Screen sharing during a live video call
This sits right next to screen recording vs. screen mirroring as a distinction that gets flattened in casual conversation but genuinely trips people up — specifically the moment someone assumes sharing their screen on a Zoom or Meet call automatically means it’s being saved somewhere.
Screen sharing is a live broadcast, nothing more
When you click “share screen” on a video call, you’re broadcasting your screen to whoever’s in that call, in real time. Unless someone explicitly starts a recording (covered in our guides on recording a Zoom call and recording a Google Meet call), nothing about that screen share is saved anywhere once the call ends.
The moment this actually catches people out
Someone shares their screen to walk a colleague through a process, the call ends, and a week later they go looking for “that recording” — except there isn’t one, because sharing and recording were never the same action. The screen share did exactly what it was supposed to (let people see it live); it was never going to produce a saved file on its own.
If you need both
Decide before the call, not after: if this is a walkthrough worth keeping, start a recording (native to the platform, per our platform-specific guides, or a separate tool like OBS) at the same time you share your screen. Screen sharing alone covers the live audience; recording is a separate, deliberate action layered on top.
Frequently asked questions
Does sharing my screen on a call automatically save a recording?
No — screen sharing is live-only by default. A separate recording action, built into most call platforms or handled by third-party software, is required to actually save it.
Why can’t I find the recording of a call where I shared my screen?
Most likely because no recording was ever started — the screen share itself doesn’t create a saved file, regardless of how long the call ran.
Related reading: Screen recording vs. screen mirroring · Recording a Zoom call · Recording a Google Meet call