How to record a FaceTime call on your iPhone or Mac

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How to set up FaceTime on your Mac
How to set up FaceTime on your Mac (Image credit: iMore)
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FaceTime calls are a great way to stay in touch with people you care about, whether on an iOS device or a Mac. However, what do you do if you want to save those special moments or use FaceTime as an interview tool? Luckily, using your Mac or iPhone, you can record those calls to view later.

Here's how you can record FaceTime calls taken on both Mac and iPhone.

How to record a FaceTime call on your Mac

If you're looking to record a FaceTime call on your Mac, you can use macOS screen recording feature to your advantage.

  1. Open FaceTime on your Mac.
  2. Press Command + Shift + 5 on your keyboard.
  3. Click Options on the screen capture menu.

How To Record Facetime Calls Mac (Image credit: iMore)
  1. Click a save location under Save to.
  2. Click Built-in Microphone under Microphone.

How To Record Facetime Calls Mac (Image credit: iMore)
  1. Click Record Entire Screen or Record Selected Portion to select your recording area.
  2. Click Record to start recording your screen.

How To Record Facetime Calls Mac (Image credit: iMore)
  1. Begin your FaceTime call.
  2. Click the Stop Recording button after you end your FaceTime call. Your recording will be saved to your chosen location.

Record a FaceTime call on Mac, showing how to begin your FaceTime call, then click Stop Recording when your call is done

How To Record Facetime Calls Mac (Image credit: iMore)

How to record a FaceTime call on your iPhone using your Mac

First things first: don't. Since you can't natively record a FaceTime call's audio using iOS screen recording on your iPhone, you need a Mac to record an iPhone FaceTime call. You can already record FaceTime calls on your Mac, as described above, so adding the phone to the mix makes little sense.

However, if you insist on recording a FaceTime call on your iPhone using your Mac, here's how.

  1. Connect your iPhone or iPad to your Mac with a Lightning cable.
  2. Open QuickTime on your Mac from your dock or Applications folder.
  3. Click File in the Menu bar.

Record an iPhone FaceTime call on Mac, showing how to open QuickTime, then click File (Image credit: iMore)
  1. Click New Movie Recording.
  2. Click the arrow next to the record button in the QuickTime window.

Record an iPhone FaceTime call on Mac, showing how to click New Movie Recording, then click the arrow next to the record button

Record an iPhone FaceTime call on Mac, showing how to click New Movie Recording, then click the arrow next to the record button (Image credit: iMore)
  1. Choose your iPhone from the list of available cameras.
  2. Unlock your iPhone. Its display should now appear in QuickTime on your Mac (my iPhone is called Duncan).

Record an iPhone FaceTime call on Mac, showing how to select iPhone from the camera menu, then unlock your iPhone (Image credit: iMore)
  1. In QuickTime for Mac, make sure the volume bar is turned up. Otherwise, you won't be able to hear your call.
  2. Open FaceTime on your iPhone.

Record an iPhone FaceTime call on Mac, showing how to adjust the volume bar, then open FaceTime on your iPhone (Image credit: iMore)
  1. Click the Record button in QuickTime on your Mac.
  2. Place your FaceTime call on your iPhone.

Record an iPhone FaceTime call on Mac, showing how to click Record button, then place a FaceTime call on your iPhone (Image credit: iMore)
  1. Click the Stop button in QuickTime to stop recording when you've finished your call.
  2. Click File in the Menu bar.

Record an iPhone FaceTime call on Mac, showing how to click the Stop button in QuickTime, then click File (Image credit: iMore)
  1. Click Save.
  2. Give your recording a name.

Record an iPhone FaceTime call on Mac, showing how to click Save, then enter a name for your recording (Image credit: iMore)
  1. Choose where you want to save your recording.
  2. Click Save.

Record an iPhone FaceTime call on Mac, showing how to choose where your recording is saved, then click Save (Image credit: iMore)

Record those calls

There are plenty of perfectly legitimate reasons to record your FaceTime calls, whether you're conducting an interview or joining a special occasion remotely. You'll need a best Mac in order to do so, but it's fairly straightforward once you know what you're doing.

Update April 2022: Updated for iOS 15 and macOS Monterey.

Joseph Keller
Joseph Keller

Joseph Keller is the former Editor in Chief of iMore. An Apple user for almost 20 years, he spends his time learning the ins and outs of iOS and macOS, always finding ways of getting the most out of his iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and Mac.