Pinch
Pinch action, Perform a two-finger pinch gesture. Use direction "in" to pinch fingers together (zoom out), or "out" to spread fingers apart (zoom in). Optionally specify distance for how far each finger moves.. Parameters: locate? (object) - The element to pinch on. If not specified, the center o...
This record as markdown: /tools/android/pinch.md
What Pinch does on Android
AI agents invoke Pinch to trigger actions in Android. What it does depends on the arguments the agent supplies, and its effects often reach beyond the immediate call: builds kicked off, notifications sent, workflows started.
| Parameter | Type | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
locate | object | — | The element to pinch on. If not specified, the center of the screen will be used |
distance | number | — | How far each finger moves in pixels. Defaults to a quarter of the shorter screen dimension. |
duration | number | — | Duration of the pinch gesture in milliseconds |
direction | string | Yes | Pinch direction. "in" = pinch fingers together (zoom out / shrink), "out" = spread fingers apart (zoom in / enlarge). |
android.deviceId | string | — | Android device ID (from adb devices) |
android.useScrcpy | boolean | — | Enable scrcpy accelerated screenshots |
android.aiActContext | string | — | Background knowledge passed to aiAct. Default: no extra context. |
android.waitAfterAction | number | — | Wait time in milliseconds after each action execution. Default: 300ms. |
android.replanningCycleLimit | integer | — | Maximum number of replanning cycles for aiAct. Default: model adapter default. |
android.screenshotShrinkFactor | number | — | Screenshot shrink factor before sending images to AI. Default: 1; high values may reduce recognition quality, especially on mobile. |
Parameters from the server's own tool schema.
Why Pinch is rated High
This tool triggers a physical gesture/interaction on an Android device (a pinch action), which is a browser/UI action that executes an external operation. It does not read data, write/create data, destroy data, or involve finances. It falls under Execute as it performs a UI interaction whose effects depend on the arguments and context.
From the tool's definition Perform a two-finger pinch gesture... Use direction 'in' to pinch fingers together (zoom out), or 'out' to spread fingers apart (zoom in)
Risk signalsHigh parameter count (15 properties)
Attacks that exploit this kind of access
The rule that runs Pinch safely
PolicyLayer is an MCP gateway: it sits between your AI agents and Android, and checks every tool call against a rule you set before the call runs. Nothing changes on the server itself. For Pinch, this is the rule to start with:
Pinch stays usable, but rate-capped: a runaway agent can't fire it dozens of times a minute. Everything else on the server is denied unless you say otherwise.
The button opens the PolicyLayer dashboard: create your workspace, connect Android, apply this rule, and every Pinch call is checked against it from then on.
Questions about Pinch
Pinch action, Perform a two-finger pinch gesture. Use direction "in" to pinch fingers together (zoom out), or "out" to spread fingers apart (zoom in). Optionally specify distance for how far each finger moves.. Parameters: locate? (object) - The element to pinch on. If not specified, the center of the screen will be used; direction (enum('in', 'out')) - Pinch direction. "in" = pinch fingers together (zoom out / shrink), "out" = spread fingers apart (zoom in / enlarge).; distance? (number) - How far each finger moves in pixels. Defaults to a quarter of the shorter screen dimension.; duration? (number) - Duration of the pinch gesture in milliseconds. It is categorised as a Execute tool in the Android MCP Server, which means it can trigger actions or run processes. Use rate limits and argument validation.
Pinch accepts 10 parameters: locate, distance, duration, direction, android.deviceId, android.useScrcpy, android.aiActContext, android.waitAfterAction, android.replanningCycleLimit, android.screenshotShrinkFactor. Required: direction. The full parameter table on this page comes from the server's own tool schema.
Register the Android MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for Pinch: allow, deny, rate-limit, or require approval. Point your MCP client at the PolicyLayer proxy URL and the rule is enforced on every call, before it reaches Android. Nothing to install.
Pinch is a Execute tool with high risk. Execute tools should be rate-limited and have argument validation enabled.
Yes. Add a rate_limit block to the Pinch rule in your PolicyLayer policy. For example, setting max: 10 and window: 60 limits the tool to 10 calls per minute. Rate limits are tracked per agent session and reset automatically.
Set action: deny in the PolicyLayer policy for Pinch. The AI agent will receive a policy violation error and cannot call the tool. You can also include a reason field to explain why the tool is blocked.
Pinch is provided by the Android MCP server (@midscene/android-mcp). PolicyLayer sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.
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