Last updated: 2026-01-18

If you want reliable mobile screen recordings you can actually reuse, start with your phone’s built‑in recorder for quick captures and use StreamYard when you need presenter‑led, branded recordings that are easy to repurpose and share with your team or audience. For async, one‑off videos from your phone, tools like Loom’s mobile app are a helpful supplement alongside your default StreamYard setup.

Summary

• Use iOS and Android’s built‑in recorders for fast, no‑install screen capture.
• Use Loom’s mobile apps when you need quick, link‑based sharing directly from your phone.
• Use StreamYard as your main studio when you care about layouts, branding, multi‑track audio, and long‑term reuse.
• OBS is desktop‑only, so you will pair it with mobile tools rather than use it directly on your phone.

How do you record and share your screen on iPhone?

iPhone has a built‑in screen recorder that saves straight to your Photos app, which then gives you the familiar iOS share sheet for Messages, Mail, Drive, and social apps. Apple’s guide confirms that screen recordings are automatically saved to your photo library in Photos.

Set up screen recording in Control Center

1. On your iPhone, go to Settings → Control Center.
2. Scroll to Screen Recording and tap + to add it.

Record your screen

1. Swipe down from the top‑right corner to open Control Center.
2. Press the Record button (solid circle inside a ring).
3. For microphone audio, long‑press the button and toggle Microphone On.
4. Tap Start Recording. After the countdown, everything on screen is captured.
5. To stop, tap the red status bar or Dynamic Island, then Stop.

Share your iPhone recording

1. Open the Photos app.
2. Find your screen recording in Recents.
3. Tap Share and choose Messages, Mail, AirDrop, or any installed app.
4. For long‑form content you plan to reuse, you can also upload that file into a StreamYard studio as a video asset for later live streams or pre‑recorded shows.

This flow is ideal for quick explainers and bug reports. When you’re planning a full tutorial, webinar, or multi‑participant session, we recommend treating the iPhone recording as b‑roll you bring into StreamYard instead of your primary production.

How do you record and share screen recordings on Android?

On modern Android phones (Android 11 and later), screen recording is built into Quick Settings. Android’s own overview notes that the feature is standard starting with Android 11.

Start a native Android screen recording

1. Swipe down twice from the top of the screen to open Quick Settings.
2. Look for Screen Record. If you don’t see it, tap the pencil/edit icon and drag Screen Record into the main grid.
3. Tap Screen Record.
4. Choose whether to record audio (device audio, mic, or both) and whether to show touches.
5. Tap Start and wait for the countdown.
6. When you’re done, tap the notification or the floating control to stop.

Share your Android screen recording

1. Open the Photos or Gallery app (many phones save recordings into a “Screen recordings” folder).
2. Tap the video, then the Share icon.
3. Send by text, email, cloud drive, or upload directly into the tools your team uses.

If you’re creating content you’ll refine later, consider moving that file into your StreamYard workflow. You can play it back inside a StreamYard session alongside your live camera, overlays, and presenter commentary.

When should you use Loom’s mobile app instead of built‑in recording?

Built‑in recorders are fast but file‑centric. For many US teams, the missing piece is instant, link‑based sharing.

Loom’s mobile apps aim at exactly that: capture a quick screen or camera recording, then share a link instead of an attachment. Loom’s documentation explains that you can record camera, screen, or audio‑only on iOS, and that Android offers Screen + Cam, Screen Only, Cam Only, or Audio Only modes requiring Android 10+. (Loom support)

A simple playbook:

• Use built‑in iOS/Android recording when you just need a raw file.
• Use Loom mobile when you want to:
  • Paste a link in Slack or a ticket.
  • See basic view analytics and comments.
  • Skip downloading and re‑uploading files.

Keep in mind that Loom’s free Starter tier includes a 5‑minute per‑video screen‑recording limit and a 25‑video storage cap for each person, while paid plans unlock unlimited recording time and storage. (Loom pricing) That’s perfectly workable for occasional mobile clips, but it becomes restrictive if you’re building a full content library.

This is where pairing Loom with a StreamYard studio works well: Loom handles small, on‑the‑go updates; StreamYard handles your flagship, presenter‑led recordings that you’ll stream, repurpose, and publish widely.

How do StreamYard’s recording features help with mobile-first content?

