How to Screen Record On iOS 11 and iOS 12

Record your iPhone screen to easily capture what's happening

Woman with headphones on using an iPhone.

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by Scott Orgera
Scott Orgera has been a tech journalist since 2007. He has 25+ years' experience as a programmer and QA leader and several Microsoft certifications.
Updated March 09, 2019

Capturing what appears on your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch screen can be useful for a number of reasons. Thankfully, recording live video on your iOS device is fairly easy if you know what steps to take.

How to Record Your Screen on iOS 11 and iOS 12

Follow the instructions below to access the iOS Screen Recording tool.

  1. Tap the Settings icon, found on your device's Home Screen.

  2. The iOS Settings interface will now be displayed. Select the Control Center option.

    iOS Settings interface

  3. Tap Customize Controls.

    iOS Control Center settings

  4. A list of functionality that currently appears in or can be added to the iOS Control Center should now be shown. If the Screen Recording option is already listed under the INCLUDE heading, skip this step. If it's not, scroll down until you locate it and tap on the green plus (+) icon that accompanies this option to add it to the Control Center.

    Customize iOS Control Center

  5. Press your device's Home button or swipe up from the bottom of the screen, depending on your iPhone version, to return to the iOS Home Screen.

  6. Swipe up from the bottom of the screen or swipe down from the top, depending on your iPhone version, to access the iOS Control Center. You should notice a new icon which looks like a record button. To begin recording, select this button. If prompted, tap the Start Recording button.

    iOS Control Center

    While recording, everything on your screen will be captured including incoming notifications. To avoid items such as text messages and phone calls from interrupting your recording, we recommend enabling Do Not Disturb mode beforehand. 

  7. A timer countdown will display (3, 2, 1) at which point screen recording has begun. You'll notice a red bar at the top of your screen or a red time indicator in the upper left-hand corner while recording is taking place. Once you're finished recording, tap on this timer once.

  8. A pop-up message will appear, asking if you'd like to finish recording. Select the Stop option. Your recording is now complete and can be found within the Photos app.