How to Take a Screenshot on Android

You want to save what is on your screen, whether that is a message, a receipt, or an error. On any recent Android phone, two buttons do it.

Press Power and Volume Down together

Press the Power button and the Volume Down button at the same time, then release both right away. Do not hold them. Holding Power and Volume Down for several seconds triggers a restart on many phones instead of a screenshot. The screen flashes and a small thumbnail of the capture appears near the bottom of the screen.

Edit or share from the thumbnail

Tap Share to send the image, or tap Edit to crop, mark up, or add text before saving. The thumbnail disappears after a few seconds if you ignore it, and the screenshot is still saved.

Use the Recents screen if the buttons are awkward

Swipe up from the bottom of the screen and hold, or tap the square Recents button if you use three-button navigation. On a Pixel, a Screenshot button appears under the app preview. Tap it to capture that app without touching the hardware buttons.

Find the screenshot later

Open Photos on a Pixel, tap Library, and open the Screenshots folder. On Samsung, open Gallery, tap Albums, then Screenshots. Screenshots are stored in a Screenshots folder in the phone's internal storage, so they also show up in Files by Google or My Files.

On Samsung phones. Palm swipe is on by default on most Galaxy models: swipe the edge of your hand across the screen from one side to the other. If it does nothing, turn it on under Settings, Advanced features, Motions and gestures, Palm swipe to capture.

For long pages. On Android 12 and later, tap Capture more on the thumbnail bar to extend the screenshot down a scrolling page. Samsung shows this as a down-arrow icon in the bottom toolbar and calls it scroll capture. Not every app supports it.