iOS 15.1: How to Share Your Screen on a FaceTime Call

[MacRumors]

In iOS 15.1, Apple has brought several enhancements to FaceTime, which means you can do more than just ‌FaceTime‌ call your friends and family.

Thanks to a new screen sharing feature called SharePlay, you can now share your screen with other people on a call, which is great for choosing a movie, browsing through a photo album, or anything else that's enhanced by group discussion.

Here's how the new screen sharing feature works:

1. Launch FaceTime on your iPhone or iPad.
2. Tap New FaceTime and add the contacts that you want to share your screen with, then tap the FaceTime button. Alternately, select a recent contact to initiate a video call.
   
   
   
   When the call has connected, tap the SharePlay button at the top-right corner of the screen in the new control panel.
   Tap Share My Screen in the dropdown. After a three-second countdown, screen sharing should initialize.
   
   

Once FaceTime screen sharing has started, you can navigate to any app that you want to share with the callers. A sharing icon will remain in the top-left corner of the screen to indicate that FaceTime screen sharing is active, and you can tap it to reveal the FaceTime control panel.

You can swipe away the active caller's face for more screen space, and swipe them back into view just as easily. If you're viewing someone else's shared screen, you'll see their name just below the top-left icon, alongside buttons to send them a message, Love what they're sharing, or share it with someone else.

If you like, you can also listen to music or watch movies and TV together using the SharePlay interface. You can stream movies or TV shows and everyone on the call will see the same synced playback and controls. For more on what's new with FaceTime in iOS 15, we have a dedicated guide that highlights all of the available features.

Article Link: iOS 15.1: How to Share Your Screen on a FaceTime Call

 

[b11051973]

I look forward to this. Will be very helpful since I'm tech support for family members that are hundreds of miles away.

 

[profets]

This is going to be such a useful feature.

 

[TheYayAreaLiving 🎗️]

It looks pretty neat. This one is definitely going to be very useful.

 

[Rafagon]

So if I'm sharing, for example, my Netflix app, can they tap on a movie to watch, or do they have to ask me to tap for them?

In other words, are they able to just view my screen, or can they interact with it themselves?

 

[bushman4]

So if I'm sharing, for example, my Netflix app, can they tap on a movie to watch, or do they have to ask me to tap for them?

In other words, are they able to just view my screen, or can they interact with it themselves?

They can view your screen only not interact

 

[Christian 5G]

This is nice as I have some older friends that constantly need help with doing some things on the iPhone

 

[Octavius8]

Anyone uses FaceTime over whstaspp video???

 

[performa_6400]

Love that they've finally added this feature.

 

[performa_6400]

Anyone uses FaceTime over whstaspp video???

Primarily FaceTime. It's dead simple, and I don't need to push relatives to download another app. I only use whatsapp to chat with friends that live out of the country.

 

[TimFL1]

So if I'm sharing, for example, my Netflix app, can they tap on a movie to watch, or do they have to ask me to tap for them?

In other words, are they able to just view my screen, or can they interact with it themselves?

It will obviously block out copyrighted content like TV+, Netflix or amazon content. There are APIs that allow apps to detect stuff like screen captures and screenshots which will most likely automatically include the SharePlay screen sharing functionality.

You can‘t leech content that way, you‘ll have to wait for Netflix to add support for video SharePlay (Netflix has not talked about supporting this yet) and then all of your SharePlay participants need an active sub and access to the content you share.

 

[motm95]

Anyone uses FaceTime over whstaspp video???

I know Whatapp is popular in many countries, and maybe rightly so, but in my experience, very few people use Whatsapp in the US unless they have friends or family in another country. All my family and friends in the US use FaceTime and have never heard of Whatsapp.

 

[farewelwilliams]

cutting mom-tech-support from 4 hours to 10 minutes.

 

[_Spinn_]

This will be very useful when having to help family members.

 

[RickDEGH]

Anyone uses FaceTime over whstaspp video???

I do. My wife currently lives in another country and I prefer FaceTime video with my family to WhatsApp. The WhatsApp video is always poor and choppy. One thing I’d like FaceTime to have is the ability to know whether the call has gone through and it’s ringing, if the person is available, or it’s just not connecting at all. At the moment it’s the same sound for all. You never know until the person picks up.

 

[contacos]

So if I'm sharing, for example, my Netflix app, can they tap on a movie to watch, or do they have to ask me to tap for them?

In other words, are they able to just view my screen, or can they interact with it themselves?

i doubt that will work. It will probably just be a black screen. Have you tried taking screen shots of the Netflix app?

 

[svish]

This is one of the great new features of iOS 15 👍

 

[Awsaim]

Does screen sharing work on FaceTime audio?

 

[alexandr]

I know Whatapp is popular in many countries, and maybe rightly so, but in my experience, very few people use Whatsapp in the US unless they have friends or family in another country. All my family and friends in the US use FaceTime and have never heard of Whatsapp.

i think you may be forgetting android users in the u.s. — they don't use facetime either. unless of course, you renounce their citizenship for that

 

[lk400]

So in summary, you press the share button.

Next up in this series, how to end a FaceTime call.

 

[hotstreaks]

if possible, apple could do something similar in a future software update to bring imessage to android

 

[smoking monkey]

i think you may be forgetting android users in the u.s. — they don't use facetime either. unless of course, you renounce their citizenship for that

I'd recommend anybody using Whatsapp to really, really think about changing to Signal or even using Jitsi for video calls.

I find Facetime group audio calls to be a massive PITA to get going. Sometimes it's fine and other times it takes ages. 2 person call is perfect, but add a third or more and something happens.

Signal is super easy to create groups for chat and calling. Dunno how robust it is though to be honest.

 

[alexandr]

I'd recommend anybody using Whatsapp to really, really think about changing to Signal or even using Jitsi for video calls.

I find Facetime group audio calls to be a massive PITA to get going. Sometimes it's fine and other times it takes ages. 2 person call is perfect, but add a third or more and something happens.

Signal is super easy to create groups for chat and calling. Dunno how robust it is though to be honest.

honestly, never use either for group calls. only need that for work and we use teams and zoom. thanks for the advice though — i'll check them out!

 

[Tec_Amigo]

I look forward to this. Will be very helpful since I'm tech support for family members that are hundreds of miles away.

Same here!

 

[RickDEGH]

Why this article, if the feature is not available in the update we just received. It’s like AirPower at the moment...could vanish into thin air.