How to share your screen on a Mac

On a Mac, screen sharing depends on what you want to do: show your screen during a video call, share it on FaceTime with another Apple user, or let someone help you remotely. All three are covered below, together with the one macOS setting that causes most problems.

Written for recent macOS versions in October 2026. Menu names can differ slightly between versions.

First: allow screen recording

macOS blocks apps from capturing your screen until you allow it. If others see a black screen or the share option does nothing, this is almost always the reason.

  1. Open System Settings and go to Privacy & Security.
  2. Open Screen Recording (called Screen & System Audio Recording in recent macOS versions).
  3. Turn on the app you use: your browser (Safari, Chrome, Edge, Firefox), Zoom, Teams and so on.
  4. Quit the app completely and open it again.

Share your screen in a video call

Every major calling tool has its own share button. Step-by-step guides:

For the quickest option with no app and no account, use Abeedesk screen sharing in Safari or Chrome: create a room, send the link and click Share screen. It works for calls with up to 4 people.

Share your screen on FaceTime

  1. Start a FaceTime call with someone who uses an iPhone, iPad or Mac.
  2. Click the FaceTime or SharePlay icon in the menu bar and choose to share your screen or a single window.
  3. Click the same icon and choose Stop Sharing to finish.

FaceTime screen sharing needs a reasonably recent macOS and works between Apple devices. People on Windows or Android can join FaceTime calls from a link in their browser, but they cannot share their own screen there.

Let someone see or control your Mac remotely

The built-in Screen Sharing feature lets another Mac user view or control your Mac, which is useful for remote help.

  1. On the Mac you want to share, open System Settings, General, Sharing, and turn on Screen Sharing.
  2. Note the address shown there, or make sure both Macs are signed in so they can find each other.
  3. On the other Mac, open the Screen Sharing app (search for it with Spotlight) and connect to the first Mac.

Only give remote control to people you trust, and turn Screen Sharing off again when you are done.

Questions people ask

Why is my screen black when I share on a Mac?

The app has no permission to record the screen. Allow it in Privacy & Security, Screen Recording, then restart the app.

How do I share my Mac screen with a Windows PC?

Use a cross-platform tool: Zoom, Teams, Google Meet, or a browser-based option such as Abeedesk, which needs no install on either side.

Can I share only one window on a Mac?

Yes. Zoom, Teams, Google Meet, FaceTime and browser-based tools all let you choose a single window instead of the whole screen.