At a time where work from home has taken center stage, screen sharing has become a must-have feature in every video conferencing app. Considering how essential this feature is for collaboration and presentation, most video-conferencing services like Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Google Meet have supported it for the longest time. Better later than never, Apple’s FaceTime video calling service has also joined the party with seamless SharePlay (enabling you to watch movies, TV shows, and listen to music together with friends) and screen sharing features. That means you can now share your screen using FaceTime on Mac for improved collaboration. With that said, let me show you how screen sharing works in FaceTime on macOS Monterey.
Before getting started, make sure to check the requirements to keep hardware or software incompatibility at bay while using this nifty new FaceTime feature.
- How Does Screen Sharing Work in FaceTime on Mac & What Are the Requirements?Can You Use FaceTime Share Screen with Android or Windows Users?Enable and Use Screen Sharing in FaceTime on macOS MontereyHow to Change Shared Window in FaceTime on MacHow to Stop Sharing Window or Screen in FaceTime on Mac
How Does Screen Sharing Work in FaceTime on Mac & What Are the Requirements?
Screen sharing in FaceTime on macOS Monterey works almost the same way as it does on iOS 15 and iPadOS 15. Once you have initiated a FaceTime call, you need to click the screen-sharing icon to start broadcasting your screen to others in the call.
Sadly, there is no way to share your screen with Android or Windows users in a FaceTime call. Call it Apple’s age-old ploy to keep notable features exclusive to Apple Device users or a strategy to entice non-Apple device users to switch over. Even though you can now use Apple FaceTime on Android and Windows devices, you have to live with this harsh reality – for better or worse.
The Facetime functionality is rather limited on Android and Windows devices. To be more precise, non-Apple device users are merely allowed to join a FaceTime call (audio/ video) via a link. Forget about generating a FaceTime call link. They can’t even take part in any screen-sharing or SharePlay-enabled calls. What if that non-Apple device owner happens to be a loved one or close friend? Wouldn’t they feel left out of your movie night or the exciting virtual watch party powered by SharePlay? Sure they would.
To get started, launch the FaceTime app on your Mac.
Now, click on “New FaceTime” and add the contact you wish to share your screen with. After that, hit the “FaceTime” button to initiate a video call. Alternately, you can also select a recent contact to start a call.
Once the call has connected, click the “SharePlay” icon in the FaceTime controls overlay. The SharePlay icon sits between the video and end call buttons.
Now, you will get two options in the FaceTime menu bar drop-down menu.
Under the “Choose Window or Screen to Share” option in the drop-down menu, select the desired option as per your need, and you are all set. If you choose the Window option, you will need to select a specific window from the apps open in the background.
Do note that you may be prompted to click “Share This Window/ Share This Screen” options for confirmation to start broadcasting your screen, as shown in the screenshot above.
Notably, FaceTime also lets you change the shared window with ease. Simply hover the pointer over the thumbnail of the currently shared window in the FaceTime menu bar menu. Then, click on “Change Shared Window” under the “Currently Shared Window” section. After that, click the window you want to share.
How to Stop Sharing Window or Screen in FaceTime on Mac
It’s pretty simple to stop sharing your screen in FaceTime on macOS Monterey. To get it done, you simply need to click the “Stop Sharing Window/ Screen” button in the drop-down FaceTime menu bar.
