"Screen scraping" refers to the process of extracting data from a computer screen display, mainly by capturing the visual output of a program to convert it into a usable format. This method is often utilized when APIs are unavailable, allowing developers to gather information from websites or legacy systems. Despite its effectiveness, screen scraping can raise legal and ethical concerns regarding data ownership and privacy. Furthermore, it generally requires handling changes in the visual layout of the source system, necessitating ongoing maintenance of the scraping software.