Problems
Screen recording is black or blank
A black recording means the browser was handed a stream it could not actually read. There are three usual causes.
Missing macOS permission
This is by far the most common cause. Open System Settings, Privacy & Security, Screen & System Audio Recording, enable your browser, then quit and reopen it.
Protected content
Netflix, Disney+, Prime Video and similar services use DRM that deliberately produces a black frame when captured. That is unrelated to permission problems. This is working as intended and cannot be worked around.
Hardware acceleration
Occasionally a graphics driver produces black frames for a specific window. Switching off hardware acceleration in the browser’s settings, or recording the whole screen instead of that window, usually resolves it.
This is most common with games and video players running exclusive full screen. Switching them to borderless windowed mode almost always fixes the capture.
Read next
- How to record your screen on a Mac
Record your Mac screen in a browser, including the macOS permission that silently blocks capture until you grant it.
- Screen sharing permission was denied
What to do when the browser refuses to start screen capture.
- Screen recording has no sound
The four reasons a screen recording comes out silent, in the order worth checking.