Turn a FaceTime call into a clean clip with Apple Local Capture

First, check it is available on your device

1. Update your iPad or iPhone to the latest version your device supports.
2. Open Control Centre and look for a Local Capture control. If it is not there, try adding it through Control Centre’s edit mode.
3. If you cannot find it, your device or version may not support it yet. The alternatives later in this guide still work.

What Local Capture is, and is not

Local Capture was built for remote podcast and interview recording. During a video call, it records your own camera and microphone on your device, at a quality much higher than the call itself sends. Apple describes it as working with video-calling apps, not only FaceTime.

It is not an editor. You get one long file of you, including every moment you were listening, nodding or waiting. There are no captions, no vertical crop and no removal of the other person’s voice if it leaked into your microphone. Files at this quality can also be large, so check your free storage before a long call.

How to record your side with Local Capture

1. Tell the other person you are recording your side, and why.
2. Put on headphones, so their voice does not play through your speaker into your microphone.
3. Set your device at eye level, in good light, with the camera you will use for the call.
4. Start the FaceTime call, then open Control Centre and start Local Capture.
5. Stop Local Capture when you have finished, and find the file where your device saves recordings, usually in Files.

Before a real conversation, record a two-minute test call with a friend and watch the result. It will show you the framing, the sound and roughly how big a file an hour would be.

Tips for a better recording

• Use the front camera at eye level, on a stand, rather than holding the device. A steady frame is much easier to crop to vertical later.
• Face the light. A window in front of you beats a lamp behind you.
• Turn on Do Not Disturb so notifications do not interrupt the call or the recording.
• Keep the device plugged in for long calls; recording at high quality uses battery quickly.
• Leave a second of silence at the start and end. It makes clean cuts easier.

Turning the raw file into a clip, by hand

Move the file to a computer or open it in a mobile editor, then remove the long pauses while the other person spoke, crop to 9:16, keep your face in frame when you move, and add captions. Many editors can generate captions automatically; always check them for names and technical terms.

How playbakk finishes the clip

Import a Local Capture file only after checking that it contains video. You can review and adjust framing and add captions from an SRT transcript. Mixed call audio cannot currently export Me only; including the other person requires the consent flow. Review the complete clip before exporting.

playbakk does not currently connect to live FaceTime media. Test system capture on your phone first: an audio-only result cannot fulfil a self-video requirement or enter this video editor.

If you do not have Local Capture

• Take the FaceTime call on a Mac and test playbakk beside it. Camera sharing and FaceTime window capture both require verification with your exact software and permissions; neither is guaranteed.
• Take the call on your phone and run playbakk on a computer beside it, with the phone just below the computer’s camera.
• Import a screen recording. It will include the other person’s tile and may miss their audio, so use it only for your own side. Why screen recording loses call audio explains why.