Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

Product

Getting Started

Features

Accounts

Audio

Video

Viewer Mouse/Control Sharing

Viewer Registration

Chrome Extension

Screenleap for iOS

Screenleap for Mac

Security

Performance

Troubleshooting

Product

What is Screenleap?

Screenleap is a screen sharing tool that allows you to quickly share your screen in seconds. Your friends and colleagues can view your screen from any device with a web browser without having to install any software. Screenleap is the easiest way to share your screen with anyone.

What software do I need to install in order to share my screen?

If you are using a desktop browser, you can now share your screen without needing to install any additional software. Try out installation-free sharing now. If you are on an iOS device, you will need to install the Screenleap for iOS app in order to share your screen. If you are on an Android device, you will need to install the Screenleap for Android app in order to share your screen.

What software do I need to install in order to view someone else's screen?

Almost any modern web browser will work. The more recent your web browser is, the better the performance. To get the best performance on the desktop, we recommend using Chrome or Firefox. We formally support the following browser versions:

Browser Supported Versions Recommended Version
Chrome All Latest
Firefox 3.6 and later Latest
Microsoft Edge All Latest
Safari (Mac and iOS only) 5.1 and later 6.0 and later

Can I view from my tablet and smartphone? Can I share from my tablet or smartphone?

We support viewing from any device with a web browser (including tablets and smartphones). We also support sharing from iPhones/iPads by installing our iOS app from the Apple App Store and Android devices by installing our Android app from the Google Play Store.

What technologies are used to create Screenleap?

Screenleap is built using the latest browser-based technologies. Neither your nor your viewers need to install any software on most devices in order to collaborate with each other. For some advanced features (such as sharing control of your computer with another participant), you will need to install one of an add-on app.

Can I host Screenleap on my own servers?

No, we do not support self-hosting of Screenleap on your own servers.

Getting Started


What is a share code?

A unique share code is created each time you start sharing your screen. A user with the share code will be able to view your screen by either a) going to the Screenleap site and entering the share code or b) by clicking on a link containing the share code.

How do I share my screen?

  1. Go to https://www.screenleap.com.
  2. Click "Share your screen now!" button.
  3. Select what you want to share (a specific screen, window, or browser tab).
  4. As soon as your friends or colleagues click the Screenleap link or enter the share code on the Screenleap home page, they will see your computer screen in their web browser.

How do I join a meeting?

If someone sent you a meeting link, you can join the meeting by simply clicking on it. It will open a web page that allows you to see the shared screen. If you were given a 9-digit code, just go to https://www.screenleap.com, enter it into the share code box, and click the "Join meeting" link.
share code box

How do I end my meeting?

You can end your meeting by clicking the "End" button.

Features


How can I share only a particular application or portion of my screen?

If you are using our installation-free sharing feature, when you start your meeting, you will be given the option to share an entire screen, a specific application, or a specific browser tab.

If you are sharing an entire screen and you are on a Mac or Windows computer, you will also be able to restrict sharing to a portion of the screen by clicking the "Rectangle" button after starting your meeting. If you do not have the add-on installed, you will be prompted to download and install it. Your viewers will only see what's inside the rectangle. Resize the rectangle by dragging the left, bottom, or right side of the rectangle. Move the rectangle by dragging the top side.

If you are sharing using installation-free sharing and have multiple monitors, it is important that you:

  1. Start your meeting from the monitor that you want to enable rectangle mode on
  2. Select to share full screen for the monitor that contains the browser that you used to start the meeting

If you don't do so, rectangle mode will not work correctly and the wrong area of the screen will be shared.

Rectangle mode is available to presenters using a Mac or Windows computer and requires the installation of an add-on app. The feature is not supported if you start your meeting using the Safari browser due to limitations of the browser.

How do I switch the presenter?

If you start a meeting after signing in, you will have the ability to view one of your viewers' screens. Your viewer will see a "Become presenter" button at the top of their screen. When your viewer clicks the button, you will be prompted for permission for the viewer to become the presenter. If you click "Yes", you and all the other viewers in the meeting will be able to see his/her screen. You can disable the presenter swap option from your preferences.

How many people can I join my meetings?

