The free online screen recorder captures the screen, a window or a browser tab with microphone narration, system audio and a webcam overlay. Because it runs in the browser, the recording is never uploaded.
Screen capture work by OnlinePCApps since 2013
A live walkthrough is often clearer than a page of notes. The free online screen recorder captures what happens on the screen, with a voice or a face added when it helps.
Showing a task on screen with a spoken narration lands faster than a wall of text. A recording of the steps, with a microphone for the voice, turns a how-to into something anyone can follow.
A bug is hard to describe in words and easy to show. Recording the screen as the problem happens gives a developer or a support team the exact steps, far clearer than a screenshot or a paragraph.
A meeting, a webinar or a slide run is worth keeping for anyone who missed it. Recording the tab or the window holds the session as a video to share or review later, with the audio captured alongside.
Press Start Recording and the browser asks what to share, the whole screen, a single window or one tab. Turn on a microphone for narration or a webcam for a face, then a short countdown gives a moment to get ready before the capture begins.
Carry out the task while the recorder runs, capturing the picture and any audio in step. Pause and resume as needed, and a live timer shows how long the recording has gone.
Press stop and the recording is ready to preview, then save as a video file. The whole clip is built on the device, so nothing is sent to a server at any point.
Recording the screen captures what is shown as a video, with audio and a webcam when they help. The tool does all of it on the device.
Capture the whole screen, a single application window or one browser tab. The browser share dialog decides which, so a private window stays out of frame while the chosen surface is recorded in full.
Switch on the microphone and a spoken voice is mixed into the recording as it runs. The screen and the narration land in one file, ready for a tutorial, a walkthrough or a piece of feedback.
Turn on the webcam and the camera feed sits as a picture-in-picture corner over the screen, composited in real time. This is the presenter style seen in explainer clips, a face beside the content.
On Chrome and Edge the sound from the screen or a shared tab is recorded alongside the picture, so a video, a call or app audio is kept. The microphone and the system sound can be captured together.
To record the screen, to capture a window and to grab a browser tab all name the same task. A search for screen recorder, screen capture or record my screen lands on this tool. Every recording stays on the device.
A recording captures the screen through browser APIs. These points decide how the result lands.
| The case | Result | What happens and why |
|---|---|---|
| Screen, window, tab | any surface | The share dialog picks the whole screen, one window or a single tab. |
| Microphone | narration | A voice is mixed in through getUserMedia for a spoken walkthrough. |
| System or tab audio | Chrome and Edge | App and tab sound is captured where the browser allows it. |
| Webcam overlay | picture in picture | A camera feed is composited into a corner in real time. |
| Output format | WebM or MP4 | WebM with VP9 and Opus is the default, MP4 where the browser supports it. |
| Quality | up to 1080p | Resolution and frame rate follow the shared surface and the settings. |
| Desktop browser | supported | Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Safari on a computer all record the screen. |
| Mobile browser | not supported | Screen capture is a desktop feature, so a phone browser cannot share a screen. |
| Single tab | Chrome and Edge | Firefox shares a whole screen or a window, not one lone tab. |
| Length | memory bound | A very long capture is limited by the memory of the device. |
| Where it runs | on the device | The recording is built in the browser, so nothing is uploaded. |
How Browser Screen Recording Works
Screen recording in a browser stands on a few web standards working together. The Screen Capture API, reached through getDisplayMedia, asks the browser for a video stream of a screen, a window or a tab. The browser draws the share dialog itself so the choice is always the visitor. When a microphone or a webcam is added, getUserMedia supplies those streams and the Web Audio API mixes the sound, while a canvas composites the camera feed as a corner overlay. A MediaRecorder then collects the combined stream into a file, usually WebM with VP9 video and Opus audio, the open format that plays across modern browsers and editors. The honest limits are worth stating plainly. Screen recording runs in Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Safari on the desktop, while mobile browsers do not support it, so a computer is needed. A very long recording is bound by the memory of the device rather than any set cap. The page must also be served over HTTPS, since the browser only offers the surface picker in a secure context. Every frame is handled on the machine, so nothing is streamed out. The references below define the APIs and the output format.
Both record the screen to a video. The trade is real, and a capture often shows private work.
| Point of comparison | This tool Recorded in the browser Nothing to install | Desktop recorder Installed software such as OBS |
|---|---|---|
| Setup and install | Nothing to install | A download and setup |
| Price and sign-up | Free with no account | Some are paid or gated |
| Hour-long recordings | Bounded by tab memory | Writes straight to disk |
| 4K and high frame rate | Smooth up to 1080p | Hardware 4K encode |
| Scenes, effects and editing | Record, trim and save | Full production suite |
Those last three rows favour a desktop recorder, because an hour-long capture, a smooth 4K encode and a full editing suite each ask for more than a browser tab gives. For a quick walkthrough the first two rows decide it: nothing to install and no account, all on the machine.
The capture is built inside the browser by the Screen Capture and MediaRecorder APIs, so the work is client-side and the video sits in the memory of the page until it is saved. No copy is passed to a server at any point.
A screen often shows private work, an account, a document or a chat never meant for an outside server. Many hosted recorders upload the capture to process it, far more exposure than a simple recording is worth.
Each of these captures the screen to a video. They differ in setup, in features and in where the file goes.
OBS, Game Bar and the macOS bar all run on the machine, yet each is tied to one system or a heavy setup. This page stays every bit as local while recording a screen, a window or a tab with nothing to install first.
A moment of background makes the recording go smoothly.
Screen recording runs in Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Safari on the desktop. Mobile browsers, Safari on the iPhone and iPad included, cannot share a screen, so a laptop or a desktop is the place to record.
System sound is captured when a whole screen or a window is shared in Chrome or Edge, while tab sound needs the share-tab-audio box ticked. A microphone is separate and can be turned on for narration at any time.
A recording is held in the memory of the tab until it is saved, so a very long session can slow the browser or run out of room. For an hour-long capture, stopping to save in parts keeps it safe.
The browser holds a recording in memory, which suits a short walkthrough. An hour-long webinar, a 4K capture or a game session at a high frame rate belongs on the desktop edition, which writes straight to disk with hardware encoding and no memory ceiling.
Record a full webinar or a long session straight to disk, with no ceiling from the memory of a browser tab.
Capture at 4K or a high frame rate with hardware encoding, a load a browser tab cannot carry smoothly.
Set up scenes, overlays and a trim in one place, ready for a repeated recording workflow.
Free and online, with no sign-up and no upload. Record the screen, a window or a tab in the browser, all on the device.