How to take screenshots on your Android phone

Screenshots are a convenient way to remember a recipe, show someone an issue you're having with an app, or just have a record of something you saw on your phone's screen.

First up, there's a very quick and simple way to take screenshots on most Android phones. Press and hold the Power + Volume Down buttons at the same time, and you'll see a brief onscreen animation followed by a confirmation in the notification bar that the action was successful.

There's a knack to getting the timing right. Press the power button too soon, and you'll lock your device's screen. But press the volume button too soon, and you'll end up changing the volume. Android Pie added a shortcut to take a screenshot on the power menu if you find that more convenient.

On Samsung Galaxy phones, you can take a scrolling screenshot by tapping on the double-arrow icon. Each tap on the button will scroll down a bit, capture another screenshot, and then pause.

The more you tap on that button, the longer the screenshot is. Motorola phones have a similar button to Samsung's, but it keeps scrolling and capturing the screen until you press the stop button.

You can take a screenshot on your Android device hands-free by simply asking Google Assistant to take a screenshot for you. Just say "Hey Google" to trigger the assistant to wake up, and then say "Take a screenshot" to snap. This is really helpful, for example, when you're cooking or eating while watching YouTube.

Take scrolling screenshots-

One really nice feature introduced in Android 12 is the ability to take scrolling screenshots — in other words, to get more of the page than you immediately see on your screen.

For the Pixel

Take your screenshot.

Look for the Capture More button down in the lower-left corner, next to the Share and Edit buttons. (It may not be available in all apps.) Tap on it.

You’ll see the entire page on your display; the longer the page, the smaller the type. Adjust the margins to encompass as much of the page as you want to capture, then select Save at the top left of the screen.

Are there more ways to take a screenshot?

There are many. If you have a Samsung Galaxy phone that has S Pen support, you can use the S Pen to take screenshots. In fact, if the pen is embedded in the phone (like on any Note device or the Galaxy S22 Ultra), then the menu that pops up when you remove the pen gives you the option to capture part or all of your screen.

Samsung and Motorola phones have gestures that trigger screenshots. On a Motorola phone, you can place three fingers on the screen and swipe down, but you'll need to enable the feature in the settings app (just search for "screenshot" and you'll find it).

Where do I find screenshots after I take them?

It depends. On phones that come with Google Photos as the only app where you can find and view your photos and videos, that's where you'll go to view your screenshots.

However, it's not very obvious where they're at in the Photos app unless you do the following: Open the Photos app, and select Library at the bottom of the page. Look for the Screenshots album and tap on it to open.

If you want to sync your screenshots album to your Google Photos account, you can turn it on when viewing the album, and then going forward you'll see your screenshots when viewing the Photos tab.

For other phones, such as Samsung's Galaxy lineup, you'll use the Gallery app that comes preinstalled on the phone. Open the app, tap on Albums, and then select your Screenshots album to see them all in one place. Otherwise, they'll be mixed in with the rest of your pictures and videos in the pictures tab.

How do I share a screenshot?

You have two options. You can use the toolbar that shows up alongside the thumbnail to share immediately after taking it, or you can share the screenshot from the Gallery or Photos app, depending on which phone you're using.