Fix · Google Chrome

Can’t share your screen from Chrome on a Mac

On a Mac, Chrome can only share your screen once macOS has given it permission to record the screen — and the sound comes along only when you share the right thing.

What you are seeing

You click share or present in a call in Chrome on a Mac and get a black window, a warning from macOS, nothing at all — or people can see your video but cannot hear it.

The likely causes, most common first

Work down the list; most people find theirs in the first two.

1. macOS has not let Chrome record the screen

  1. Open System Settings → Privacy & Security → Screen & System Audio Recording, and switch Google Chrome on.
  2. macOS usually asks you to quit and reopen Chrome. Do, then share again.

Apple: “You can decide which apps and websites are allowed to record your screen and audio.” — support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/control-access-screen-system-audio-recording-mchld6aa7d23/mac

2. Chrome is not in the list

  1. If Google Chrome is not listed, use the plus button below the list and pick it from your Applications folder.

Apple: “To add an app to a list, click below the list, then navigate to the app you want to add.” — support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/control-access-screen-system-audio-recording-mchld6aa7d23/mac

3. A warning appears the first time

  1. Newer versions of macOS show a caution when a browser first asks to share or record the screen. Choose to allow it; it does not mean anything is wrong.

Google: “You’ll receive a cautionary prompt when you first attempt to record a meeting or share your screen.” — support.google.com/meet/answer/9308856

4. They can see it but cannot hear it

  1. To share a video with its sound, share the Chrome tab it is playing in. Sharing a whole screen or a window carries sound only if you tick the audio option before you start.

Google: “If you present a Chrome tab, it shares that tab's audio by default.” — support.google.com/meet/answer/9308856

5. Only the sound is allowed

  1. macOS can allow an app to record audio but not the screen. If Chrome shares a black rectangle, check it has the screen as well as the sound.

Apple: “You can allow apps to record both your screen and audio, or just your audio.” — support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/control-access-screen-system-audio-recording-mchld6aa7d23/mac

Every quote above is from Apple’s and Google’s own help pages, read on 10 November 2026. Something changed? Tell us.

Other Google Chrome problems

Microphone not workingWhen a call in Chrome cannot hear you, three things each get a say — the site, Chrome and the computer — and Google’s own checklist starts with simply being muted.Camera not workingWhen your video stays black in a Chrome call, the camera is usually blocked for the site, blocked for Chrome by the computer, held by another app, or simply the wrong camera.Transcript missingA Google Meet transcript is saved to the organiser’s Drive, only starts from a computer or an Android phone, and waits for the host to join on the web.Recording missingGoogle Meet saves recordings to the organiser’s Drive, only records from a computer or an Android phone, and stops by itself after eight hours.Notes or summary missingGoogle’s automatic notes need an eligible plan, a meeting of about fifteen minutes or more in one supported language, and somebody from the host’s organisation to start them.Breakout rooms missingBreakout rooms in Google Meet need an eligible Workspace edition and a host on a computer, and Google never records what happens in them.

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