Screen sharing
What is screen sharing?
Screen sharing sends a live picture of a screen, a single window or a browser tab to the other people in a call, so everyone looks at the same thing while you talk. The browser or the phone's system asks what you want to share, captures it as video and sends it through the call like a second camera.
How does screen sharing work?
The meeting app cannot capture your screen on its own. It asks the browser or the operating system, which shows its own picker: an entire screen, one application window or a single browser tab. Only after you confirm does the system start handing over a live picture of that source.
That picture becomes a separate video stream in the call, next to your camera. It is encoded differently from a face on camera: sharp text and fine lines matter more than smooth motion, so screen shares usually keep a high resolution and accept a lower frame rate. Viewers see it large, with participants' videos at the side. Drawing tools, where a service has them, are a separate layer on top of the picture, synchronised to everyone in the call.
Why does screen sharing matter in a call?
Explaining a document, a dashboard or a bug is far quicker when everyone looks at the same thing. A shared screen also lets someone guide you through a task on your own computer, as in a support call or a lesson.
The risk is showing too much. What you pick is what people see, including notifications, other tabs and private files. Sharing a single window or tab is the safest default. Fast-moving content, such as a video playing on the shared screen, needs more bandwidth and may stutter for viewers on weak connections.
How does screen sharing work in Meeto?
On a computer, select “Share screen” in the call toolbar and pick a tab, a window or the entire screen in the browser's picker. While you share, anyone in the call can draw on it with the pen, arrow, rectangle, ellipse and text tools, and viewers can zoom in on details. Select “Stop sharing” when you are done.
| Where you share from | What happens |
|---|---|
| Computer browser, Free plan | Share a tab, window or screen, up to 1080p. |
| Computer browser, Pro or Team | Up to 4K on capable desktop computers; not in Safari. |
| Phone browser | Not available: phone browsers do not offer screen capture. Viewing and drawing work. |
| iPhone app | Tap ⋯, then Share, and start the broadcast in the system sheet. The whole phone screen is shared, without sound. |
| Android app | Tap ⋯, then Share, and confirm Android's screen-capture prompt. The picture is shared without sound. |
The computer guide and the phone guide walk through each path, and the SFU entry explains how a shared screen reaches every viewer.
Frequently asked questions
Will people see my notifications while I share?
If you share the entire screen, yes: anything that appears on it is shared. Share a single window or tab where you can. When you share from the iPhone app the whole phone screen is shared, so turn on Do Not Disturb before you start.
Why does my shared screen look blurry to others?
Usually because of the viewer's connection, the resolution limit of the plan, or very small text. Enlarge the text, share one window instead of a large display, and ask whether the picture sharpens after a moment; on a weak connection Meeto shows "Weak connection — the picture will update".
Can other participants draw on my shared screen?
Yes. In Meeto anyone in the call can draw on a shared screen with the pen, arrow, shapes and text. The marks are a live layer over the picture, not changes to your file; the presenter can clear all of them, and others can clear their own.
Put it to work
Open your Meeto account to set it up, or explore the working product first.