The Free Account allows you to have up to 8 viewers in each meeting. You can have up to 30 viewers with a Basic Account and the Pro and Premium Accounts allows you to have up to 150 viewers. If you need more viewers than that in your meetings, you can sign up for a Max Account that allows you to have up to 10,000 viewers join a single meeting. Please contact us if you need to support more than 10,000 viewers in a single meeting.

What is a Screenleap handle? Why do I want one? How do I get it?

A Screenleap handle allows you to share your screen and then allow people to view it by simply going to your handle page (i.e., https://www.screenleap.com/johndoe). You will be able to claim your Screenleap handle when you sign up for an account.

Can I share to my personal handle, but still control who gets to see my screen?

With a Pro Account, you have two options for restricting access to your meeting:

  1. Before you start your meeting, you can optionally enter an access code of up to 10 characters. When a viewer goes to your personal handle page, they will be required to enter the access code before being allowed to view your screen.
  2. If the meeting is already in progress and you have not locked the broadcast with an access code, you will see a "Lock access" button in the room panel. Click this button to prevent any additional viewers from joining. To open it back up again, just click the "Lock access" button again.

Can I create a link that I can send to my meeting participants in advance?

Yes, if you sign up for a Screenleap account, you can schedule meetings in advance. When scheduling a meeting, you will be able to enter your participants' email addresses. They will automatically be sent an email invite to your meeting that includes a link that they can use to join your meeting.

You are allowed to schedule up to two meetings at a time with a Free Account. Please upgrade to a paid account if you need to be able to schedule more than two meetings in advance.

What are the benefits of creating a Screenleap account?

While we do not require that you create a account before you can start screen sharing, there are a lot of benefits to be gained from creating an account.

  • Users with accounts can claim a permanent handle, which enables them to use a permanent URL to invite viewers to their broadcasts.
  • Sharing without an account is limited to 20 minutes daily with up to one viewer. Create an account to share with more people. If you need more time, you can sign up for one of our paid plans.
  • When you do a private share from a Screenleap account, your viewers will see a "Become presenter" button which they can click to share their screen with you. This can be an easy way for you to invite someone else to share a screen with you.
  • You can schedule meetings in advance and send me

I want to integrate Screenleap into my website or online service. How can I do that?

Yes! Please see our website integration feature for more information.

Does Screenleap work with multiple monitors?

Yes, Screenleap works with computers with multiple monitors. We only support sharing one screen at a time. The monitor that is share depends on the sharing mode: in full screen mode, the screen that contains the Screenleap console will be shared. In rectangle mode, the portion of the screen inside the green rectangle will be shared.

Can I record my meetings?

Yes, recording is supported for users on our Premium and Max Accounts. You can record your meeting by clicking on the record icon after starting your meeting. If you would like to always record your meetings, check the "Always record meetings?" from your "Settings & Preferences".

Once your meeting ends, the recording will be converted into a MP4 video file that you can view and download from the "Recordings" page. Each recording is limited to three hours in duration. The Premium and Max Accounts come with 50GB of storage space for your recordings.

If you cancel your Premium or Max Plan subscription, your recordings will be immediately deleted so please download any recordings you want to keep before cancelling.

Accounts

How much does Screenleap cost?

You can share your screen using Screenleap for up to 20 minutes per day without signing in. If you create a Free Account and sign in, you can share your screen for up to 40 minutes per day. If you need more time or access to additional features, you can sign up for a Basic Account for up to eight hours of screen sharing per day, or sign up for Pro account for unlimited screen sharing.

Do you offer a discount for education or non-profits?

We offer a custom, discounted education solution that is designed specifically for teachers who want to share their screen with their students and recording it for later viewing. Please take a look at our Screenleap for Education solution to learn more.

We don't currently offer discounted prices for non-profits.

How many meetings can I run at the same time with a paid account?

You can only run meeting at a time with each paid account. If you try to start up a new meeting while another meeting is already in progress, the meeting that was previously running will be automatically stopped. If you need to support running multiple meetings at the same time, please sign up for a company account and add additional seats.

How can I get a copy of my subscription payment receipt?

You can view your previous payment receipts by going to the "Account" drop-down menu at the top-right hand corner of the page after logging in and selecting "Subscription". Click on the link titled "Payment History" and then click on the "view" link for the receipt you want to view.