Most people searching for mobile screen recording ultimately want more than a raw capture. They want a clear, presenter‑led walkthrough that’s easy to reuse across platforms and for multiple audiences.

That’s exactly the gap we focus on at StreamYard:

• Presenter‑visible screen sharing with layouts. You can share your laptop screen, slides, or pre‑recorded mobile footage and place it alongside your camera in clean templates.
• Independent audio control. Screen/system audio and microphone audio are controlled separately, so you can balance voiceover against app sounds.
• Local multi‑track recordings. Each participant can be recorded locally with separate audio/video tracks on all plans, with a 2‑hour/month cap on the free tier and unlimited local recording on paid plans. (StreamYard support)
• Landscape and portrait outputs. You can design a single session that yields horizontal and vertical cuts for YouTube, TikTok, and Shorts.
• Branding built in. Logos, overlays, lower‑thirds, and backgrounds are applied live, saving you a chunk of editing time later.
• Multi‑participant demos. Multiple people can share screens in the same studio, which is helpful for collaborative mobile app walkthroughs.

For mobile specifically, both hosts and guests can join a StreamYard studio from phones or tablets, which makes it easy to bring real devices into the conversation without complicated routing. (StreamYard mobile support) You can then combine that live mobile camera feed with previously recorded mobile screen videos you captured using iOS or Android.

In practice, many creators record their device screen natively, drop that footage into StreamYard, and record a polished, narrated version that’s ready for clients, courses, or public channels.

How do StreamYard, Loom, and OBS compare for mobile-focused workflows?

Here’s a simple way to think about the three options when your starting point is “I’m on my phone”:

• StreamYard is your studio for high‑quality, presenter‑led recordings that you want to reuse, stream, and brand.
• Loom is handy for quick, async clips you share via link.
• OBS is a desktop recorder; there is no official mobile OBS app, and the download page only lists Windows, Mac, and Linux options. (OBS download)

A few practical differences:

• Pricing model. Loom charges per user; its Business plan starts around a per‑user monthly fee, while we use workspace‑level pricing, which is usually more economical for teams because you are not paying for each individual seat. (Loom pricing)
• Recording limits. Loom’s free Starter tier caps each screen recording at 5 minutes and each person at 25 stored videos, while its paid plans unlock unlimited recording time and storage. (Loom plans) On our side, paid StreamYard plans do not cap your total monthly recording time but use per‑stream limits (e.g., up to 10 hours per recording on many plans) and storage measured in hours. (StreamYard storage)
• Cloud vs local. OBS records locally only, with no built‑in cloud storage or sharing links; you manage all files yourself. (OBS overview) StreamYard combines cloud recordings with optional local multi‑tracks, giving you both a safety net and editable files.

Unless you need deep encoder controls or gameplay‑style compositing, most US creators are better served by using StreamYard as the main studio and treating Loom, built‑in phone recorders, and OBS as supporting tools.

How do you bring a mobile screen recording into StreamYard and share it widely?

Once you’ve captured a screen recording on your phone, you can fold it into a StreamYard‑first workflow in a few simple steps:

1. Move the file off your phone. AirDrop, Google Drive, Dropbox, or direct cable transfer all work.
2. Upload into a StreamYard studio. Add the video as a media asset alongside your camera, overlays, and any guest feeds.
3. Record a presenter‑led walkthrough. Play the mobile recording on screen while you talk through what’s happening, switching layouts as needed.
4. Leverage local and cloud recordings. On paid plans, local multi‑track recordings give you clean audio and video files for editing, while cloud recordings provide a quick reference copy. (StreamYard local recording)
5. Export and publish. Trim, caption, and repurpose for YouTube, Shorts, Reels, internal training, or client deliverables.

This approach takes the strengths of mobile (real‑world capture, immediacy) and combines them with a studio designed for clear storytelling, branded visuals, and long‑term reuse.

What we recommend

• Use your phone’s built‑in recorder for raw mobile screen footage.
• Use Loom mobile when you need quick, link‑based updates and don’t care about advanced layouts.
• Use StreamYard as your primary studio for presenter‑led recordings, multi‑participant demos, and reusable content.
• If you already rely on OBS for desktop capture, keep it for that role and route your polished outputs through StreamYard when you need branding, layouts, and easy distribution.