How to Screen Record on iPhone (2026)

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Add Screen Recording to Control Center

iPhone has a built-in screen recorder, but you need to add it to Control Center before you can use it. This is a one-time setup.

1. Open Settings.
2. Tap “Control Center.”
3. Scroll through the list and find “Screen Recording.”
4. Tap the green “+” icon next to it to add it to your Control Center.

Once added, the screen recording button appears in your Control Center every time you swipe down from the top-right corner of the screen (on iPhones with Face ID) or swipe up from the bottom (on iPhones with a Home button).

How to Screen Record on iPhone

1. Open the app or screen you want to record.
2. Swipe to open Control Center.
3. Tap the screen recording button (circle inside a circle).
4. A 3-second countdown appears. Use this time to close Control Center and navigate to what you want to record.
5. The recording starts. A red indicator appears in the top-left corner of your screen (or in the status bar) showing the recording is active.
6. When you’re done, tap the red indicator at the top of the screen and tap “Stop.” Alternatively, open Control Center and tap the recording button again.
7. The recording saves to your Photos app automatically.

The recording captures everything on your screen including notifications. Turn on Do Not Disturb before recording if you don’t want incoming messages or alerts showing up in your video. Swipe to open Control Center and tap the Focus icon to enable Do Not Disturb.

How to Screen Record With Sound

By default, screen recording captures system audio (app sounds, game audio, music playback) but not your voice through the microphone. To add voice narration over your recording, enable the microphone before starting.

1. Open Control Center.
2. Long press (press and hold) the screen recording button instead of tapping it.
3. A menu appears showing “Microphone Off” at the bottom.
4. Tap the microphone icon to turn it on. It turns red when active.
5. Tap “Start Recording.”

With the microphone on, the recording captures both system audio and everything your iPhone’s microphone picks up – your voice, room sounds, everything. If you’re recording a tutorial or walkthrough, speak clearly and hold the phone close enough that your voice is picked up well over any background noise.

The microphone setting is sticky. Once you turn it on, it stays on for future recordings until you turn it off again. Check it before each recording to make sure it’s set the way you want.

How to Screen Record Without Sound

If you want a silent recording with no audio at all (no system sounds, no microphone), mute your iPhone using the physical mute switch on the side before starting the recording, and make sure the microphone is turned off in the long-press menu. The resulting video will have no audio track.

If you want system audio but no microphone input (recording app sounds without your voice), leave the mute switch off but turn the microphone off in the long-press screen recording menu. This is the default behavior.

How to Edit Screen Recordings

After recording, your video appears in the Photos app. You can trim, crop, and add filters without installing a separate editing app.

1. Open the Photos app and find your screen recording.
2. Tap “Edit” in the top right corner.
3. To trim the beginning and end, drag the handles on the timeline at the bottom. This is useful for cutting out the Control Center swipe at the start and the stop-button tap at the end.
4. Tap the crop icon to change the aspect ratio or rotate the video.
5. Apply filters if desired.
6. Tap “Done” and choose “Save as New Clip” (keeps the original) or “Save Video” (overwrites the original).

For more advanced editing like adding text overlays, combining clips, or adding transitions, use iMovie (free from Apple) or a third-party editor like InShot or CapCut.

How to Share Screen Recordings

Screen recordings save as standard .MOV video files in your Photos library. Share them the same way you’d share any video.

Open the recording in Photos, tap the share button (square with an upward arrow), and choose your sharing method: Messages, AirDrop, email, Slack, WhatsApp, or any other app. For email, keep in mind that most email services limit attachments to 20 to 25 MB. A one-minute screen recording at full quality is typically 30 to 60 MB, so longer recordings may need to be shared through a cloud service like iCloud link, Google Drive, or Dropbox instead.

For social media, most platforms accept direct uploads from Photos. TikTok, Instagram Stories, and YouTube all import screen recordings without conversion. The native screen recording resolution matches your iPhone’s display resolution (1170 x 2532 for iPhone 14/15, 1179 x 2556 for iPhone 15 Pro/16), which looks sharp on all platforms.

Screen Recording Settings and Limits

There’s no time limit on iPhone screen recordings. You can record for hours as long as you have storage space. A one-minute recording uses approximately 30 to 60 MB depending on what’s on screen (static content uses less, fast-moving video uses more). A 10-minute recording runs 300 to 600 MB.

Screen recordings capture at your screen’s native resolution and frame rate (60 fps on most modern iPhones). There’s no setting to change the resolution or quality. If you need a smaller file size, compress the video after recording using iMovie’s export settings or a third-party compression app.

Can I screen record Netflix, Disney+, or streaming apps?

No. Most streaming apps (Netflix, Disney+, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, HBO Max, Apple TV+) block screen recording as part of their DRM protection. When you try, the recording captures the app’s audio and interface, but the video content appears as a black screen. This is by design and there’s no workaround on a non-jailbroken iPhone. The restriction applies specifically to DRM-protected video content, not to the app’s menus or settings.

Why is there no sound in my screen recording?

Three common causes: your iPhone’s mute switch is on (flip it off), the microphone is disabled in the screen recording settings (long press the recording button and check), or the app you’re recording has its own audio muted. Some apps also disable audio capture in their screen recordings for copyright reasons. Try recording a different app to verify that audio capture works on your device.

Can I screen record a phone call or FaceTime call?

Screen recording during phone calls doesn’t capture the other person’s voice for privacy reasons. On FaceTime, you can screen record but the other person’s audio may or may not be captured depending on your iOS version and settings. If you need to record a call, third-party call recording apps exist but legality varies by location – many states and countries require consent from both parties before recording a conversation.

See also: How to Scan Documents on iPhone, How to Clear Cache on iPhone, How to Take a Screenshot on iPad

Sources

Apple – Record Your iPhone Screen | Apple – Control Center on iPhone