Audio

Do you support audio conferencing?

Yes, audio conferencing is available on all paid plans. We currently support a few audio options:

  • Computer audio conferencing (using your computer's microphone and speakers)
  • One-way broadcast audio

You can configure which audio conferencing option you would like to use for your meetings from your "Settings & Preferences".

How much does audio conferencing cost?

Computer audio conferencing and broadcast audio is available for free on all plans.

What is computer audio conferencing?

Computer audio conferencing allows you to to speak with the people in your meetings using your computer's microphone and speakers.

When you start a meeting with computer audio conferencing enabled, you will be able to speak to other people in your meeting using your computer's microphone and speakers. Everyone will need to be on a computer with a microphone and speakers and using a modern browser (Chrome, Firefox, Edge, or Safari) in order to user computer audio conferencing. Computer audio conferencing also works for mobile viewers using any browser on Android and iOS devices.

The microphone and speakers default to the defaults for your computer. You can change the microphone and speakers used by moving your mouse over the Room panel.

To enable computer audio conferencing, go to your "Settings & Preferences" from the "Account" menu. Select "Yes, use computer audio conferencing" for the "Audio Preferences" setting and then save your change.

What are the current limitations of computer audio conferencing?

Computer audio conferencing is also limited to a maximum of ten participants.

What is broadcast audio?

Broadcast audio allows you to share audio captured from your computer's microphone with your viewers. The limitation, however, is that broadcast audio is one-way and you will not be able to hear your viewers. Like our screen sharing functionality, your viewers do not need to install any software in order to hear your broadcasted audio: all they need is a web browser.

You can broadcast your audio from all supported sharing devices, including Windows, Macs, Chromebooks, iOS, and Android devices. To enable broadcast audio, go to your "Settings & Preferences" and select the broadcast audio option in the "Audio preferences" section.

Please note that broadcast audio is one way and that you will not be able to hear your viewers.

I accidentally blocked Screenleap from accessing my microphone. How do I unblock it?

Please see the browser device permissions page for instructions on how to reset the permission to use your microphone.

Video


Do you support video conferencing?

We currently support video conferencing where your viewers can see you during your meetings if you are sharing using our installation-free screen sharing option. You can enable full-screen conferencing by clicking the "Video" icon after starting your meeting. You can enable screen sharing with embedded video conferencing (where your camera is embedded in your screen share) from your Settings & Preferences.

Viewer Mouse/Control Sharing (Collaborative Screen Sharing)


What is the viewer mouse feature? How does it work?

The viewer mouse feature allows you to give permission to one of your viewers to point things out on your screen. Once you have viewers viewing your meeting, you can give one of them permission to show his/her mouse cursor on your screen by clicking on the "Collaboration" button on your presenter page, selecting the viewer to show the viewer mouse for, selecting "Point out things on your screen using his/her cursor", and then clicking the "Enable" button. You will be able to see the viewer's mouse cursor on your screen so that your viewer will be able to point out things on your screen. Everyone will still be able to see your mouse cursor, so you can continue to point things out as well. You can stop seeing your viewer's mouse cursor by clicking on the "Collaboration" button again and clicking the "Disable" button.

The viewer mouse feature is available to presenters using a Mac or Windows computer and requires the installation of an add-on app. Viewer mouse is not supported when sharing from the Safari browser because of limitations of Safari. The viewer mouse feature also requires that you select to share your entire screen. You can restrict the shared region using rectangle mode.

What is control sharing? How does it work?

Control sharing is a feature that allows you to share control of your computer with one of your viewers for collaboration purposes. You and your viewer will each have your own mouse cursor to control. You will both be able to interact with your screen using your respective mouse and keyboard at the same time. Control sharing is available on all paid plans.

The control sharing feature is available to presenters using a Mac or Windows computer and requires the installation of an add-on app. Control sharing is not supported when sharing from the Safari browser because of limitations of Safari. The control sharing feature also requires that you select to share your entire screen. You can restrict the shared region using rectangle mode.

I've shared control with my viewer. Why can't he/she interact with my computer?

You will need to make sure that the viewer page is the active window and the active tab. If another window is in front of the viewer window, then your viewer's actions will not be passed to your computer.

Viewer Registration


How can I capture contact information from my viewers so I can follow up with them?

