The fastest way to capture your screen

On most iPads, you take a screenshot by pressing the Top button and the Volume Up button at the same time, then release both. The screenshot saves to your Photos app automatically. On older iPad models with a Home button, press the Top button (or Power button) and the Home button together instead.

The screenshot appears as a thumbnail in the bottom left corner of your screen for a few seconds. You can tap that thumbnail to edit or mark up the image right away, or ignore it and find the full image later in your Photos app under the Screenshots album.

If you do not see the thumbnail, the screenshot still saved — check your Photos app. The image is stored at full resolution and ready to share, print, or edit whenever you need it.

Key Takeaways

  • Press Top button + Volume Up together to screenshot on modern iPads, or Top button + Home button on older models with a Home button.
  • Your screenshot saves automatically to the Photos app in a Screenshots album, even if you do not tap the thumbnail that appears.
  • You can edit, crop, or add markup to a screenshot immediately after taking it by tapping the thumbnail in the corner.
  • Screenshots capture everything visible on your screen at that moment, including the status bar and any open apps or windows.

Where to find your screenshots after you take them

Every screenshot you take goes into your Photos app. Open Photos, tap the Albums tab at the bottom, and look for the Screenshots album — it groups all your screenshots in one place, newest first.

If you do not see a Screenshots album yet, take one screenshot and it will appear. You can also search for screenshots by opening Photos, tapping the Search tab, and typing "screenshot" to find them mixed in with your other photos.

Screenshots stay in your Photos app until you delete them. They take up storage space on your iPad, so if you have taken many, you may want to delete the ones you no longer need or move important ones to cloud storage like iCloud Photos.

Editing and marking up a screenshot right away

After you take a screenshot, a thumbnail appears in the bottom left corner for a few seconds. Tap that thumbnail to open the editing tools immediately. You can crop the image, draw on it with different colors and pen styles, add text, magnify part of it, or add a signature.

The markup tools let you use your finger or an Apple Pencil to draw, highlight, or write directly on the screenshot. You can undo any mark by tapping the undo arrow, and you can change pen color and thickness from the toolbar at the bottom.

When you are done editing, tap Done in the top left, then choose Save to Photos to keep your marked-up version, or Discard Changes if you want to keep only the original. If you do not tap the thumbnail, you can still edit the screenshot later by opening it in Photos, tapping Edit, and selecting Markup.

Sharing a screenshot directly from the thumbnail

While the screenshot thumbnail is still visible in the bottom left corner, you can tap and hold it to see sharing options. You can send it to Messages, Mail, Notes, or any other app that accepts images without opening Photos first.

You can also swipe left on the thumbnail to delete it immediately, though the screenshot will still be in your Photos app. If the thumbnail disappears before you act, open Photos and find the screenshot in the Screenshots album to share it from there.

What happens if your screenshot does not appear

If you pressed the buttons but do not see a thumbnail or hear the camera sound, the screenshot may not have registered. Make sure you pressed both buttons at exactly the same time — pressing them one after the other does not work. Try again, holding both buttons down for a full second before releasing.

Check your Photos app to see if the screenshot is there anyway. Sometimes the thumbnail does not appear but the image still saves. If nothing appears in Photos after several tries, restart your iPad and try once more.

If you have Screen Time restrictions turned on, a parent or guardian may have blocked screenshots. Ask them to check Settings > Screen Time > Content & Privacy Restrictions > Screenshots to see if it is turned off.

Using iPad's built-in screen recording instead

If you need to capture video of what is happening on your screen rather than a still image, iPad has a screen recording tool built in. Swipe down from the top right corner to open Control Center, then press and hold the Record button (a filled circle). Tap Start Recording, and iPad will record everything on your screen for as long as you let it run.

Screen recordings save to your Photos app just like screenshots do, and you can edit and share them the same way. This is useful if you want to show someone how to do something on your iPad, or if you need to capture something that changes over time.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I take a screenshot of just part of my screen?

Not with the standard screenshot tool — it always captures the entire screen. However, after you take a full screenshot, you can open it and use the crop tool to remove the parts you do not need. Tap the thumbnail or open the screenshot in Photos, tap Edit, and use the crop handles to select just the area you want to keep.

Why does my screenshot look blurry or low quality?

Screenshots are captured at your iPad's native resolution, so they should be sharp. If a screenshot looks blurry, the content on your screen itself may have been blurry — for example, if you zoomed in very far or if an image on the screen was low resolution. The screenshot is capturing exactly what you see.

Can I take a screenshot without the volume buttons?

Not with the standard method, but you can use AssistiveTouch to create a custom button. Go to Settings > Accessibility > Touch > AssistiveTouch, turn it on, and customize the menu to include a screenshot action. Then you can tap that button instead of pressing physical buttons.

Do screenshots include the notch or status bar at the top?

Yes, screenshots capture everything visible on your screen, including the notch (if your iPad has one) and the status bar showing the time, battery, and Wi-Fi. If you do not want these in your final image, crop them out after taking the screenshot.

Where do screenshots go if I delete them from Photos?

Deleted screenshots move to the Recently Deleted album in Photos, where they stay for 30 days before being permanently removed. If you delete a screenshot by mistake, open Photos, tap Albums, scroll down to Recently Deleted, and tap Recover to restore it.