If you often need to save some on-screen content, screen recording is a handy solution. Curious about how to record your screen? That’s what we’re about to tell you!

There are several ways to capture all or part of your screen, regardless of your device. Let’s explore how to record your screen on Mac, iPhone, Android and Windows.

What this article covers:

• iPhone
• Mac
• Windows / PC
• Android

iPhone

Just Like Macs, the iPhone 11 or later has a screen-recording feature built in. Check to see if the screen record button is in the Control Center. If not, add it.

Follow these simple steps to learn how to screen record on iPhone:

• Step 1: Go to Settings and click on “Control Center.” For iOS 11 to iOS 13, click on “Customize Controls,” and for iOS 14 or later, click on “More Controls.”
• Step 2: Tap the green-colored + icon next to Screen Recording to move the feature to the “Include” section at the top. Now you’re ready to record the screen.
  

  Include the Screen Recording feature by clicking the green “+” icon.

• Step 3: To begin recording, open up the screen you want to record. If you’re on an iphone X or later, use the “Control Center” menu from the top-right corner. Those on an iPhone 8 or earlier can swipe up to find the menu.
• Step 4: Press the gray “Record” button and hold it, then find and tap the Microphone icon. Hit “Start Recording,” and once the countdown completes, you can begin recording. You can tap anywhere to exit the screen and then tap the next screen to close the Control Center.
  

  Source: The gray record button starts the recording till you stop with the same button.
• Step 5: To stop recording, swipe up (or down) to reaccess the Control Center and tap the red “Record” button. You can also tap the red status bar at the top of your screen and then tap “Stop.”

Mac

How do you screen record on Mac? Macs have a built-in feature to record part or all of your screen through the Screenshot app and QuickTime Player. Both apps let you record external audio. You’ll need access to third-party apps to capture internal audio.

Recording a Static Screen

• Step 1: Click “Shift + Command + 3” to capture a screenshot of the entire display. The captured image is stored on the desktop.
  

  To screenshot the whole display, click Shift+Command+3.

• Step 2: Click “Shift + Command + 4” to capture a portion of the entire display. Drag and move the dotted outline to select the part of the display you want to capture. The selected part will be saved as a screenshot on the desktop.
  

  Click “Shift + Command + 4” to capture a portion of the entire display.

Screenshot App

• Step 1: Click “Shift, Command and 5” to launch the Screenshot app. It opens a control bar at the bottom along with a dotted rectangular outline to grab still screens and record videos of your screen.
  

  Click “Shift + Command + 5” to launch the Screenshot app.

• Step 2: Click on “Options” to set up preferences, such as where the file saves, set up the timer and turn on the microphone.
  

  Click on “Options” to set up your preferences.

• Step 3: Click on the screen with a solid outline and a corner circle to record the whole screen. Click anywhere on the screen to start recording.
• Step 4: Click on the screen with a dotted outline button and a corner circle to record part of the screen. Drag, resize and move the highlighted portion within the dotted outline to choose the area you want to record. Click “Record” to begin recording.
• Step 5: Click “Control + Command + Esc” to finish recording. You can also press the stop button in the right corner of the menu bar at the top, or click “Shift + Command + 5” to use the Screenshot control menu and hit the stop button in the center of that bar.
• Step 6: Once you stop recording, a thumbnail of the video appears in the lower right corner of the screen and automatically saves as a QuickTime Movie (MOV) file in your preferred location. Click “Command + Thumbnail” to open the recording, change file location or delete the file.
• Step 7: Select the file and click the spacebar to edit the recording. Alternatively, you can select the file and open it in QuickTime by double-clicking or right-clicking and selecting “Open With > QuickTime.” Click on the trim icon at the top right of your screen and drag the editing window to the desired frame to start and end the video. Once satisfied with the selection, click “Done” and save the file.

QuickTime Player

• Step 1: Open QuickTime Player.
• Step 2: Click on File in the top menu bar and find the “New Screen Recording. option.” It leads to a pop-up window named “Screen Recording.” Select recording options such as choosing an external mic or showing mouse clicks during the recording (useful while recording a tutorial) by clicking on the options adjacent to the record button.
  

  Select recording options by clicking on the options next to the record button.

• Step 3: Select the record button. You can then record the entire screen by clicking anywhere. Click, drag and move to select a desired portion of the screen to record a specific space. Then, click the button to start recording in the middle of the highlighted part.
• Step 4: Click the stop button in the top menu bar or use “Control, Command and Esc” to finish recording.
• Step 5: Once you stop recording, QuickTime will open the video to play, edit, share, delete or save, as required.

Please Note: For Mac OS Catalina and Big Sur users, opening up the QuickTime Player and clicking “New Screen Recording” automatically redirects to the Screenshot App menu accessible with “Shift + Command + 5”.

As you know by now, it’s pretty easy to record your screen on a Mac. You can also easily edit and share your recordings.

Windows / PC

Windows 10 has a built-in “Game Bar” feature to facilitate screen recording. Primarily built to record gameplay, it can easily record screen activity from other apps. Follow these steps to screen record on Windows:

• Step 1: Click “Settings > Gaming > Game Bar” to set up the Game Bar. Turn on the switch for “Record Game Clips, Screenshots and Broadcast using Game Bar.”
  

  In the Game Bar, Select the Option for Recording Game Clips.

• Step 2: Open the app you want to record. Only some programs, like the File Manager or the entire desktop, can be captured. However, you can record activities from other apps.
• Step 3: Click “Win + G” simultaneously to open the Game Bar dialog. Check the “Yes, this is a game” checkbox to load the Game Bar. This is the standard procedure, irrespective of the app activity you want to record.
• Step 4: Click “Win + Alt + R” to start screen recording. Alternatively, you can also click on the “Start Recording” button. The Game Bar widget disappears and is replaced by a small floating bar in the screen’s upper-right corner.
  

  Click “Win + Alt + R” or the “Start Recording” button.

• Step 5: Click the floating bar’s red “recording” button to stop recording. If the floating bar disappears while recording, you can click “Win + G” again to bring it back.
  

  Click the floating bar’s red “recording” button to stop recording.
• Step 6: The recorded videos are saved as MP4 files under the Captures subfolder within the Videos folder. You can view, upload and share the video as required.

Android

While taking a screenshot or capturing a static screen on Android devices is easy, the feature to screen record a video is only available on Android 11 or later. Read on to see how to screen record on Android.

Static Screen

• Step 1: Open the screen you want to capture. Press the Volume Down and Power buttons at the same time.
• Step 2: A preview of the screenshot appears on the bottom left screen. The image file is saved on your default photo app – Gallery or Photos. You can view, edit and share the image from there.

Video

• Step 1: Pull down the notification bar by swiping down twice from the top of your screen and accessing the quick settings options.
• Step 2: Tap the “Screen Record” icon and give the necessary permissions to the device to record your screen.
• Step 3: Open the app or the screen you want to record and tap “Start Recording.” The recording begins after a three-second countdown.
• Step 4: Press “Stop” on the top of your screen to stop recording. Alternatively, swipe down from your screen to access Quick Settings, and tap the “Screen Record” icon again.
  

  Press “Stop” on the top of your screen to stop recording.

• Step 5: A preview of the recording appears on the bottom left screen. The video is saved to the phone gallery. You can view and share the video from here. A video editing option is not available, though.

Conclusion

Now that you know how to record your screen on various devices, we hope it’s easy to capture, edit, upload and share videos, tutorials and screen activities with your friends and the rest of the world. Did we miss anything? Let us know in the comments!