The viewer registration features allow you to capture information about your viewers before they are allowed to join your meeting. This is especially useful if you are using Screenleap for marketing and sales webinars as you will be able to export the viewer registration information to your CRM after your presentation so you can follow up with them.

To enable viewer registration, sign into the Screenleap website select, select Settings & Preferences from the Account menu, and then select what information your viewers are required to provide. You can require your viewers to provide the following information:

  • Name
  • Name and email address
  • Name and phone number
  • Name, email address, and phone number
  • Name, company, and email address
  • Name, company, and phone number
  • Name, company, email address, and phone number

When your viewers join your meeting, they will be prompted for the information you specified as being required before they are allowed to view your screen.

How can I disable the viewer name dialog that is shown to my viewers when they try to join my share session?

We request the name of your viewers when they try to join your share session when one of the follow features are enabled:

  • Audio conferencing - So we can display the current speaker
  • Viewer mouse - So we can show which user is currently pointing things out on your screen
  • Control sharing - So we show which user is currently controlling your computer

To disable the asking of your viewers for their names when they join your share session, go to your "Settings & Preferences" and disable audio conferencing and control sharing. To enable the asking of your viewers for their names when using the viewer mouse feature, you will need to enable the "name" option for the viewer registration feature.

Chrome Extension

How do I uninstall the Screenleap Chrome extension?

To uninstall the Screenleap extension:

  1. Type "chrome://extensions" into your address bar and press "Enter".
  2. Click the trash icon for the "Screenleap" extension.

Screenleap for iOS


How do I perform the initial setup to allow for sharing my iOS screen?

In order to share your apps when sharing your screen using the Screenleap for iOS app, you need to perform some initial setup. See the instructions for enabling sharing of your apps on your iPhone.

How do I share my screen in landscape mode when using the Screenleap for iOS app?

In order to share your screen in landscape mode when using the Screenleap for iOS app, you will need to rotate your device to the orientation you want while you're in the Screenleap app. After you have rotated your device to your preferred orientation, you can then leave the Screenleap app and navigate to your app to share it. You will not be able to change the orientation of the screen share once you leave the Screenleap app. To change the orientation, navigate back to the Screenleap app and change the orientation and then return to the app you are sharing.

How do I share the audio from the app that I am sharing on my iOS device?

You can share the audio from the iOS app that you are sharing on your iOS device by going to the Control Center (drag down from the top of your iOS device with your finders) and selecting "Speaker" for the output for "Music".

Screenleap for Mac

My Mac has MacOS Catalina (10.15) or later. When I share my screen, my viewers only sees the background of my desktop. How can I allow them to see my windows as well?

MacOS Catalina (10.15) requires that you grant permission for the Screen Recording to the Screenleap for Mac app.


To grant permission:

  1. Open your System Preferences.
  2. Click on Security & Privacy.
  3. Click on Screen Recording.
  4. Check the box for the Screenleap app. You will see a dialog saying that you need to restart the Screenleap app, but you do not need to. You can just continue your meeting.

How do I grant permission for sharing control to my Screenleap for Mac app?

In order to allow your viewers to share control of your screen, you will need to grant permission for the Accessibility permission to the Screenleap for Mac app.


To grant permission:

  1. Open your System Preferences.
  2. Click on Security & Privacy.
  3. Click on Accessibility.
  4. Check the box for the Screenleap app (you may need to click the lock icon and enter your password to allow for checking the boxes).

Why can't I grant the Accessibility permission to the Screenleap for Mac app?

If you open your System Preferences and can't select the Screenleap app from the Accessibility option on the Security & Privacy page, it is likely that your privacy database has been corrupted.


  1. You can fix it by opening the Terminal app and running:

    rm -f /Library/Application Support/com.apple.TCC/TCC.db

  2. Click the Screenleap icon on your menu bar and select Quit Screenleap.
  3. Start a meeting from the Screenleap website and click Open Screenleap.app when the Open Screenleap.app prompt appears.

Security


Are my meetings secure? What's to prevent unauthorized users from joining my meetings?

Any user with access to the share code for your meeting will be able to view your screen. We use a long share code to make it difficult for unauthorized users to stumble upon your meeting but it will not completely remove the chance of it occurring. If you need additional security, we offer the ability to also require an access code to join your meetings on our Pro and Premium Accounts.

