Guides / Recording calls and meetings

How to record a FaceTime call on a Mac

Tested on macOS 26.4.1 (Tahoe), Apple M3 Max, 3 Sept 2026. Updated 2026-09-03.

You can record a FaceTime audio call on a Mac with FaceTime's own Call Recording button, but only when you are talking to one other person. The recording and its transcript are saved in the Notes app. FaceTime video calls and group calls have no record button. For those you use the Screenshot toolbar (Shift-Command-5) for video, or a system audio recorder such as AirCheck for a 24-bit audio file of the other side.

Can you record a FaceTime call on a Mac?

Yes, for audio calls. Apple's FaceTime guide for Mac says: "You can record a FaceTime audio call when you're talking to one other person." The steps are short:

1. During a FaceTime audio call, click the More button in the call window.
2. Click Call Recording.
3. Both participants hear a notice that the call is being recorded.
4. Click More again to stop, or hang up.
5. Open the Notes app and look in the Call Recordings folder for the audio and the transcript.

That covers one situation only: a one-to-one FaceTime audio call. Apple's page does not offer Call Recording for FaceTime video calls or for group calls, and it points to the macOS Feature Availability page because the feature depends on language and region. If the More menu shows no Call Recording entry, you are in a video call, a group call, or an unsupported region. Everything below is for those cases.

How do you screen record FaceTime with sound on a Mac?

Press Shift-Command-5, choose Record Selected Portion, drag the frame over the FaceTime window, then open Options. Apple lists three option groups on this panel: Save to, Timer and Microphone. There is no system audio option in that list, and the result is a .mov file. That detail decides what you get:

• Your own voice is captured through the selected microphone.
• The other person's voice reaches the file only because it comes out of your Mac speakers and back into the microphone. With headphones on, their side is missing entirely.

So the Screenshot toolbar gives you a video with your voice and a roomy, quieter copy of theirs. That is fine for a keepsake and useless for a transcript. If you need the far side clean, see how to screen record with internal audio on a Mac, and if a recording came out silent, why a Mac screen recording has no sound explains the permission and microphone traps.

How do you record just the audio of a FaceTime video call?

Use a system audio recorder. On macOS 14 and newer, ScreenCaptureKit lets an app capture what the Mac plays, which includes the other person's FaceTime voice, without a virtual driver. In AirCheck the sequence is:

1. Choose System Audio as the source.
2. Approve the one-time Screen & System Audio Recording permission in System Settings > Privacy & Security.
3. Press Record before the call connects, and Stop when it ends.

The take is captured as 24-bit AIFF at 48 kHz and exported once as WAV or 320 kbps MP3 into ~/Music/AirCheck. A 30-minute call is about 72 MB as MP3 or 495 MB as 24-bit WAV (2.4 and 16.5 MB per minute, measured from 45 real recordings). What you do not get is your own voice: system audio never includes the microphone. Record a second take with the mic source, or use one of the setups in how to record both sides of a call on a Mac.

Why is my FaceTime recording silent or missing the other person?

Four failure modes cover almost every report:

• Headphones or AirPods during a screen recording. Nothing plays through the speakers, so the microphone hears only you. Fix: use a system audio source instead of the microphone.
• Screen Recording permission denied. ScreenCaptureKit apps cannot start a capture without it. Fix: System Settings > Privacy & Security > Screen & System Audio Recording, enable the app, relaunch it.
• Call Recording is missing from the More menu. You are in a video or group call, or the feature is not available in your region. Fix: switch to a one-to-one audio call, or use system audio capture.
• Long calls with a stalled stream. AirCheck checks every 2 seconds and, if no audio buffer arrives for 5 seconds, restarts capture into the same file and shows "Audio input stalled, reconnecting". You lose the gap, not the take.

Do you have to tell the other person you are recording?

Apple's built-in recorder plays an audible notice to both parties; that is part of the design. A screen recording or a system audio capture plays no notice, so the other person only knows if you say so. Whether consent is legally required depends on where each of you is. Germany's criminal code, for example, penalises recording another person's non-public spoken word without authorisation, while US federal law allows a party to the call to record. The details, with the primary sources, are in is it legal to record a call on a Mac. The practical rule is the same in every country and for every tool: say you are recording before you press the button, keep the file private, and do not record anyone who says no.

You can record a FaceTime audio call when you're talking to one other person, then view the transcript of the call in the Notes app.

Apple, FaceTime User Guide for Mac

FaceTime recording options on a Mac (Sept 2026)

Speaker bleed means the far side is only picked up by your microphone through the speakers; it disappears with headphones.

Where AirCheck fits

AirCheck fits the case Apple does not cover: a FaceTime video or group call where you want a clean audio file of what the other people said, not a .mov. It captures the Mac's system audio through ScreenCaptureKit, with no virtual driver, on macOS 14 or newer, saves 24-bit AIFF and exports WAV or MP3 into ~/Music/AirCheck. It costs $39 once, with a 14-day refund. Long calls are safe: the longest real take in the author's library is 2 h 5 min without a length limit.

When you do not need it: For a one-to-one FaceTime audio call you do not need it: Apple's Call Recording captures both sides and transcribes for free. And if you need your own voice in the same file, use Apple's recorder or Audio Hijack ($69), because system audio never includes your mic.

Questions people ask

Can you screen record FaceTime with audio on a Mac?

Yes, with Shift-Command-5 and a microphone chosen under Options, but the file contains your microphone only. The other person is heard only through your speakers. Apple's Screenshot options list Save to, Timer and Microphone, with no system audio entry.

Does FaceTime notify the other person when you record?

Only with Apple's own Call Recording, which plays a notice to both participants at the start. Screen recordings and system audio captures play nothing at all, so you have to tell the other person yourself before you start.

Where does a FaceTime call recording go on a Mac?

Apple's Call Recording saves into the Notes app, in a folder named Call Recordings, together with a transcript. Screenshot toolbar recordings go to the folder you picked under Save to. AirCheck takes go to ~/Music/AirCheck.

Can you record a FaceTime video call with audio on a Mac?

Not with a built-in button. Combine the Screenshot toolbar for the video with a system audio recorder for the far side, or use OBS, which captures desktop audio on macOS 13 and newer into a video container.

Sources

• Apple: Use FaceTime audio call features on Mac
• Apple: Take a screenshot or screen recording on Mac
• Apple: How to record and transcribe a call on iPhone (also covers the Phone app on macOS Tahoe)

Related guides

• How to record both sides of a call on a Mac
• How to record a phone call on a Mac
• Is it legal to record a call on a Mac?
• How to screen record with internal audio on a Mac
• How to record a Google Meet on a Mac without being the host
• How to record a Teams meeting on a Mac
• Recording calls and meetings: all guides
• Every guide, by topic