What File Format Does iPhone Screen Recording Use?

Before you start

The iPhone screen recording feature saves video locally in the Photos app. You do not need an online service, but the Screen Recording control must already be available in Control Center. To check, open the Settings app, tap Control Center, and look for Screen Recording under Included Controls. If it is not there, add it before you begin.

Step-by-step instructions

The exact controls can vary slightly between iOS versions, but the main flow is consistent. Record a short clip first if you only need to confirm the output type.

• Open Control Center: on an iPhone with Face ID, swipe down from the top-right corner; on an iPhone with a Home button, swipe up from the bottom edge.
• Tap the Screen Recording button. If you want microphone audio, touch and hold the button, then turn on Microphone before starting.
• Wait for the three-second countdown, then perform the actions you want to capture.
• Open Control Center again and tap the red Screen Recording button, or tap the red status indicator at the top of the screen, to stop.
• Open the Photos app and find the new video under Recents or in the Screen Recordings album if one is visible.

Check the output

iPhone screen recordings are saved as QuickTime movies with the MOV container. The file normally appears with a .mov extension when shared or opened on a computer. Inside Photos, you can verify a clip by opening it, tapping the Share button, and using Save to Files or another destination to see the filename and file type.

The recording uses H.264 video compression, with AAC audio when microphone sound is included. If the screen content is paused or complex, the actual file size may vary. The Photos app does not directly show the codec details, so a computer or a compatible media app is more useful for checking that information.

Common problems and next steps

If the recording cannot be opened by another device or app, the issue is often compatibility with the MOV container, not the recording itself. Convert or export the video in a more widely supported format such as MP4 using the editing tools available on the device or a computer. When only part of the screen was captured, check that orientation lock was off and that the device remained in the intended rotation during recording.

If there is no Screen Recordings album, search Photos for recent videos or use the Recents view. A missing Screen Recording button means the control was not enabled in Control Center. For long recordings, confirm that the iPhone has enough available storage before starting, because an interrupted capture may not be saved.