Archiving Interfaces: How to Preserve Features That Disappear—From Casting to Old Apps

When a familiar button vanishes: the archivist's dilemma

It happens overnight: a company toggles a feature, a mobile update removes a button, a streaming app quietly drops a protocol. For students, teachers, and digital librarians this is urgent—not only because research loses a primary source but because the technical context that made that feature meaningful disappears with it. In January 2026, Netflix's abrupt removal of broad mobile casting support crystallized this problem: an interaction pattern used by millions simply ceased to exist in the wild. How do we preserve a feature that had no physical form to begin with?

What this how‑to gives you

This guide is a practical playbook for capturing ephemeral digital features—like Netflix's casting behavior—using a mix of visual artifacts, network records, developer materials, and human testimony. It’s tailored for archivists, students, and digital librarians who need replicable, legally mindful, and metadata‑rich preservation methods in 2026.

Why preserve interface features in 2026?

Three short reasons:

• Cultural and research value: Interfaces embody design decisions, business models, and user expectations. Removing a feature erases evidence of those choices.
• Technical provenance: Modern services depend on ephemeral protocols, SDKs, and device discovery mechanisms (mDNS/SSDP, Cast SDK, WebRTC). Preserving these helps future researchers reconstruct how systems worked.
• Policy and pedagogy: Policy debates (antitrust, accessibility) and classroom case studies need reliable primary evidence. A screenshot or transcript isn’t enough—archives must capture behavior, APIs, and the people who built them.

What to capture (and why)

Effective preservation captures multiple artifact types so future users can understand appearance, behavior, and context. Preserve the following:

• UI artifacts — full‑page screenshots, element screenshots, and high‑resolution images of states (idle, error, settings).
• Video captures — screen recordings of workflows (start → connect → playback → stop), including audio and system notifications. Video documents timing, animations, and interaction lags that screenshots miss.
• Network and API captures — HAR files, PCAPs, and saved JSON/XML API responses. These show the requests/responses, headers, discovery protocols (mDNS/SSDP), and payload formats.
• Binary artifacts — application packages (APKs for Android), firmware images for devices (when legally permissible), SDKs, and libraries.
• Developer and support documentation — public docs, developer portal pages, release notes, changelogs, and Stack Overflow or GitHub issues referencing the feature.
• Logs and device state — system logs, app debug logs, and console output during the interaction.
• Oral histories — recorded interviews with engineers, PMs, and QA staff that explain design intent, constraints, and decisions.
• Environmental metadata — device models, OS versions, app versions, network conditions, timestamps, and geolocation if relevant and ethically collected.

Tools and formats to prefer in 2026

Pick durable, interoperable formats and tools widely supported by repositories and preservation systems.

• Images & video: PNG / TIFF for stills; MKV or MP4 (H.264/H.265 + AAC) for recordings. Use lossless or high‑bitrate where possible.
• Network captures: PCAP (Wireshark/tshark), HAR (browser network exports), and raw JSON dumps of API responses.
• Web captures: WARC and WACZ. As of 2026, WACZ has grown in adoption because it packages replayable web captures with an index for easy sharing.
• Software: APK / AAB for Android if legally available; for source code rely on Software Heritage or Git bundles.
• Metadata & provenance: PREMIS, Dublin Core, and W3C PROV or JSON‑LD embedded manifests. Add cryptographic checksums (SHA‑256).
• Interview capture: WAV or FLAC for audio, MP4 for video. Store verbatim transcripts and timestamped segment markers.
• Tools: Browsertrix, Webrecorder, Playwright/Puppeteer for scripted UI capture, OBS Studio for recording, ffmpeg for processing, mitmproxy/Wireshark for network capture, adb/logcat for Android logs, apktool/jadx for static analysis where permitted.

Step‑by‑step: preserving a casting feature (Netflix as an example)

The following workflow is a tested blueprint. Adapt to your institution's policies and local law.

