High Risk →

screen_off

Turn the device screen off. Useful for testing how apps behave when device goes to sleep.

How to control screen_off ↓

AI agents invoke screen_off to trigger actions in MCP Android Agent. 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.

High Risk

This tool triggers an external operation on a physical/virtual Android device by turning off its screen. While reversible (screen can be turned back on), it executes a device-level action rather than simply reading data or writing/modifying stored data. The blast radius is low as it only affects screen state and is easily undone.

From the tool's definition Turn the device screen off. Useful for testing how apps behave when device goes to sleep.

Documented attack patterns abuse exactly the kind of access screen_off gives an agent:

PolicyLayer is an MCP gateway — it sits between your AI agents and MCP Android Agent, and nothing reaches the server without passing your rules. This is the rule we recommend for screen_off:

policy.json
{
  "version": "1",
  "default": "deny",
  "tools": {
    "screen_off": {
      "limits": [
        {
          "counter": "screen_off_rate",
          "window": "minute",
          "max": 10,
          "scope": "grant"
        }
      ]
    }
  }
}

screen_off 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.

  1. Create a free account and register MCP Android Agent — nothing to install.
  2. Add this policy — paste it, or build it visually.
  3. Point your MCP client (Claude, Cursor, anything) at your gateway URL.
RATE-LIMIT THIS TOOL →

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Go deeper

What does the screen_off tool do? +

Turn the device screen off. Useful for testing how apps behave when device goes to sleep. It is categorised as a Execute tool in the MCP Android Agent MCP Server, which means it can trigger actions or run processes. Use rate limits and argument validation.

How do I enforce a policy on screen_off? +

Register the MCP Android Agent MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for screen_off: 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 MCP Android Agent. Nothing to install.

What risk level is screen_off? +

screen_off is a Execute tool with high risk. Execute tools should be rate-limited and have argument validation enabled.

Can I rate-limit screen_off? +

Yes. Add a rate_limit block to the screen_off 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.

How do I block screen_off completely? +

Set action: deny in the PolicyLayer policy for screen_off. 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.

What MCP server provides screen_off? +

screen_off is provided by the MCP Android Agent MCP server (nim444/mcp-android-server-python). PolicyLayer sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.

Enforce policy on every MCP Android Agent tool call.

Deterministic rules across all 28 MCP Android Agent tools. Per-identity grants. Full audit log. Live in minutes. Nothing to install.

Free to start. No card required.

28 MCP Android Agent tools catalogued and risk-classified — across an index of 42,500+ MCP servers.

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