How to record your screen and your face on a Mac

The built-in way: QuickTime Player and the Screenshot toolbar

1. Open QuickTime Player and choose File → New Movie Recording. A window shows your camera. You won't record in it: it's only there to be seen.
2. Make the window small and move it to a corner. Pick the camera from the menu next to its record button if you have more than one.
3. Press Shift-Command-5. The Screenshot toolbar opens. Choose Record Entire Screen, or Record Selected Portion and drag around what you want.
4. Under Options, choose your microphone. Options also lets you show mouse clicks and choose where the file is saved; the desktop is the default.
5. Click Record. To stop, click the Stop button in the menu bar, or press Command-Control-Esc.

It costs nothing and works on any recent Mac. What to know before you rely on it:

• Your camera is part of the screen picture, so it can't be moved, resized or removed afterwards.
• Other windows can cover the camera window while you work.
• There's no cursor zoom, so small text can be hard to read in the recording.

The one-app way: Floonova

1. Open Floonova and start a new recording. Choose what to record: your entire screen or a single window.
2. Pick a camera and a microphone. Your Mac's camera, a webcam, or your phone. Switch on system audio too if you want your computer's sound.
3. Click Record. A small bar floats over your work with pause, stop, mute, the camera and the bubble's size. It never appears in the recording.
4. Move the camera whenever you like. Drag the bubble, resize it, or give it the whole screen. The recording keeps every move.
5. Stop, then trim. The take saves to your library. Trim the start and end and export an MP4, or on Pro, copy a link that plays in any browser.

Cursor zoom is on from the start: it zooms in where you click and follows you from there, so small text stays readable.

The first time

macOS asks for permission before any app records the screen or uses the camera and microphone. Allow each one for Floonova. Screen recording is switched on in System Settings → Privacy & Security, and macOS may ask you to reopen Floonova afterwards.

Tips for a clean take

• Turn on Do Not Disturb in Control Center, so notifications don't appear mid-take.
• Close what you don't want seen, or record a single window instead of the whole screen.
• Look at the camera, not the screen, for your first and last sentence.
• Record a ten-second test first and play it back, to check your sound.

Questions

Can I record my screen and face on a Mac for free?

Yes, both ways. The built-in way costs nothing, and Floonova's Free plan records in Full HD with no time limit and no watermark.

Can I record just one window?

Yes. In Floonova, pick the window instead of the entire screen. The Screenshot toolbar can record a single window on macOS Tahoe 26 or later.

Does Floonova work on Intel Macs?

Yes, on Macs with Apple silicon or an Intel chip.

Can I use my iPhone or Android phone as the camera?

Yes. In Floonova, click Add phone camera and scan the code; here's how with an Android phone. An iPhone can also be your Mac's camera through Apple's Continuity Camera.

Where do Floonova's recordings go?

Into your library in the app, on your Mac. From there you can trim, export an MP4, or on Pro, share a link.