1) Plan and document scope

• Define the preservation objective: reproduce the casting flow from mobile app discovery to playback control and termination.
• List artifacts to collect (refer to the list above).
• Get approvals: legal counsel, data protection officer, and device owners. Check Terms of Service and copyright constraints. For device provisioning and access control, follow recommended device identity and approval workflows.

2) Environment setup

• Pick devices and app versions: maintain a record of app APK/AAB and mobile OS versions. Use an Android emulator or a dedicated test device to avoid contaminating personal accounts.
• Prepare a local network: controlled Wi‑Fi with a packet capture (a mirrored VLAN or a dedicated capture host). Ensure you can capture mDNS/SSDP discovery traffic. Consider infrastructure options such as micro‑edge VPS or edge‑first layouts when you need low‑latency capture and replay environments.
• Install tools: mitmproxy (for HTTP/HTTPS inspection when TLS keying is possible), Wireshark/tshark for PCAPs, OBS for screen recording, and adb for Android device logs.

3) Capture the visible interaction

• Record a continuous video of the flow at high resolution with system audio. Use OBS and record the mobile screen or an HDMI capture card for a connected device.
• Take stepwise screenshots: initial app screen, cast discovery UI, list of available devices, device selection, playback controls, error states, and settings pages that reference casting.
• Annotate videos/screenshots with timestamps and short notes—these will be invaluable later.

4) Capture the network and API behavior

• Start a PCAP capture on the local network before opening the app. Save with clear timestamps and device identifiers; PCAPs are also commonly used in incident response investigations.
• Export HAR files from browser‑based flows or use Playwright/Puppeteer to script and save network traces for web playback where casting is initiated from a web client.
• If the app uses TLS and you control the client, enable TLS key logging (e.g., SSLKEYLOGFILE for Chromium) or use a debugging build. If the app enforces certificate pinning, document the limitation rather than attempting illegal bypasses.
• Save raw JSON responses from any device discovery or Cast‑related endpoints.

5) Collect developer artifacts

• Archive SDK pages (Google Cast SDK docs), API reference pages, and changelogs using modular publishing workflows and WARC/WACZ capture techniques.
• Search GitHub and Software Heritage for relevant code (open source libraries, sample apps) and archive them as Git bundles or tarballs with metadata.

6) Save system and app logs

• Use adb logcat to record Android logs during the casting interaction. Capture system logs from smart TV or streaming device consoles if accessible.
• Keep a copy of any crash reports or analytics logs if you can access them ethically and legally.

7) Oral histories and contextual materials

• Interview engineers, QA, and product managers. Ask for release notes, internal design docs, and meeting minutes that shaped the casting flow.
• Record with lossless audio, transcribe with human review, and timestamp the transcript to align with recorded UI captures.

8) Package, describe, and ingest

• Create a manifest.json (JSON‑LD) that lists all files, checksums, environment details (OS, device models), and a brief narrative of the capture session.
• Bundle web captures into WACZ/WARC and bind network PCAPs and HARs into the collection. Consider adding a DOI via Zenodo for citation and integration with modern publishing workflows.
• Ingest into your institutional repository (DSpace, Archivematica) or a community archive like the Internet Archive, with clearly articulated access and rights metadata; for long‑term storage options, consult reviews of legacy document storage services.

Example file naming and minimal manifest template

Use consistent, human‑readable file names. Example:

• 2026-01-12_netflix_cast_flow_video.mp4
• 2026-01-12_netflix_cast_ui_screenshots.zip
• 2026-01-12_netflix_cast_network.pcap
• 2026-01-12_netflix_app_v7.12.3.apk
• manifest.json (fields: title, date_captured, captured_by, devices, app_version, checksums, legal_notes)

Oral history best practices: interview to preserve intent

Oral histories lock in intent and context. Use this protocol:

• Obtain informed consent in writing. Clarify what will be public, embargoed, or restricted.
• Prepare an evidence list beforehand (screenshots, logs, API traces) and share it with interviewees so they can comment on specifics.
• Ask focused questions: design tradeoffs, deprecation rationale, testing constraints, and user feedback that led to changes.
• Timecode the interview to UI/video artifacts—note when an engineer refers to a specific network trace or UI state.
• Capture follow‑ups: ask for internal docs, design artifacts, or links to repositories you can archive.

