If you’d like to share what you’re looking at on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac’s screen with a friend who is far away, it’s as easy as making a FaceTime call now thanks to the built-in Share Screen feature. Here’s how to use it.
What You Need to Know
To share your screen with FaceTime, both you and the person you’ll be sharing with need iOS 15.1 or later (on iPhone), iPadOS 15.1 (on iPad), or macOS 12.1 or later (on Mac). You also need an Apple ID to use FaceTime.
Be aware that you can’t share content from apps that require a subscription or a purchase to view. (Apple recommends using SharePlay for that instead.)
Sharing your screen in FaceTime is great for when you need help troubleshooting or would like to present information to other people remotely. While sharing your screen, notifications will be hidden. But be careful about screen sharing if you have sensitive information on your screen, because the party on the other end might see it.
How to Share Screen on FaceTime for iPhone and iPad
To share your screen on iPhone or iPad, first run the FaceTime app and make a call to someone else who also has FaceTime set up. Once you’re connected, tap the “Screen Sharing” button in the toolbar that looks like a rectangle with a person in front of it. In the pop-up that appears, tap “Share My Screen.”
When screen sharing starts, FaceTime shrinks to a small window on your screen, and you can use your iPhone or iPad as usual to launch apps. The person on the other side of the call will see what you’re doing on your screen (but they will not see the inset video window).
To stop screen sharing, bring up the FaceTime toolbar again by tapping the video thumbnail and select the screen sharing button again.
When you’re done with the FaceTime call, tap “End.”
How to Share Screen on FaceTime for Mac
To share your screen on a Mac, open the FaceTime app and make a call. Once you’re connected, click the FaceTime icon in the menu bar at the top of the screen and select the screen sharing button, which looks like a rectangle with a person in front of it.
The menu will expand and you’ll have the choice to share a particular window or the entire screen. Click the option you’d like to use.
If you choose “Window,” FaceTime will prompt you to click the Window you’d like to share. If you choose “Screen,” the person on the other side of the call will see your entire Mac’s desktop.
To stop sharing your screen, click the FaceTime icon in your menu bar again (which now looks like the Screen Sharing icon) and select “Stop Sharing Screen.”
You can resume screen sharing at any time. When you’re done with the call, open the FaceTime menu again and click the red “X” button to disconnect. Happy sharing!
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