How to Share Your Screen on a WhatsApp Video Call (Step-by-Step for Seniors)

Yes — you can share your screen on a WhatsApp video call, and it is easier than it sounds. Imagine this: your daughter is on a video call with you, and instead of trying to describe a confusing message on your phone, you simply show it to her. She sees exactly what you see — your photos, your settings, that strange pop-up — and talks you through it while you watch together. That is screen sharing. It takes about a minute to learn, costs nothing, and you stay in control the entire time. Below, we walk through it slowly, one tap at a time, for both Android phones and iPhones.

What Screen Sharing Is, in Plain Words

The phrase "share your screen" sounds technical, but the idea is simple. On a normal video call, the other person sees your face through your camera. When you share your screen, they see your phone's screen instead — whatever is open on your phone appears on their phone, live, as you move around. You keep talking the whole time, just like a normal call.

Think of it as holding your phone up to someone sitting next to you, except they can be anywhere in the world. You tap around, they watch and guide you. Or they watch while you show them something fun.

Here is when seniors find it genuinely useful:

Showing photos without sending them. Open your photo album and flip through the pictures from the family picnic. Everyone on the call sees them with you — no attaching, no sending, no "did you get it?"

Getting help with something confusing. A strange message appears, a setting looks wrong, an app asks a question you do not understand. Share your screen, and your son or daughter can see the exact words and tell you what to tap — or what not to tap.

Learning together. A grandchild can watch you practice a new skill — sending a photo, setting an alarm — and gently correct you in the moment, the way they would if they were sitting beside you.

Showing, not describing. "The button with the little wheel" is hard to describe over the phone. With screen sharing, you never have to describe anything — you just point at it on your screen.

One reassuring fact up front: screen sharing is view-only. The other person can see your screen, but they cannot press anything, type anything, or take over your phone. You are always the one driving. And stopping it takes one tap.

Before You Start

Three quick checks, and you are ready:

1. Be on a WhatsApp video call. Screen sharing lives inside a video call — it is not a separate app or a separate button you press first. Start a video call with your family member the usual way, then share your screen from there. If you have never made a WhatsApp video call at all, read our guide on how to video call your grandchildren on WhatsApp first — that skill comes first, and this guide builds right on top of it.

2. Update WhatsApp. Screen sharing is a newer feature, so an old WhatsApp may not show the Share button at all. Open your phone's app store — App Store on iPhone, Play Store on Android — search for WhatsApp, and tap Update if the button is there. If it says Open instead, you are already up to date. Ask a family member to do this for you once if the app store feels unfamiliar; it takes thirty seconds.

3. Know where the call buttons hide. During a video call, the control buttons fade away after a few seconds so you get a bigger picture. They are not gone — tap the screen once and they come right back. You will do this little tap a few times in the steps below, and it will feel natural quickly.

A note about wording: WhatsApp changes the exact pictures and words on its buttons from time to time, and Samsung phones may show slightly different words than Pixel phones. If a button on your phone says "Share Screen" where this guide says "Screen," it is the same button — trust the idea, not the exact spelling.

Share Your Screen on WhatsApp: Android

These steps work on Samsung, Google Pixel, Motorola, and other Android phones. Be on the video call first, then:

1. Tap the screen once to bring up the call buttons along the bottom. They may have faded away — one tap brings them back.
2. Look along the bottom row for the Share icon. It usually looks like a small phone screen with an arrow pointing outward, or an arrow coming out of a box. If you are not sure which one it is, tap each icon slowly — nothing bad happens from tapping.
3. Tap the Share icon. A small menu pops up with choices like "Screen" or "Share Screen."
4. Tap "Screen" (or "Share Screen" — same thing). Your phone will show a message asking permission, something like "Start recording or casting with WhatsApp?" This is just your phone's way of asking, "May WhatsApp show your screen to the call?"
5. Tap "Start now" or "Start." A small notice appears — "You are sharing your screen" or a little casting icon at the top of your phone. That is your confirmation: the other person can now see your screen.
6. Go show what you wanted to show. Swipe up or tap the home button to leave the call screen — do not worry, the call keeps running in the background. Open your Photos, your messages, your Settings, whatever you wanted them to see. Everything you open appears on their screen, live, while you keep talking to each other.
7. Talk through it together. Point at things with your finger on your own screen — they will see your finger moving, just as if they were looking over your shoulder.

That is all there is to it: Share, Screen, Start now. The first time takes a minute because everything is new; the second time you will do it without thinking. Notice that your voice call never stops — you and your family member keep talking normally the whole time your screen is shared.