Is my screen data going through Screenleap's servers? Is it stored there?

Screenleap sends your screen data to our servers so that it can be sent to your viewers. All data is kept in memory and is never stored to disk. Your data is cleared from memory when you end your meeting or after two minutes if your meeting is not ended cleanly.

Are the connections to my meetings encrypted?

All meetings are secured using strong TLS 1.2 256-bit AES encryption. TLS is the same encryption technology that banks use to protect your sensitive information.

If I host or join a meeting, can the presenter or viewer control, install, or download things from my computer?

No, meetings are one-way broadcasts. Viewers cannot control, install, or download anything on the host's computer without the host's permission. Hosts cannot control, install, or download anything on the viewer's computer.

Are my meetings ever shared with a third party?

No, your meetings will never be shared with a third party.

Performance


How does Screenleap compare with other screen sharing tools like WebEx for performance?

Screenleap is designed as the easiest way to share your screen. In order to achieve this, we had to push a lot of processing to our servers so it won't perform as well for instances where you need a video-like experience. There may be other screen sharing tools that work better for these instances. Screenleap works really well however for things like sharing a PowerPoint presentation, getting feedback on a design, reviewing an Excel spreadsheet, or giving a sales demo of a web application.

Can I use Screenleap to share a video in real-time?

Screenleap is designed as the easiest way to share your screen. Our technology choices are focused on this aspect. You may be able to get somewhat acceptable video performance if you and your viewers have a fast computer and a fast connection but it's not what it's designed for.

How can I improve the performance of my screen shares?

Screen sharing is bandwidth-intensive so if you are on an Internet connection with better bandwidth, you will experience better performance. In addition, we recommend that you use a land-line or cell phone to speak with your viewers when possible during a screen share because audio is also bandwidth-intensive and running both through your Internet connection at the same time will reduce quality and performance of both.

Another thing you can do to improve performance is to use the "Rectangle" feature when sharing to reduce the portion the screen that is being shared to the region that you are interested in. The smaller the area being shared, the faster the performance and the lower the latency.

Finally, you can improve the performance of your screen share by making sure that your viewers are using the latest version of their browsers. Screenleap's viewer is built using HTML5 and we take advantage of many advanced HTML5 features to improve performance. By keeping your browsers updated to the latest version, you can ensure that you are getting the best performance.

Is there a maximum screen size that's allowed to be shared with Screenleap?

Yes, in order to ensure adequate performance, we currently restrict the maximum size of the screen being shared to 2560 pixels wide x 1600 pixels high. If your screen is larger than this, you will not be able to use the full-screen mode and the screen share will automatically default to the rectangle mode. The rectangle will also be restricted to a maximum size of 2560 x 1600.

We recommend making the shared area as small as possible to ensure the best possible performance.

Which browser has the best performance?

Screenleap currently works best with Google Chrome, followed by Edge, Firefox, and Safari. If you are not already on Google Chrome, we recommend installing Google Chrome to achieve the best screen sharing performance.

Why am I experiencing poor performance when using a VPN?

We use your IP address to determine which of our servers are closest to you and assign your share session to that server. If you are using a VPN, it is possible that you will be assigned to a server that is farther away from you, which will result in a longer distance your share data needs to travel, which will result in degraded performance. If you must use a VPN, we recommend choosing a server near to where you are located to ensure the best performance. Please be aware that using a VPN will inherently result in poorer performance due to the need to proxy the data through an additional server.

Troubleshooting


I'm trying to share my screen from a VirtualBox instance but my viewers only see a black screen. How do I fix it?

Please try disabling 3D acceleration for your VirtualBox instance.

I accidentally checked "Remember my choice" and then clicked "Do Nothing" when asked to launch the application. How can I get the dialog to appear again?

We require the custom protocol handler to be enabled for screen sharing to work. If you accidentally checked "Remember my choice" and clicked "Do Nothing", you will need to reset the setting in order to share your screen:

  1. Quit Chrome completely. If there's any Chrome instances running, the reset steps will not work.
  2. Delete the "Local State" file in ~/.config/google-chrome.
  3. Launch Chrome and try sharing your screen again.

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