iOS comes with a handy new Control Center function that allows you to record what you're doing on your screen. It's great if you want to capture gameplay, walk someone through a tutorial in an app, demonstrate a bug, and more, and it's available on both iPhones and iPads.


Enabling Screen Recording Button

If you don't have the screen recording icon in Control Center, you can add it in the Settings app.

  1. Open the Settings app.
  2. Choose Control Center.
  3. Select "Customize Controls." ios11enablingscreenrecording
  4. Tap the + button next to "Screen Recording" to add it to the "Include" section.

How to Record Your Screen

  1. Bring up the Control Center.
  2. Tap the icon for screen recording. It's two nested circles. ios11screenrecording
  3. Your iPhone or iPad will start recording video of your screen automatically following a three second countdown.

While screen recording is turned on, a red bar is plastered across the top of the display so it's clear when you're recording and when you're not.

ios11screenrecordingredbanner

Ending a Recording

To stop recording the screen, you can go back to Control Center and toggle the screen recording icon, or your can tap the red bar at the top of the screen and confirm you want to end the recording. The video you made is then saved to the Photos app.

screenrecordingsavedios11

Screen Recording Options

There are a few options that are available when making a screen recording, which can be accessed directly in the Control Center. To bring up these options, simply 3D Touch on the screen recording icon.

ios11screenrecording3dtouch
From this menu, you can start a screen recording and toggle microphone audio on or off. These are the only options that are available for the feature -- it's fairly basic.

Related Forum: iOS 11

Top Rated Comments

rob.james.arias Avatar
97 months ago
Aka “How to record those Snaps”
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
trusso Avatar
97 months ago
I get that exact same option on my iPhone 6+ by just tapping and holding on the screen recording icon.

Really haven't felt I've been missing out on anything over the past several years by not having 3D touch on my iPhone.
You're not. I upgraded to a 6S last year for the larger internal storage, and I've forgotten 3D touch was even a thing. I never use it.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
kdarling Avatar
97 months ago
Starting a Recording
[LIST=1]
* Bring up the Control Center.
* Tap the icon for screen recording. It's two nested circles.

Dear UI vetters at Apple (if you even exist any more):

Please add labels to all your icons, so that people who don't memorize them, and/or older people like my Mom, can figure out what the heck each icon does.

Thank you. Oh, and don't let Ive design any part of an UI any more, please.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ArtOfWarfare Avatar
97 months ago
Accessing Screen Recording Options

There are a few options that are available when making a screen recording, which can be accessed directly in the Control Center. To bring up these options, simply 3D Touch on the screen recording icon.



From this menu, you can start a screen recording and toggle microphone audio on or off. These are the only options that are available for the feature -- it's fairly basic.
I get that exact same option on my iPhone 6+ by just tapping and holding on the screen recording icon.

Really haven't felt I've been missing out on anything over the past several years by not having 3D touch on my iPhone.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Glassed Silver Avatar
97 months ago
I get that exact same option on my iPhone 6+ by just tapping and holding on the screen recording icon.

Really haven't felt I've been missing out on anything over the past several years by not having 3D touch on my iPhone.
Contextual previews (linked webpages or maps for example) are a Godsent.

I used to be pretty indifferent about them, thinking it might be a cool feature, but ever since I got my 6S Plus I can honestly say it made iOS a lot more convenient to me.

My iPad Air feels outright awkward without it.

Glassed Silver:win
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
aircanman Avatar
97 months ago
I’d like to see an option where it highlights where on the screen you press. This would make it easier for creating tutorial videos.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

cook trump

Trump Responds to Apple Keeping Diversity Policies

Wednesday February 26, 2025 6:32 am PST by
In an all-caps post on Truth Social today, U.S. President Donald Trump said Apple should fully end its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies. Tim Cook meeting with President Trump in 2017 "APPLE SHOULD GET RID OF DEI RULES, NOT JUST MAKE ADJUSTMENTS TO THEM," he wrote. Trump's post comes one day after Apple held its annual shareholders meeting, during which a majority of...
apple watch ultra snow

6 Features Coming to the Apple Watch Ultra 3

Tuesday February 25, 2025 9:00 am PST by
The Apple Watch Ultra 3 is expected to launch later this year, arriving two years after the previous model with a series of improvements. While no noticeable design changes are expected for the third generation since the company tends to stick with the same Apple Watch design through three generations before changing it, there are a series of internal upgrades on the way. By the time the ...
iOS 18

Apple Says iOS 18.4 Will Be Released in April With These New Features

Wednesday February 26, 2025 7:15 am PST by
In a recent press release, Apple confirmed that iOS 18.4 will be released in April. From the Apple News+ Food announcement:Coming with iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4 in April, Apple News+ subscribers will have access to Apple News+ Food, a new section that will feature tens of thousands of recipes — as well as stories about restaurants, healthy eating, kitchen essentials, and more — from the...
iPhone Fold Vertical Feature

Apple's 2026 Foldable iPhone Has No Visible Display Crease – Report

Tuesday February 25, 2025 2:58 am PST by
Apple is making significant headway on its long-rumored foldable iPhone, with a new report suggesting the company has achieved a major breakthrough by effectively eliminating the screen crease that plagues current foldable devices. According to Korean publication ETNews, Apple is finalizing its component suppliers for the foldable iPhone, with the selection process expected to be completed...
trump iphone dictation issue

Apple Fixing 'Trump' Dictation Processing Bug

Tuesday February 25, 2025 1:18 pm PST by
Multiple iPhone owners today noticed a pronunciation processing issue that causes the word "Trump" to momentarily show up when using dictation to send a message with the word "racist." In some cases, when speaking the word racist through the iPhone's built-in dictation feature, the iPhone briefly interprets the spoken word as "Trump" and "Trump" text shows up in the Messages app before being ...
airtag orange

AirTag 2 Rumored to Launch in May or June With These New Features

Monday February 24, 2025 6:11 am PST by
Apple plans to launch a second-generation AirTag in May or June this year, according to a post today from a leaker known as Kosutami. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman previously reported that a new AirTag would be released in mid-2025. May or June would align with that timeframe. Below, we recap three new features rumored for the AirTag 2: With a second-generation Ultra Wideband chip, the...
airpods pro purple

Here's When AirPods Pro 3 Are Rumored to Launch

Monday February 24, 2025 9:14 am PST by
According to a post on X today from a leaker known as Kosutami, Apple plans to launch AirPods Pro 3 in May or June this year. The leaker also claimed that an AirTag 2 will launch around the same time. Kosutami is best known as a collector of prototype Apple hardware, but they have occasionally shared accurate information about Apple's future product plans. For example, they accurately...
ios 18 4 carplay

iOS 18.4 Includes a Small But Useful Change for CarPlay

Sunday February 23, 2025 2:23 pm PST by
The first beta of iOS 18.4 is now available, and it includes a small but useful change for CarPlay. As we noted in our list of iOS 18.4 features, CarPlay now shows a third row of icons, up from two rows previously. However, this change is only visible in vehicles with a larger center display. For example, a MacRumors Forums member noticed the change in a Toyota Tundra, which can be equipped...