A Step-by-Step Guide to Screen Record on iPhone

• Apple added a Screen Recording feature to iOS 11 in September 2017.
• The feature is still available in 2023, with full support for higher resolutions in iOS 16.3.
• iPhone users can edit, save, and share screen recordings with others.
• Digital rights management technology prevents iOS from capturing some content, such as movies, TV shows, and music.

iPhone Screen Recording Overview

Screen recording on your iPhone can initially seem daunting, but with proper instructions, it’s easy to master. In this guide, we’ll take you through every step of the process, so you can learn how to record, save, edit, and share content displayed on your iPhone’s screen in just a few simple steps.

This article assumes you have basic knowledge of how to use an iPhone. The steps are simple, but you need to know how to open Settings and Control Center to master iPhone screen recording. It’s also a good idea to learn about launching and switching apps before attempting this tutorial.

Before recording your iPhone’s screen, you must add the Screen Recording button to Control Center through the Settings screen. Once it’s added, start the Screen Recording feature and open the app you want to record. When you’re finished, open Control Center again and stop screen recording. If you have a new iPhone 14 Pro or Pro Max, you can stop video capture by tapping the Screen Recording button in the Dynamic Island.

Step-by-Step Instructions to Screen Record on Your iPhone

Now that you have an overview of how to record your iPhone’s screen, let’s step through the process:

1. Launch Settings. The Settings screen appears.
2. Tap on Settings > Control Center. The Control Center settings screen appears.
3. Review the list of controls. Controls with a red “-” symbol on the left are already placed in the Control Center panel. If Screen Recording is not in this list, locate it in “MORE CONTROLS” and press the green “+” next to it. The Screen Recording control will move from the “MORE CONTROLS” list to the “INCLUDED CONTROLS” list.
4. (Optional) Rearrange the icons using the three-line “handle” on the right of each control. Hold your finger on the “handle” and slide to move the option up or down. If the control is all the way at the top, it will appear as the first user-defined icon in Control Center.
5. Now that you’ve added the Screen Recording control to Control Center, you can capture video. First, start the Screen Recording feature by swiping down from the top right of your iPhone’s screen to reveal Control Center. Next, tap on the Screen Recording button. You’ll see a countdown at the top of your iPhone. If you have an iPhone 14 Pro or Pro Max, you’ll see the countdown and user feedback in the Dynamic Island.
6. Start capturing the video. Either perform the actions or open the app(s) you which to capture. When you’re done capturing video, swipe down from the top right to reveal Control Center. Press the Screen Recording button to stop video capture. If you have an iPhone 14 Pro or Pro Max, you can just tap the red circle in the Dynamic Island and then confirm to stop recording video. A notification appears informing you that iOS saved the video to Photos.
7. Open the Photos app. Your video should be the most recent. Tap it to start playback.

That’s it. Of course, there’s more to it. You’ll notice that the beginning and end of your video show you fiddling with the Screen Recording control. You can edit the video to remove these parts and much more. Let’s look at how to clean up your iPhone’s screen recording.

How to Edit Your iPhone’s Screen Recording

You want to share your video clip, but it still has the sections where you’re turning on Screen Recording, opening the app you want to capture, and terminating the screen capture process. You probably just want to save and share the important part without sharing the “behind the scenes” section. Let’s look at how to edit your video.

1. Open the Photos app. The Photos app appears with the Library tab in focus. If you don’t see the Library view, tap the icon at the bottom of the Photos app. The Library view appears.
2. Tap on the video you wish to edit. The video appears with controls on the top and bottom.
3. Tap on the “Edit” button on the top right. The video shrinks to accommodate video editing controls.
4. Hold and then slide your finger from the left edge of the video timeline to trim the beginning. You can do the same thing with the right side to shorten the end. You’ll need to play around with this a little to get the hang of it. Press the play button to preview the edited video.
5. Once you’ve eliminated unnecessary footage from the video, tap “Done”. A popup prompts whether you wish to “Save Video as New Clip” or just “Save Video.”
6. Decide whether you want to keep the raw footage and save the edited version as a new clip or just replace the whole thing with the revised version. After you’ve made your choice, you’re returned to your video.

Those are the basics of video editing. You can do much more editing in Photos and even more in iMovie, but that’s beyond the scope of this article. I encourage you to play around with these free video editing tools.

You can actually do a lot with your iPhone’s stock video editing apps. If your goal is to share videos with friends or on social media, your iPhone can get the job done.

How to Share iPhone Screen Recordings

Sharing iPhone Screen recordings is easy. Here’s how to do it:

1. Open the Photos app. The Library tab should be open. If not, tap on the Library icon at the bottom of the app. The Library view appears, with your most recent photos and videos at the bottom.
2. Hold your finger on the video you’d like to share until you feel a click. (Older iPhone models might not offer haptic feedback.) A menu of video options appears.
3. Tap on “Share.” The sharing options menu appears.
4. Choose how you’d like to share your video and send it off.

That’s how to share a video on your iPhone. Now you can share your creations with the entire world or just your close friends and family.

Limitations of iPhone Screen Recording

You can’t record all content that appears on your iPhone’s screen. Due to digital rights management (DRM) technology, the Screen Recording feature won’t work with some content.

YouTube videos work well and are a great way to “download” without paying for a subscription. That said, it’s not the same as downloading because you’ll need to play through the entire video to capture it. But you can do it.

If you’re trying to capture video from a major video app, like Amazon Prime, Netflix, or Apple TV+, you’re out of luck. You can’t even record an Apple Music song with video capture. If you try it, the sound cuts out.

Before you cry foul, keep in mind that it costs a lot of money to produce content. To make deals with movie and music producers, Apple and other companies had to ensure that piracy wasn’t easy. It’s not.

The Screen Recording feature’s purpose is to share information. For example, if you want to show someone how to do something on your iPhone, you can capture the steps and send a video. If you love showing off your gaming skills, you can do that with the Screen Recording feature. I use it all the time to share news clips with friends and family.

Regarding video length, your iPhone’s available storage is the limit. You can capture hours of video or just seconds. It all depends on how much space you have and how much video you wish to capture.

As you can see, recording, editing, and sharing videos with your iPhone is easy. Although the feature is limited, it’s still useful for capturing and sending short, informative video clips.