iPhone has a built-in screen recorder you access from Control Center, and it captures everything on your screen plus audio from your device or microphone

The screen recorder lives in Control Center, the panel you swipe down from the top-right corner (or up from the bottom on older iPhones). You don't download anything or pay for it — it's part of iOS. When you start recording, iOS captures your screen, any sounds playing through your phone's speaker, and optionally your voice through the microphone. The recording saves to your Photos app as a video file you can edit, share, or delete.

The recorder works on iPhone XS and newer, and on iPhone 8 and earlier models. If you have an older phone, you'll need a Mac or third-party app instead. The built-in tool is free and doesn't require you to sign into anything.

Key Takeaways

  • Screen recording is built into Control Center on most iPhones and captures your screen, device audio, and optionally your voice.
  • You can record with or without microphone audio, and you can pause and resume without stopping the entire recording.
  • Recordings save to your Photos app as video files that you can trim, share, or delete immediately after recording.
  • Some apps block recording for copyright or security reasons, and your recording will show a black screen or fail to start if you try.

How to add screen recording to Control Center

Screen recording may already be in your Control Center, but if it's not, you need to add it. Open Settings, tap Control Center, then tap the plus sign next to Screen Recording. It moves to the "Included" section at the top, and now it will appear in Control Center.

If you already see the screen recording icon in Control Center (a circle inside a circle), you can skip this step and go straight to recording.

How to start and stop a screen recording

Swipe down from the top-right corner of your screen to open Control Center. Find the screen recording icon — it looks like a filled circle inside an outline circle. Press and hold it (don't just tap). A menu appears asking whether you want to record with or without microphone audio.

If you want to capture your voice or sounds from your environment, tap the microphone icon to turn it on (it will be highlighted). Then tap Start Recording. A three-second countdown appears, and recording begins. You'll see a red bar at the top of your screen showing that recording is active.

To stop recording, tap the red bar at the top, or open Control Center again and tap the screen recording icon. iOS asks you to confirm — tap Stop. The video saves to your Photos app in the Recents album.

Pausing and resuming without stopping the whole recording

You can pause your recording without ending it. Tap the red bar at the top of your screen. A menu appears with a Pause button. Tap it, and the recording pauses but stays active. The red bar remains visible. When you're ready to continue, tap the red bar again and tap Resume.

This is useful if you want to skip over parts of what you're doing without creating separate video files. When you finally tap Stop, everything you recorded — pauses included — becomes one video file.

Recording with or without your voice

When you press and hold the screen recording icon, you see a microphone icon in the menu that appears. If the icon is gray and crossed out, your microphone is off and the recording will only capture sounds from your phone (music, app sounds, video audio). If the icon is highlighted in red, your microphone is on and the recording will include your voice and any sounds around you.

Tap the microphone icon to toggle it on or off before you tap Start Recording. You can't change this setting once recording has started — you have to stop, start a new recording, and choose again.

What happens when an app blocks recording

Some apps prevent screen recording for copyright or security reasons. Netflix, Disney+, banking apps, and some payment apps are common examples. If you try to record one of these apps, the screen recording icon may be grayed out in Control Center, or recording will start but show a black screen where the app is.

This is intentional — the app developer chose to block it. There's no way around it with the built-in recorder. If you need to capture content from a blocked app, you would need to use a different method, but many of those methods violate the app's terms of service or copyright law, so check what you're allowed to do first.

Finding and editing your recording after you save it

Your recording saves to the Photos app automatically. Open Photos, tap the Recents album, and you'll see your video at the top. It's labeled with the date and time you recorded it. Tap it to play it back.

To edit the video, tap Edit while viewing it. You can trim the beginning or end by dragging the sliders at the bottom of the screen. Tap Done to save your changes, or tap Cancel to discard them. If you want to delete the recording entirely, tap the trash icon and confirm.

You can also share the video directly from Photos. Tap the share icon (a box with an arrow), choose how you want to send it (Messages, Mail, AirDrop, etc.), and select your recipient. The video file size depends on how long you recorded and your screen resolution, but a few minutes of recording is usually 50 to 200 megabytes.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I record in landscape mode or does it only work in portrait?

Screen recording works in whatever orientation your phone is in. If you rotate your phone to landscape, the recording captures the landscape view. This is useful for recording games or apps that work better sideways.

Does screen recording drain my battery faster?

Yes, recording uses more processing power and battery than normal phone use. A 10-minute recording might use 5 to 10 percent of your battery, depending on your phone model and what's on screen. If you're recording for a long time, plug in your phone or have a charger nearby.

Can I record while using other apps at the same time?

Yes. Once you start recording, you can open other apps, switch between them, and do anything else normally. The recording continues capturing your screen the whole time. Just remember that everything you do will be visible in the video.

What video format does iPhone use for screen recordings?

iPhone saves screen recordings as MP4 video files, which play on most devices and can be edited in most video software. You can also convert them to other formats if you need to, but MP4 is the standard.

Can I record my screen and someone else's screen at the same time?

No. Screen recording only captures your own iPhone screen. If you want to record what someone else is doing on their phone, they need to record it themselves and send you the file.