How to record
- Choose Record the screen or Record the webcam. Leave "Include the microphone" ticked to narrate.
- Your browser asks what to share: the whole screen, one window, or a browser tab. Choose a tab to include its sound in Chrome and Edge.
- Press Stop when you are done, or use the browser's own "Stop sharing" button.
- Watch it back, then download it, or press Compress it below to load it into the compressor for a smaller file.
Permissions and privacy
The browser asks before sharing your screen, camera or microphone, and shows an indicator while recording. Nothing is sent anywhere: the recording is assembled in the page's memory and saved with the download button. Close the tab to discard it.
Getting a small file
Browser recordings are made at a high bitrate so they stay sharp, which makes them large: about 30 MB a minute at the default 4 Mbps. Screen recordings compress extremely well, because most of the screen does not change between frames. Use the compressor on this page to bring a 5-minute recording down to under 25 MB for email, or choose a quality level for a smaller file to keep.
Tips for clear recordings
- Record a single window or tab rather than the whole screen so notifications from other apps do not appear.
- Turn on Do Not Disturb before you start.
- Increase the text size in the app you are recording if viewers will watch on phones.
- Use a headset microphone to avoid echo and keyboard noise.
What decides a video's file size
A video file is mostly its bitrate (how many bits are spent per second) multiplied by its duration. A 2-minute clip at 2 megabits per second is about 2 × 120 ÷ 8 = 30 MB, plus the sound. Everything else matters only through the bitrate it needs to look good:
- Resolution. 1080p has 2.25 times the pixels of 720p, so it needs roughly twice the bitrate for the same sharpness. Below a certain bitrate, a smaller resolution looks better than a blocky big one, which is why the automatic setting steps down.
- Frame rate. 60 fps needs more bitrate than 30 fps; for talking, screen recordings and most phone clips, 30 or even 24 fps is plenty.
- Movement and detail. A static screen recording compresses far better than handheld footage of a crowd, confetti or water. Two videos of the same length and settings can differ several-fold in size.
- Codec. H.264 plays everywhere. VP9, HEVC (H.265) and AV1 give the same quality in 30 to 50% fewer bits but are not supported by every player or upload form.
- Sound. Usually small: 96 kbps stereo is about 0.7 MB a minute. Removing it helps only for very small targets.
Why it is slower than a desktop app, and when to use HandBrake
This tool uses your browser's own video encoders through WebCodecs, often the same hardware encoders a desktop app would use, but it runs inside a browser tab with a fraction of the computer's memory and without the tuned encoders desktop apps ship. Short clips are quick; a 10-minute 1080p video can take several minutes on a laptop and longer on a phone. The tool refuses files that are likely to run out of memory rather than failing halfway. For long videos, 4K footage, batches of large files, or precise control over the encoder, use HandBrake, which is free, open-source and much faster for heavy work.
Browser support and troubleshooting
The line at the top of the tool lists the video and audio codecs this browser can encode. Current Chrome and Edge on Windows and Mac handle H.264, VP9 and AV1 with AAC and Opus; Safari adds HEVC; Firefox supports WebCodecs from version 130. If a file will not open:
- "This browser cannot decode…" usually means HEVC (H.265) video, common from iPhones, in a browser without HEVC support. Try Safari or Edge on a computer with hardware HEVC, or convert it on the phone (Settings › Camera › Formats › Most Compatible for future videos).
- "Cannot read this file's format" means an old or unusual container such as AVI, WMV or FLV that browsers cannot read. Convert it with HandBrake first.
- It stops or the tab reloads on long or 4K videos: the tab ran out of memory. Trim the video into parts, close other tabs, or use a desktop app.
- Very slow on a phone or an older laptop: the browser may be using software encoding. Shorter clips and lower resolutions help.
Recording a presentation or tutorial
- Open the slides or app in its own window and set it to the size you want viewers to see.
- Choose Record the screen, then pick that window.
- Keep the microphone on and speak a little slower than normal.
- Stop, watch it back, then compress it: screen recordings shrink dramatically, often by 80 to 90%.