Apple ships a powerful screen recorder built into every iPhone — no apps, no watermarks, no subscriptions. It captures everything on your screen as a video you can trim, share or edit later. Whether you're making a tutorial for a friend, documenting a bug for an app developer, or saving a gaming highlight, here's exactly how to use it.
Step 1: Add Screen Recording to Control Centre
The recorder lives in Control Centre, but it isn't always there by default. To add it:
- Open Settings > Control Centre.
- Scroll to More Controls and find Screen Recording.
- Tap the green + button so it appears under Included Controls.
You'll now see a record button (a filled circle inside a ring) whenever you swipe down from the top-right corner of the screen (or swipe up from the bottom on older iPhones with a Home button).
Step 2: Start Your First Recording
- Open Control Centre.
- Tap the Screen Recording button. A three-second countdown begins — use it to switch to the app you want to capture.
- The status bar (or Dynamic Island / time pill) turns red while recording.
- To stop, tap the red indicator and confirm Stop Recording, or open Control Centre and tap the record button again.
The video is saved automatically to the Photos app.
Step 3: Record Audio — Internal Sound, Voice, or Both
By default, screen recording captures the sounds your iPhone plays internally: music, effects, in-app audio. To also record your voice:
- Long-press the Screen Recording button in Control Centre.
- Tap the Microphone icon so it shows Microphone On.
- Tap Start Recording.
With the microphone enabled, both internal audio and your narration are captured together — perfect for walkthroughs and commentary videos. Note that some apps (banking, streaming services) block their audio or content from recordings for copyright and security reasons.
Step 4: Trim, Edit and Share Your Recording
Open the clip in Photos and tap Edit to trim the start and end — handy for cutting off the countdown and the stop tap. From there you can:
- Share instantly via AirDrop, Messages, Mail or any social app.
- Export the file to Files for uploading to cloud storage or desktop editors.
- Refine further in iMovie, CapCut or Final Cut Pro for mobile — add cuts, captions and music.
Useful Extras Most People Miss
Record Notifications Too (or Not)
Screen recording captures pop-up notifications along with everything else. Turn on Do Not Disturb before recording to keep messages and calls off your footage.
Add a Second Tap Target
Back up in Settings > Accessibility > Touch > Back Tap, you can assign Screen Recording to a double- or triple-tap on the back of your iPhone — a quick hands-free way to start and stop.
Lock Rotation for Clean Footage
Enable Portrait Orientation Lock in Control Centre so accidental rotations don't ruin the framing of your recording.
Troubleshooting Screen Recording
- Button missing? Re-check Step 1 — Screen Recording must be under Included Controls.
- No sound in the clip? Make sure your iPhone isn't on silent, and that Microphone was turned on if you wanted voice-over.
- Greyed-out controls? Screen Time restrictions can disable recording; check Settings > Screen Time > Content & Privacy Restrictions.
- Black screen in parts? That's expected DRM behaviour in protected apps like Netflix or banking software.
Conclusion
Screen recording on iPhone takes about two minutes to set up and pays off every time you need to show someone what's happening on your device. Add the Control Centre button, decide whether you need the microphone, hit record — then trim and share straight from Photos. It's the fastest way to turn anything on your screen into a clean, shareable video.
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