How to Record Your Screen on iPhone, Android, Mac and Windows

5 min read  ·  iPhone · Android · Mac · Windows — no extra apps needed

Screen recording saves a video of everything happening on your screen — great for tutorials, bug reports, sharing gameplay, or showing someone how to do something. Every major device has this built in. No third-party apps required.

On iPhone

1

Add Screen Recording to Control Center

Go to Settings → Control Center and tap the green + button next to Screen Recording. This only needs to be done once. If Screen Recording is already in your Control Center, skip this step.

2

Open Control Center

On iPhone X and newer (Face ID): swipe down from the top-right corner of the screen. On iPhone 8 and older (Home button): swipe up from the very bottom of the screen.

3

Tap the Screen Recording button

It looks like a solid circle inside a larger circle. Tap it once. A 3-second countdown appears before recording starts, giving you time to navigate to what you want to capture.

4

Record with microphone audio (optional)

To record your voice while recording the screen, press and hold the Screen Recording button in Control Center. A menu appears — tap the microphone icon to turn it on (it turns red), then tap Start Recording.

5

Stop recording from the red status bar

While recording, the status bar at the top of your screen turns red. Tap the red clock/time area at the top left, then tap Stop. Alternatively, open Control Center again and tap the Screen Recording button to stop.

6

Find your recording in Photos

The screen recording saves as a video to your Photos app automatically. Find it in Albums → Screen Recordings or in your Recents roll.

On Android

1

Swipe down from the top of the screen twice to open Quick Settings

The first swipe opens notifications. The second swipe expands the full Quick Settings panel where you'll find the Screen Record tile. On Samsung, it may appear after a single swipe.

2

Tap the Screen Record tile

Look for a tile labelled Screen Record or Screen Recorder. If you don't see it, tap the pencil/edit icon to add it from the available tiles list. Swipe right through tiles until you find it.

3

Choose your audio settings

A dialog appears asking what you want to record — options typically include No sound, Media sound (what plays on screen), or Media sound and microphone. Choose based on what you need.

4

Tap Start — recording begins after a 3-second countdown

Navigate to whatever you want to capture. A persistent notification or floating button indicates recording is active.

5

Stop the recording

Pull down the notification bar and tap Stop, or tap the stop button in the floating overlay. The recording saves to your Gallery app automatically.

On Mac

1

Press Command + Shift + 5

This opens the Screenshot toolbar at the bottom of your screen. It works on macOS Mojave (2018) and later — including Ventura, Sonoma, and Sequoia.

2

Choose Record Entire Screen or Record Selected Portion

In the toolbar, look for the two video camera icons. Record Entire Screen records everything. Record Selected Portion lets you drag a box to capture just one area of the screen.

3

Set your microphone in Options (if needed)

Click Options in the toolbar and choose your microphone under the Microphone section to record narration or sound. Also choose where to save the file here.

4

Click Record

If recording a selected portion, draw the area first, then click Record inside the selection. A small stop button (square icon) appears in the menu bar to let you know recording is active.

5

Click the stop button in the menu bar to finish

Click the square stop icon in the top menu bar, or press Command+Shift+5 again and click Stop. A thumbnail of the recording briefly appears in the bottom-right corner.

6

Find the recording on your Desktop

By default, screen recordings save to your Desktop as .mov files with the date and time in the filename. You can change the save location in the Options menu.

On Windows

1

Press Windows key + G to open the Xbox Game Bar

The Xbox Game Bar is built into Windows 10 and Windows 11 and works for recording any window — not just games. If it doesn't open, go to Settings → Gaming → Xbox Game Bar and make sure it's turned on.

2

Click the record button (or press Windows + Alt + R)

In the Capture widget, click the large circle button to start recording, or use the keyboard shortcut Windows + Alt + R to start recording immediately without opening the full Game Bar overlay.

3

A recording timer appears in the corner

A small floating toolbar shows in the top-right corner of the active window displaying the recording time. This toolbar lets you stop the recording or toggle the microphone.

4

Enable microphone if needed

In the floating toolbar, click the microphone icon to include audio from your mic in the recording. It turns white when active.

5

Stop recording with Windows + Alt + R

Press Windows + Alt + R again to stop, or click the stop button in the toolbar. A notification confirms the recording was saved.

6

Find your recording in the Captures folder

Recordings save to Videos → Captures in your user folder as MP4 files. You can also click the notification that appears after stopping to open the file directly.

Windows limitation: The Xbox Game Bar can only record one window at a time — it cannot record the full desktop or File Explorer. For full desktop recording on Windows, use the free Snipping Tool app (search in Start menu) which gained screen recording in Windows 11.
File size tip: Screen recordings create large files. A 5-minute recording can be 200–500 MB depending on your screen resolution. If you need to share it, trim the video first or compress it before sending.

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