"We didn't realize the discovery protocol details would matter to historians—until the feature was gone." — typical response from a product engineer during a preservation interview

Metadata, provenance, and standards

Good metadata turns a folder of files into a research‑ready collection. Include:

• Descriptive metadata: title, creator, description, keywords (e.g., "digital archiving, interface preservation, casting feature, Netflix").
• Technical metadata: capture software, file formats, codecs, checksums.
• Provenance: who captured what, when, and under what permissions; links to source URLs, app store pages, or internal repos.
• Rights: license terms, embargoes, and any access restrictions.

Use PREMIS for preservation events, Dublin Core for descriptive fields, and W3C PROV or JSON‑LD for linking artifacts into a provenance graph.

Legal and ethical guardrails (do this first)

Preservation must be cautious and lawful. Key considerations:

• Consult institutional counsel before bypassing security controls (certificate pinning, DRM) — such work can violate law and terms of service.
• Avoid capturing personally identifiable information (PII). If PII is incidentally recorded, redact or restrict access per local privacy law (GDPR, CCPA).
• Respect copyright; document whether your capture is allowed under fair use/fair dealing or is explicitly permitted by the platform.
• When in doubt, favor documentation: record the inability to capture certain artifacts and explain why (legal, technical, or ethical constraint).

Case studies & small experiments for students

Design short projects to practice these methods.

• Project 1 — "Document a deprecated mobile UI" — capture a multi‑step interaction in three different app versions and compare behavior.
• Project 2 — "Network archaeology" — use an emulator and mitmproxy to capture API calls during login and playback (with institutionally permitted test accounts).
• Project 3 — "Oral history + artifact linkage" — interview a developer and produce a paired deliverable: interview transcript plus annotated screen recording.

2026 trends that change the preservation landscape

Since late 2024 and through 2025–2026, a few trends meaningfully shape how we preserve interfaces:

• WACZ gains uptake as archivists favor portable, replayable web capture bundles.
• AI‑assisted metadata tools speed transcription, screenshot annotation, and automated tagging—reduce grunt work but require human verification.
• API observability tools provide richer capture hooks; some platforms now publish machine‑readable change logs that archives can ingest automatically. Read about observability‑first approaches here.
• Legal scrutiny and platform volatility increase: streaming services have become more aggressive about DRM and feature control, amplifying the need for preemptive captures.
• Emulation and containerization are maturing for UI replay: QEMU and containerized Android stacks make it easier to reproduce environments in the future; consider pairing these with edge‑first layouts and micro‑edge VPS for reproducible playback environments.

Quick checklist: immediate actions for archivists and students

1. Inventory a list of ephemeral features to prioritize (casting, in‑app mic access, ephemeral AR filters).
2. Assemble a capture kit: test device, HDMI capture, network sniffer, OBS, and an account for testing.
3. Run a short rehearsal capture and document each step in a manifest.
4. Interview at least one engineer or product team member when possible; secure consent to archive the interview.
5. Ingest artifacts into your institutional repository with rich metadata and checksums.

Final thoughts: preservation is layered, not single‑file

Preserving an ephemeral feature is rarely solved by a single screenshot or archive job. It requires layering visual records, network traces, documentation, and human testimony into a coherent, well‑documented package. The landscape in 2026 favors packaged web captures (WACZ), robust metadata (PREMIS + PROV), and a pragmatic respect for legal boundaries. Institutions that combine these approaches will give future researchers the best chance to study how features like casting shaped technology, culture, and user experience.

Call to action

If you curate archives or are a student looking for a first project, start a local capture of an at‑risk interface this week: pick one feature, follow the checklist, and share your manifest with the community. Join the Interface Preservation Working Group (or start one at your school), contribute an example capture to Software Heritage/Internet Archive, and publish a short reflection—your documentation could be the only record left of a disappearing interaction.

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