How to Take a Screenshot or Record Your Screen on Android

You want to capture a still image of what’s on your Android screen, or record it as a video.

Why: Android has both built-in — a screenshot is a button combo (or a tap), and screen recording lives in Quick Settings. Most steps below need Android 11 or later.

Settings paths vary by maker (Samsung One UI vs Pixel). Wording below follows Google’s generic Android and Pixel docs.

Step 1: Take a screenshot with the button combo

This is the fastest way and works on almost every Android phone.

1. Open the screen you want to capture.
2. Press the Power and Volume down buttons at the same time, then let go.
3. A preview appears at the bottom-left — tap it to Share or Edit, or ignore it and it saves on its own.
4. If the combo doesn’t fire, press and hold the Power button for a few seconds, then tap Screenshot.

Screenshots land in the Photos app under Collections > On this device > Screenshots.

Step 2: Capture a long page with a scrolling screenshot

On Android 12 and later you can grab a whole page — a long chat or web article — not just what fits on screen.

1. Take a screenshot as in Step 1.
2. On the preview, tap Capture more.
3. Drag the crop guidelines to choose how far down the page to include, then save.

Note: this works only in apps that support it. If you don’t see Capture more, the app doesn’t allow it.

Step 3: Record your screen as a video

Use the Screen record tile in Quick Settings to save a video of anything on screen.

1. Swipe down twice from the top of the screen to open the full Quick Settings panel.
2. Tap Screen record (you may need to swipe right to find the tile, or tap the pencil/edit icon to add it).
3. Choose whether to record audio (mic, device sounds, or both) and whether to show touches, then tap Start. Recording begins after a short countdown.
4. To stop, swipe down from the top and tap the Screen recorder notification.

Recordings save in Photos under Collections > On this device > Movies.

Step 4: Screenshot without buttons (gesture navigation)

If you use gesture navigation, you can grab a screenshot from the Recent apps view.

1. From the bottom of the screen, swipe up and hold to open Recent apps.
2. Swipe to the app you want to capture.
3. Tap Screenshot below the app card.

FAQ

The button combo doesn’t take a screenshot. Press and hold Power alone for a few seconds, then tap Screenshot. On some Samsung phones you can also swipe the edge of your hand across the screen if Palm swipe is on.

Where do screenshots and recordings go? Open Photos > Collections > On this device — screenshots are in Screenshots, recordings in Movies.

Can I record a call or protected content? Some apps and DRM-protected video (certain streaming apps) block screen recording, so the result may be black or have no sound. That’s by the app’s design, not a phone fault.

Why is there no Screen record tile? It needs Android 11 or later. Swipe down twice, tap the edit (pencil) icon, and drag Screen record into the active tiles.

Sources: Android Help — Take a screenshot or record your screen on your Android device, Pixel Phone Help — Record your Pixel device’s screen