Not legal advice. This site is an editorial reference. Laws change — always confirm with a qualified attorney in the relevant jurisdiction before recording, and check each page’s last reviewed date.

How to Record a FaceTime Call

FaceTime has no native recording. iOS’s built-in Screen Recording can capture the video and microphone, but Apple intentionally mutes audio from the remote party in some screen-record configurations. macOS captures more reliably.

Native option

FaceTime does not include a recording feature.

Workarounds

1. macOS QuickTime screen recording

  1. Open QuickTime Player.
  2. File → New Screen Recording.
  3. Click the small arrow next to the record button and choose your microphone.
  4. Click record. Start the FaceTime call.
  5. Audio from the remote party (via the Mac’s output) plus your microphone are captured.

To capture the remote-party audio cleanly, you may want a virtual audio device (BlackHole, Loopback) that routes FaceTime’s output to an aggregate device QuickTime can record.

2. iOS Screen Recording

Same path as for WhatsApp: Control Center, long-press Screen Recording, microphone on. Behavior with FaceTime call audio varies across iOS releases.

3. Second device pointed at the screen and speaker

The simplest method. Quality is lower; no platform dependencies.

Where the recording lives and how to export it

  • macOS QuickTime: wherever the user saves the file; Documents by default.
  • iOS Screen Recording: Photos app.

Common failure modes

  • No remote audio in iOS screen recording. iOS occasionally restricts call-audio capture. Try macOS or a second device.
  • Echo in macOS recording. If you use the same physical microphone for FaceTime input and QuickTime input, you may get an echo; use a virtual audio device.

Legal reminder

Whether you may record a call — with this platform or any other — depends on the law in every jurisdiction whose participants are on the call. See our jurisdiction-by-jurisdiction directory, the one-party vs. all-party explainer, and our consent script templates. Federal US law and most US states permit a participant to record, but thirteen US states and many countries require all-party consent.

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