu. This opens a menu of special app settings.
It's the fourth option from the top, partway down the page.
6
Tap the switch OFFfor the app you want to disable. This will turn off screen overlay permission for that app.
- If you don't know what app is causing the problem, you can try disabling all of them and re-enable them one by one.
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Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

On an LG

1
Open Settings. It’s the gear icon typically found in the app drawer.
- You can also access the Settings menu by swiping down from the top to access the Notifications shade, and then tap the gear icon in the upper-right corner.
It's next to the icon with a pie chart and three dots.
It's located in the upper-right corner of the apps menu. This will display a drop-down menu.
It's the first option in the drop-down menu.
It's under the "Advanced" heading.
Common apps that have screen overlays are Messenger, WhatsApp, Clean Master, Drupe, screen recorders, and Lux
7
Slide the “Permit drawing over other apps” switch to theOFF position. Screen overlays are now disabled for this app. You can now return to the app in which you saw the error message to try again.
- If you don't know what app is causing the problem, you may need to disable all of them.
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Community Q&A

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Question

What should I do if I can't turn it off?

Community Answer

Wait for it to automatically shut down. (the default time for it to turn off is 30 seconds of no use, but this can be changed in settings).

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Question

What do I do when all the instructions are followed and it is still a problem?

Community Answer

If you cannot fix it yourself it would be best to take it to an Android repair shop or dealer. It may be a glitch or something else if it cannot be fixed with these steps.

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Question

How long does this usually take?

Community Answer

It depends on you and how fast you do it, but it usually takes under a minute.

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How to Turn Off Screen Overlay on Android

Steps

On Stock Android

On a Samsung Galaxy

On an LG

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