Skype users may soon be able to share their iPhone’s screen during video calls.
The Microsoft-owned app is currently trialing this feature with beta testers on the latest Skype Insider build, which comes with an option to share the device’s screen during a video call.
If you’re in the beta program, you can try this out for yourself by tapping a three-dotted menu, then select a new Share Screen option from the popup menu.
I couldn’t get this to work, but the press image seen top of post indicates that this capability takes advantage of iOS’s built-in screen sharing feature available through Control Center.
Anything displayed on your phone’s screen can be shared with people on the call, whether you’d like to show your coworkers a PowerPoint presentation, maybe do some online shopping with your bestie or “share your swipes on dating apps,” as Microsoft puts it.
It seems that iOS users will first tap the Share Screen button in the Skype app, which will bring up iOS’s Screen Recording menu. This will bring up iOS’s Screen Recording menu. From there, you’ll select Skype as a video broadcast destination, then tap the option Start Broadcast.
Doing so will take you back to the Skype app, with anything displayed on your device’s screen automatically captured in a live broadcast stream. It’s like making an iPhone screen recording that streams the video to Skype in real time rather than save it to the Photos library.
According to Microsoft, this is coming to both iOS and Android versions of Skype. To help the firm test upcoming Skype features, be sure to sign up for beta access at skype.com/en/insider.