How to Record Your Screen on iPhone

Your iPhone has a built-in screen recorder, but the button is hidden until you add it to Control Center. Once it is there, recording takes two taps and the video lands in Photos.

Add Screen Recording to Control Center

On iOS 18 and later, open Control Center by swiping down from the top-right corner, then press and hold an empty area of the screen. Tap Add a Control at the bottom, search for Screen Recording, and tap it to place it. On older iOS versions, open Settings, Control Center, and tap the green plus next to Screen Recording.

Open Control Center

Swipe down from the top-right corner of the screen. On an iPhone with a Home button, swipe up from the bottom edge instead.

Tap the record button

Tap the Screen Recording control, which looks like a solid dot inside a circle. A three-second countdown runs, then recording starts. The control turns red, and a red indicator appears at the top of the screen.

Do whatever you want to capture

Leave Control Center and use your phone normally. Everything on the display is recorded, including notifications that pop in, so consider turning on Do Not Disturb first.

Stop the recording

Tap the red indicator at the top of the screen, then tap Stop. You can also open Control Center and tap the red Screen Recording control again. A banner confirms the video was saved.

Find the video in Photos

Open Photos. The recording appears at the end of your library and in the Screen Recordings album under Media Types.

If you want to narrate. Screen recordings capture app audio but not your voice by default. Press and hold the Screen Recording control in Control Center and tap Microphone so it turns red before you start. The microphone setting stays on until you turn it off.

If the recording comes out black. Some apps block screen capture, including many banking apps and streaming video services. The recording still saves, but the protected content shows as a black screen.