You need to show someone a setting buried three menus deep, save a gameplay clip, or prove a bug that only happens on your screen. A screenshot cannot do any of that. The good news is that you do not need an app: every modern iPhone and every Android phone on Android 11 or later has a screen recorder built in, and it takes about ten seconds to start once you know where the button lives.
Screen record on iPhone
The recorder lives in Control Center, and you only have to set it up once.
- Open Control Center by swiping down from the top-right corner of the screen.
- If you do not see the Screen Recording button (a solid dot inside a circle), add it: go to Settings > Control Center and add Screen Recording. On newer iOS versions you can also touch and hold the Control Center background and tap Add a Control.
- Tap the Screen Recording button and wait for the 3-second countdown.
- Leave Control Center and use your phone normally — everything on screen is being recorded.
- To stop, tap the red recording indicator at the top of the screen, then tap Stop. You can also open Control Center and tap the red Record button again.
The video is saved automatically to your Photos app. Find it in your Library, or go to Collections, scroll to Media Types, and tap Screen Recordings.
Screen record on Pixel and most Android phones
On Pixel and other near-stock Android phones, the recorder is a Quick Settings tile.
- Swipe down twice from the top of the screen to open Quick Settings.
- Tap Screen record. If you do not see it, tap the pencil icon to edit your tiles and drag Screen record into the panel.
- Choose what to capture: Record one app or Record entire screen (on Android 14 and later).
- Choose your audio: turn on Record device audio for app and game sound, Record microphone for your voice, or both. You can also turn on Show touches so your taps appear in the video.
- Tap Start. The recording begins after a short countdown.
- To stop, swipe down from the top of the screen and tap the Screen recorder notification.
The video saves to Google Photos, in the Movies folder. On Android 14 and later you can also turn on Show selfie camera in the same menu to record your face in a small bubble over the screen — useful for reaction videos and tutorials.
Screen record on Samsung Galaxy
Samsung calls it Screen recorder, and it has been built into Galaxy phones since One UI 2. It also has the most settings of the three.
- Swipe down from the top of the screen to open the Quick panel.
- Tap the Screen recorder icon (a video camera). If it is not there, tap the three-dot More menu, choose Edit buttons, and drag Screen recorder into the panel.
- Choose a sound setting — None, Media, or Media and mic — then tap Start recording. Recording begins after a countdown.
- A small control panel appears at the top of the screen while you record. From it you can draw on the screen or turn on the selfie camera overlay.
- To stop, tap the square Stop button in the control panel.
The video saves to your Gallery app. To change the defaults before you record, go to Settings > Advanced features > Screenshots and screen recorder, where you can set the sound, the video quality — High (1080p), Medium (720p), or Low (480p) — and the selfie video size.
Sound: what each phone records
The one choice that decides whether your video is useful is the audio, and the three phones label it differently:
| What you want | iPhone | Pixel | Samsung |
|---|---|---|---|
| Your voice over the screen | Touch and hold Record, turn Microphone on | Turn on Record microphone | Choose Media and mic |
| App or game sound only | Default — microphone off | Turn on Record device audio, microphone off | Choose Media |
| No sound at all | No built-in silent switch — microphone off still keeps app sound, so mute the app itself | Turn both audio toggles off | Choose None |
| Your face in a corner | Not built in | Turn on Show selfie camera | Turn on Selfie video in the control panel |
Decide the audio before you tap Start. The recorder does not let you change it mid-recording, and there is no way to split the voice track from the app sound afterwards.
What you cannot record
The built-in recorder is not a magic capture tool. These limits are documented by Apple, Google, and Samsung, and they apply on all three phones:
- Some apps block recording. Streaming and banking apps use copy protection, so the video comes out black or silent even though the recorder ran. That is the app blocking capture by design, not a bug in your phone.
- You cannot record and mirror the screen at the same time on iPhone. Apple states this directly: screen recording and screen mirroring cannot run together.
- Samsung will not record calls. Samsung states that Screen recorder does not record phone calls, VoIP calls, or video calls. To capture a call, use the phone's call-recording feature instead — our guide to recording a phone call on iPhone and Android covers that separately.
- Some apps block audio only. A game or video app may let the picture through but silence the sound, for the same copyright reason.
If it is not working
Work through these in order before installing a third-party recorder:
- The button or tile is missing. Add it once: iPhone, Settings > Control Center; Pixel, the pencil icon in Quick Settings; Samsung, More > Edit buttons in the Quick panel. It stays there afterwards.
- The recording has no sound. The microphone or device-audio toggle was off when you started. Open the recorder again and check the audio choice before tapping Start — on iPhone, touch and hold the Record button and confirm Microphone is on.
- The video is black, or silent in one app. That app is blocking capture. Try another app to confirm the recorder itself works, then accept the block — no setting overrides it.
- The recording stops on its own, or will not start. Check your free space: long recordings fail when storage is full. Our guide to freeing up storage without deleting photos clears room without touching your pictures. Then restart the phone and try again.
- You cannot record while mirroring (iPhone). Stop AirPlay or screen mirroring first, then start the recording.
- The selfie camera option is missing (Pixel). It needs a newer Android version. Update the phone, and if the option still is not there, your model does not include it — the plain recording still works.
FAQ
Does screen recording record sound?
Yes, but you choose which sound before you start. On iPhone, app sound is captured by default and your voice only if you turn the microphone on. On Pixel, turn on Record device audio for app sound and Record microphone for your voice. On Samsung, pick Media for app sound or Media and mic for both. If the recording is silent, the audio toggle was off when you started.
Where do screen recordings save?
On iPhone, in the Photos app — Library, or Collections > Media Types > Screen Recordings. On Pixel, in Google Photos, in the Movies folder. On Samsung, in the Gallery app. All three save automatically when you stop the recording; there is no separate save step.
Can I screen record Netflix or other streaming apps?
Usually not. Streaming apps use copy protection that blocks capture, so the recording comes out black or with no picture. Samsung and Apple both document that some apps block recording for copyright reasons. There is no built-in setting that overrides it.
Can I record a phone call with screen recording?
No — not reliably. Samsung states that its Screen recorder does not record phone calls, VoIP calls, or video calls, and the iPhone recorder is not made for calls either. If you need a recording of a call, use the phone's call-recording feature instead — see our guide to recording a phone call on iPhone and Android.
Can I record only one app instead of the whole screen?
On Pixel and Android 14 and later, yes: the Screen record menu offers Record one app alongside Record entire screen. Pick one app and only that app's window is captured, even if you switch away. iPhone and Samsung record the whole screen.
Do I need to install an app to screen record?
No. It is built into iOS and into Android 11 and later. If the button is missing, add it from Control Center on iPhone or from the Quick Settings edit panel on Android instead of installing a recorder app — third-party recorders ask for broad permissions and often add watermarks or ads.
Can I record my face at the same time as my screen?
On Pixel, turn on Show selfie camera in the Screen record menu; on Samsung, turn on the selfie video from the recording control panel or in Settings > Advanced features > Screenshots and screen recorder. iPhone has no built-in face overlay for screen recording.
Sources checked on 2026-11-09: Apple Support: Record the screen on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, Apple iPhone User Guide: Take a screen recording on iPhone, Google Pixel Help: Record your Pixel device's screen, Samsung Support: Record and capture your Galaxy phone or tablet's screen.