Webcam recorder: record video online for free
Choose your camera and microphone, check your sound on the level meter, and record as many takes as you need. Your browser does the recording, so the video stays on your device until you download it.
Your camera preview shows here.
Your browser asks for camera and microphone access. Nothing is uploaded.
Mirroring changes the preview only. The file is saved the way others see you, so text on your shirt reads the right way round.
- File format
- Browser default
- Estimated size
- about 38 MB per minute
Reading from a script? The camera teleprompter scrolls your text over the preview while it records.
How to record a video with your webcam
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Turn on the camera
Press Turn on camera and allow camera and microphone access when your browser asks. The preview shows up straight away.
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Pick your devices and resolution
Choose the camera and microphone from the lists. They show real names once access is allowed. Pick 1080p or 720p. If your camera cannot do 1080p, the panel shows what it gives instead.
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Check your sound
Talk at your normal volume and watch the mic level bar. Most of your speech should sit in the green part. If it keeps hitting red, move back from the mic or lower its input volume.
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Record
Press Start recording. After the countdown the timer runs and the live file size counts up. Use Pause if you need a break; the pause is left out of the video.
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Download your takes
Press Stop. The take appears below the recorder with its length, format and size. Record more takes, watch them back, delete the bad ones, and download the ones you want.
What this video recorder does
Any camera or mic you have
Built-in webcam, USB webcam, a capture card, or a phone camera on a phone. Same for microphones: built-in, headset, or USB mic. Switch between them without reloading.
Mic level meter
A live bar shows how loud your microphone is before and during recording, so a muted or wrong mic shows up before you waste a take.
Pause and resume
Pause in the middle of a take and carry on in the same file. The timer only counts recorded time.
Several takes
Every recording is kept in a list with a player, download and delete buttons. A badge marks takes you have not downloaded yet.
Mirror preview
The preview is mirrored by default, like a bathroom mirror, which most people find easier to watch. The saved file is not mirrored.
No account, no upload
There is nothing to install and nothing to sign up for. The video is made by your browser and never sent to Short.now.
Webcam setup tips: light, angle and background
- Face your light source. Sit facing a window, or put a lamp behind your screen, slightly above eye level. Light from behind you turns your face into a dark shape, and webcams handle that badly.
- Avoid mixed light. Daylight from one side and a warm ceiling bulb from the other gives your face two colors. Turn one of them off.
- Raise the camera to eye level. Put the laptop on a stack of books or a stand. A camera looking up at you from the desk is the most common reason home videos look amateur.
- Frame from mid-chest up. Leave a little space above your head. Your eyes should sit about a third of the way down the frame.
- Look at the lens, not the screen. Shrink the browser window and move it to just under the camera so your eyes stay close to it.
- Tidy what is behind you. A plain wall or a bookshelf a few feet back works. Sitting farther from the wall also makes your face stand out more.
- Lock exposure with steady light. Webcams adjust brightness on their own. A steady light source stops the image from pumping brighter and darker as you move.
Microphone tips for clearer sound
Viewers forgive soft video much more readily than bad audio. These fixes cost little or nothing.
- Get the mic closer. A wired headset or a USB mic a hand-width or two from your mouth beats a laptop mic an arm away, because it picks up more of you and less of the room.
- Read the meter. Normal speech should fill about half to three quarters of the bar. If you only reach the first few segments, raise the input volume in your system sound settings. If you hit red often, lower it.
- Kill echo with soft things. Bare walls and hard floors make speech sound hollow. A rug, curtains, a sofa or even a duvet on a chair behind the camera helps a lot.
- Turn off noisy things. Fans, air conditioning and the fridge hum are easy to miss live and obvious on playback. Listen to a 10-second test take with headphones.
- Pick the mic here, not just in the system. If you have several microphones, choose the right one in the Microphone list. The meter shows whether it is the one hearing you.
- Choose No microphone if you only want silent footage, for example b-roll of your desk or hands.
File format and file size
The format comes from your browser. Safari and current versions of Chrome and Edge usually give MP4; Firefox usually gives WebM. The panel next to the preview shows what your browser will give before you record.
| Resolution | Video bitrate we ask for | Audio | About per minute |
|---|---|---|---|
| 720p (1280×720) | 2.5 Mbps | 128 kbps | 20 MB |
| 1080p (1920×1080) | 5 Mbps | 128 kbps | 38 MB |
| 1080p, no microphone | 5 Mbps | None | 38 MB |
Sizes are bitrate × time. Browsers treat the bitrate as a target, so real files come out a bit smaller or larger; the live counter while you record shows the real size. A 10-minute 1080p take is roughly 380 MB.
Privacy, storage and what happens to your video
The recorder uses your browser’s built-in MediaRecorder. Video and sound go from your camera into memory in this tab and nowhere else. Nothing is uploaded to Short.now or anyone else, and there is no account.
That also means takes disappear when you close or reload the tab. Download every take you want to keep. The page warns you if you try to leave with takes you have not downloaded. Very long takes use a lot of memory, so for anything over half an hour, record in parts.
WebM files play in Chrome, Firefox and VLC, and YouTube accepts them. For an editor or app that only takes MP4, convert with a free tool such as HandBrake, or record in Safari or a current Chrome or Edge.
Reading from a script? The camera teleprompter scrolls your text over the camera preview and records in the same window, so you can keep eye contact without memorizing lines.
Recorded a long video? Turn it into Shorts.
Upload a long recording to Short.now and it finds the strongest moments, reframes them to 9:16 and adds captions, ready for Shorts, Reels and TikTok.
Questions
Yes. There is no sign-up, no time limit set by us and no watermark. Your browser does the recording, so the only limits are your device memory and disk space.
No. The video is recorded and held by your browser on your device. It only leaves when you download it and save it where you choose.
Turn on the camera, then pick the microphone from the Microphone list. The level bar under it moves when that mic hears you. If the list shows generic names, allow microphone access first.
The browser decides which formats it can record. Firefox and older versions of Chrome and Edge record WebM. Use Safari or an up-to-date Chrome or Edge for MP4, or convert the file with HandBrake or VLC.
The preview is mirrored because that is how you are used to seeing yourself. The file is saved the way a viewer sees you, so text behind you or on your clothes reads correctly. Untick Mirror preview to see the unmirrored view.
Yes, if your webcam supports it. Pick 1080p and the panel shows the resolution the camera actually delivers. Many built-in laptop cameras top out at 720p.
Yes, in current mobile Safari and Chrome. It uses the front camera first; pick the back camera from the Camera list. Keep the screen on and the tab open while you record.
