How to record a Telegram video call on Mac or Windows

What Telegram records for you

Telegram supports video calls on phones and in its desktop apps. For private one-to-one calls there is no recording feature, so anything you keep is recorded by your own device.

Group video chats and live streams in groups and channels are the exception. At the time of writing, admins can start a recording of a video chat, choosing audio only or video, and participants see an indicator while it runs. That is useful for community calls, but it records the group view rather than a clean clip of one person.

On a Mac

Telegram offers more than one app for macOS. Test the exact client and recording tool; compatibility is not established simply because the recorder is a separate app.

1. Screen recording: press Shift-Command-5 and record the screen or the Telegram window. Choose your microphone under Options. The Mac’s built-in recorder does not capture sound from other apps, so the other person’s voice will usually be missing unless you add an audio capture tool.
2. Your own camera: try the exact call and recording apps together before relying on camera sharing. If access fails, use a permitted window-capture route or another device and check your voice and picture.
3. OBS Studio (free) can combine the screen, your camera and audio sources, and on recent versions of macOS it can capture audio from a specific app. It takes some setting up, so do a test call first.

On Windows

1. Screen recording: recent versions of the Windows 11 Snipping Tool can record the screen, and the Xbox Game Bar (Windows key + G) can record an app window. Check which audio sources each one includes before relying on it.
2. Your own camera: open the Camera app or another recorder alongside the call. By default Windows often lets only one app use the camera, so the second app may show an error. Newer Windows 11 updates add a camera setting to let multiple apps use it; it is off by default.
3. OBS Studio works on Windows too, and can capture audio from individual applications.

If your camera cannot be shared, a simple option is to take the Telegram call on your phone and record yourself on the computer’s webcam. Place the phone just under the webcam so you are still looking roughly into the lens.

Getting a clean clip of just you, by hand

Once you have a recording of your own camera, turning it into something you can post takes a few steps:

1. Wear headphones during the call so the other person’s voice does not leak into your microphone.
2. Import your recording into a video editor.
3. Cut out the stretches where the other person is talking, and the pauses while you listen.
4. Crop to 9:16 (or 1:1 or 4:5) and keep your face centred as you move.
5. Add captions, then watch the whole thing back before posting.

It works, but on a 30-minute call the cutting alone can take longer than the call.

How playbakk makes it automatic

playbakk runs on your Mac or Windows computer next to Telegram. It records your own camera and microphone, with Me only as the default, after a short headphone check. It never connects to Telegram or sees your messages.

When the call ends, playbakk removes the other person’s turns, joins your answers into one uninterrupted take, frames your face for vertical video and lets you add captions from an SRT transcript. You review the clip and export it yourself.

Taking the call on your phone? Run playbakk on a computer beside it, or import a recording afterwards. There is no live capture during a native phone call. To include the other person, they agree through a consent link first.

Before you record

Tell the other person you are recording your side, and ask before publishing anything that shows or quotes them. The rules differ between countries, and even between US states. Recording calls legally gives an overview.