How To Share Your Screen in FaceTime

iOS 15 has promised a new feature and it is the ability to share your iPhone and iPad screen when you are doing the FaceTime sessions so that you can enjoy movies, music, and other media along with friends and family. This new feature is called SharePlay, which did not ship with the first version of iOS 15, it has been included in iOS 15.1 and now you can enjoy the new feature— to a limited extent.

Currently, you can share content from Apple TV and Apple Music — if you are a subscriber — and a few other apps. I had no problem sharing a YouTube video, for example; other apps that are supported by this feature include HBO Max, Hulu, and Disney Plus (but not Netflix). It can be assumed that the list of apps that can be shared will continue to expand.

It is easy to use the new SharePlay feature, once you’ve installed iOS 15.1.

• Start a FaceTime session. Make sure whoever else is on the session also has iOS 15.1 installed.
• You should see a new icon on the upper right side of the screen that resembles a small figure in front of a screen. Tap on that.
• You’ll see a drop-down button that says “Share My Screen.” Tap on that and you’ll be sharing your screen with your friend.

Now you can show your home screen to your FaceTime friend, play a YouTube video, or listen to the same Apple Music track. If you want to switch to the other person’s screen, all they have to do is tap on their SharePlay icon.

Another way to share an app is to simply go to that app during a FaceTime session and start it up. If SharePlay is possible, you will get a pop-up menu asking if you want to use SharePlay, or if you want to play the video or music only for you.

You can go back to your FaceTime app at any time, tap on the SharePlay icon, and select End SharePlay.The new SharePlay feature in iOS 15.1 is probably going to be very famous. It will allow friends and family to chat together while watching videos or listening to music; let business associates discuss a spreadsheet while out and about; or make it easier to share and comment on your new group photos. And as Apple adds more apps that can make use of SharePlay, it will get even better with time.