Share your screen

Share a window rather than your whole screen, and know the one permission that trips up macOS users every time.

Share a window rather than your whole screen, and know the one permission that trips up macOS users every time.

Share a window, not the screen

You will be offered your whole screen, a single window, or a browser tab. Pick the window.

• Notifications, inbox previews and calendar popups stay private.
• The content is larger for whoever is watching.
• You can look something up alongside without broadcasting it.

Share the whole screen only when you genuinely need to move between applications.

macOS needs the permission refreshed, not granted

On a Mac, sharing can appear to start while participants see nothing. The documented fix is not to grant the permission but to reset it.

1. Update Chrome to the latest version.
2. Open System Preferences > Security & Privacy > Screen Recording.
3. Uncheck Google Chrome, then check it again.

Having granted the permission at some point in the past does not rule this out, which is exactly why it catches people who know they already allowed it.

Sharing sound

Playing a video? Share the audio too, otherwise participants watch a silent clip. It is a separate option in the sharing dialog.

Someone else takes over

Only one person shares at a time. When a colleague starts, yours stops. That is expected, not a fault.

Before an important meeting

Test sharing once, on the machine you will use, before you need it in front of a customer.

See also

• Start a video conference
• Schedule and run meetings