Share Your Screen on WhatsApp: iPhone

On an iPhone, screen sharing works through a system feature Apple calls "broadcast." It sounds grand; it is just two extra taps:

1. Be on the WhatsApp video call first, the same as Android.
2. Tap the screen once so the call buttons appear along the bottom.
3. Tap the Share icon at the bottom of the call screen — on iPhone it usually looks like a person with a small screen beside them, or an arrow pointing out of a rectangle.
4. A menu appears. Tap "Share Screen."
5. Your iPhone shows a broadcast confirmation screen that says WhatsApp wants to broadcast your screen. Tap "Start Broadcast."
6. Wait about three seconds — iPhone counts down briefly, then your screen is live. A red bar or red dot appears at the top of your iPhone while you are sharing. That red indicator is your friend: as long as you see it, you know sharing is on.
7. Now open what you want to show — swipe up from the bottom (or press the home button on older iPhones) to leave the call screen, then open Photos, Messages, or Settings. The other person watches along while you both keep talking.

On iPhone, remember the red signal: red bar at the top means your screen is being shared; no red bar means it is private again. That one rule will keep you confident forever.

How to Stop Sharing Your Screen

Stopping is even simpler than starting, and you should do it the moment you are done — do not leave sharing on while you wander into other apps:

On Android: tap the screen once to show the call buttons, tap the Share icon again, and tap "Stop sharing." The notice disappears, and the call returns to showing your face.

On iPhone: tap the red bar at the top of your screen, then tap "Stop" on the message that appears. Or return to the WhatsApp call, tap the screen, tap the Share icon, and tap "Stop Share." The red bar vanishes — that is your proof it stopped.

Make it a habit: share, show, stop. Three words, in that order, every time. The video call itself keeps going after you stop sharing, so you can say your goodbyes normally and hang up with the red button as usual.

What the Other Person Sees (and Does Not See)

It helps to know exactly what is on the other end. When you share your screen, your family member sees your phone screen, live — every app you open, every photo you flip to, every message on the screen. They hear your voice at the same time, because the call never stops.

Here is what they cannot do, and this is important for your peace of mind:

They cannot touch anything. Tapping their screen does nothing to your phone. No one can press buttons for you, open apps for you, or type on your behalf. If someone needs you to tap something, they have to ask you — and you decide.

They cannot see anything you do not show them. Only what is on your phone's screen is shared. They cannot see your face anymore (the camera view pauses), and they cannot see anything outside your phone.

You can stop it instantly. One tap ends the sharing. There is no delay, no "are you sure" — it just stops.

So you are never giving anyone the keys to your phone. You are simply letting a trusted person look over your shoulder for a little while.

Stay Safe: Screen-Sharing Privacy Rules

Screen sharing is perfectly safe with family — and it has firm rules for everyone else. Please read this part carefully, because your screen can show more than you realize:

Only share with people you know and trust. Family, close friends — that is the whole list. If a stranger calls you on video, or someone you were not expecting asks you to share your screen, say no and hang up. No real company and no real bank will ever ask you to share your screen on a personal video call.

Never open banking apps while sharing. Before you tap Share, close your banking app, your email, and anything else that shows account numbers, balances, or personal details. A good rule: if you would not read it aloud to a room full of people, do not open it while sharing your screen.

Never show passwords or login codes. If a text message with a login code arrives while you are sharing, do not open it on screen. Those little codes are exactly what scammers want to see. Just let the message wait until after you stop sharing.

Watch out for pop-up notifications. While you share, incoming message previews can appear at the top of your screen — and the other person sees them too. Before an important share, turn on Do Not Disturb (swipe down from the top of your phone and tap the moon icon), or simply tell your family member, "Ignore any messages that pop up — those are private."

Close what you do not want seen. Take ten seconds before sharing: close extra apps and browser tabs. Sharing a tidy screen is like tidying the living room before guests arrive — it avoids surprises.

One more rule that covers nearly everything: if anyone pressures you to share your screen quickly, urgently, or secretly — that is a scam. Real family never rushes you. Hang up, and call your family back on their known number. Our guide on how to recognize a fake delivery text message and our guide on AI voice-cloning scams and the family safe word explain the tricks scammers use and how a simple family safe word stops them.

Fix Common Screen-Sharing Problems

Nearly every screen-sharing hiccup has a simple explanation. Find yours below:

If sharing refuses to work after two tries, close WhatsApp completely, reopen it, and start the call fresh. And if an older phone simply does not offer the feature, there is always the old-fashioned way: point your camera at the other phone's screen, or just describe what you see — our WhatsApp video call guide covers the basics that never go out of date.

Quick answers

The 30-second version: During a WhatsApp video call, tap the screen, tap the Share icon, tap Screen, then Start now (Android) or Start Broadcast (iPhone). Open what you want to show. Tap Share again and Stop sharing when done.

It is view-only and free. The other person can see your screen but cannot touch anything on your phone. It uses the same internet connection as the call — nothing extra, no surprise charges.

The golden rules: only share with family you trust, never open banking or passwords while sharing, and make share, show, stop your habit. Once this feels easy, explore Phone Technology for more plain-language guides — from making text bigger on Android to increasing text size on iPhone — or return to the SeniorPhoneGuide homepage or the how-to guides hub whenever you like.