How To Screen Share On Mac

Tips
1

I’m trying to share my Mac screen for a remote work meeting, but I keep running into issues with permissions and my audio not coming through. I’ve checked System Settings, but I’m not sure which options to enable or which app is best for reliable screen sharing. Can someone walk me through the correct steps or recommend the simplest method to screen share on a Mac for both video and audio?

2

On macOS this trips people up a lot. You need to fix two things: screen permissions and audio routing.

Do it in this order:

  1. Check screen recording permission

    1. Open System Settings.
    2. Go to Privacy & Security.
    3. Click Screen Recording.
    4. Find your app in the list. Zoom, Google Meet helper, Teams, Slack, whatever you use.
    5. Turn it on.
    6. Quit and reopen the meeting app after you change it. If it still fails, reboot.

  2. Check accessibility permission
    Some apps need this for remote control.

    1. System Settings.
    2. Privacy & Security.
    3. Accessibility.
    4. Turn on the same app there too.
    5. Restart the app.

  3. Make sure you picked the right share source
    In Zoom: Share Screen button, pick Desktop 1 or the exact window.
    In Meet in Chrome: Present, pick Entire Screen, Window, or Tab. If you pick a single window, then switch apps, others will not see the new app.

  4. Fix mic audio

    1. System Settings.
    2. Sound.
    3. Input.
    4. Pick the correct mic, internal mic or your headset.
    5. Speak and watch the input level bar. If it moves, macOS hears you.
    6. In Zoom, Meet, Teams etc, also open their own audio settings and pick the same input.

  5. Share system audio or “computer sound”
    This is separate from your mic.

    Zoom:

    1. Click Share Screen.
    2. At the bottom of that window check “Share sound”.
    3. Pick Stereo or Mono.

    Microsoft Teams:

    1. Click Share.
    2. Turn on “Include computer sound”.

    Google Meet in Chrome:

    1. Use “Tab” sharing if you want tab audio.
    2. Turn on the audio toggle in the share dialog. Only tab or entire screen with Chrome supports system audio.

  6. Check macOS for any block message
    If macOS blocked screen recording the first time, there is often a small message in the top right. If you ignore it, the app fails silently. Remove and re-add the app in Screen Recording to reset that.

  7. If it still fails, reset the permissions for that app

    1. System Settings.
    2. Privacy & Security.
    3. Screen Recording. Turn the app off.
    4. Accessibility. Turn the app off.
    5. Quit the app.
    6. Turn them back on.
    7. Launch again, start a test meeting, it should prompt for access.

Quick checklist before a meeting:
• You see green input level bars in macOS Sound settings.
• The meeting app uses the same mic.
• The app is enabled in Screen Recording.
• You picked the correct screen or window to share.
• For sharing system sound, you turned on the app’s own “share sound” option.

If you share some more info like which app you use and macOS version, you will get more precise steps.

3

Couple more angles to try that @himmelsjager didn’t cover, since macOS likes to hide landmines in weird places:

  1. Check the actual app you’re using
    A lot of people miss that Chrome, Safari, and the meeting app each need their own permissions. For example:

    • Using Google Meet in Chrome: Chrome needs Screen Recording, not “Google Meet.”
    • Using Zoom in browser: browser needs permission, Zoom website itself doesn’t show in the list.
      So: if you’re in a browser, make sure the browser has Screen Recording & Mic access.

  2. Look for the tiny “camera/mic” icon in the menu bar
    Top-right, near Wi‑Fi / clock.

    • Click it while you’re in a meeting.
    • It will say which app is using (or trying to use) the mic/camera/screen.
    • If it shows a different app than you expect, that’s your conflict. Quit the wrong app and retry.

  3. Window vs Entire screen issues
    macOS can be picky:

    • If you choose a window to share, then minimize it, other people often see a frozen frame.
    • For fewer surprises, pick Entire Screen instead of a single app, especially if you’re switching between slides, browser, terminal, etc.

  4. Audio not coming through when sharing videos
    Couple of gotchas:

    • In Zoom / Teams / Meet, “share computer sound” only affects system / app audio, not your mic.
    • If you’re using Bluetooth headphones, some of them switch into “hands‑free” mode and absolutely ruin your mic quality or mute weirdly. Test by:
      • Unplugging / disconnecting the headset
      • Use the built‑in mic + speakers
      • If it suddenly works, it’s the headset profile, not permissions.

  5. Check Focus / Do Not Disturb
    Not for audio itself, but:

    • If Focus is on, system notification prompts (like “Allow screen recording?”) can be suppressed or easy to miss.
    • Toggle Focus off, then re‑launch the meeting app and try sharing again so you actually see any new prompts.

  6. Reset all privacy prompts for that app (nuclear-ish option)
    If it’s still acting cursed even after flipping toggles:

    • Delete the app (if it’s Zoom / Teams client), reinstall latest version.
    • After reinstall, macOS should prompt again for mic / camera / screen. Don’t click “Not now” or “Later,” that quietly breaks stuff.
    • If you already did that once by accident, reinstalling is usually quicker than hunting hidden settings.

  7. Quick pre‑meeting sanity test
    Before your next real meeting, start a fake one and run through:

    • Open QuickTime > New Screen Recording: if that works, your Screen Recording permission is fine. If not, it’s a system setting, not the meeting app.
    • Open Voice Memos, record a few seconds: if that hears you, the mic permission is fine.
      If both of those work but Zoom/Meet doesn’t, then the problem is 99% inside the meeting app’s own settings.

If you share which meeting app you’re on (Zoom, Teams, browser Meet, etc.) and whether you’re on Intel or Apple Silicon, people can give step‑by‑step for that exact combo. Right now macOS is basically a permission maze with extra steps.