To share your screen on Microsoft Teams, select Share in the meeting controls, turn on Include sound if you need audio, then pick a screen, a single window or a PowerPoint file. Select Stop sharing to end. Choose a window, not the screen, to keep notifications and other apps private.
How do you share your screen in a Teams meeting on Windows?
These steps are for the current Teams desktop app (the one Microsoft simply calls Teams now, after retiring "classic Teams"). Labels come from Microsoft's help article Share content in a meeting in Teams.
- Join the meeting from the desktop app. Teams on the web works too, but only in Chrome or Edge.
- Select Share in the meeting controls at the top of the meeting window. The share tray opens.
- Turn on Include sound if you'll play a video or anything with audio. Do it now; it's easy to forget once you're presenting.
- Pick what to share. Choose a screen (each monitor gets its own thumbnail) or a window (one open app). Below those, Teams lists recent PowerPoint files for PowerPoint Live, plus Excel Live and Whiteboard.
- Present. A red border appears around what you're sharing, and a presenter toolbar slides down when you move your pointer to the top of the shared screen.
Windows 11 adds a shortcut that few people use: during a Teams call, hover over an app on the taskbar and select Share this window. You can switch it on or off in Settings > Personalization > Taskbar > Taskbar behaviors with Share any window from my taskbar.
Should you share your screen, a window or PowerPoint Live in Teams?
| Teams option | What viewers see | Notifications visible? | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Screen | The whole monitor, every app you switch to | Yes, Windows toasts appear on the shared screen | Live demos across several apps |
| Window | Only the app you picked | No, toasts are separate windows | One browser, one app, one document |
| PowerPoint Live | Your slides, rendered by Teams | No | Decks; your notes and other slides stay on your side |
| Whiteboard / Excel Live | A shared, editable canvas or workbook | No | Collaborative sessions |
PowerPoint Live is the most underrated of the four. Viewers see the slides; you see your speaker notes, a slide grid and the chat, and none of that leaves your machine. Attendees can also click ahead through the deck on their own unless you lock it, which is either a feature or a nightmare depending on your audience.
If you're still torn between Screen and Window, our Teams share window vs screen guide walks through the trade-offs case by case.
How do you share sound in Teams?
Turn on Include sound in the share tray before you start, or select the Share audio button in the presenter toolbar once you're sharing. Read Microsoft's warning carefully, though: "All sound from your computer, including notifications, will be audible in the meeting." Every Outlook chime and Slack knock plays for everyone. Turn it off as soon as the video ends.
For video clips, also select Optimize in the presenter toolbar. Microsoft describes it as a way "to prevent choppiness or lag while sharing video content."
How do you share a second monitor in Teams?
With an extended desktop, the share tray shows a thumbnail for each display. Select the one you want to show. The other monitor stays yours: a good place for the meeting window, your notes and chat.
Check that Windows is set to Extend (press Win + P), not Duplicate. In Duplicate mode both thumbnails show the same picture, and anything you thought was private is on the call.
How do you annotate or give control in Teams?
Move your pointer to the top of the shared screen and select Annotate. Annotation runs on Microsoft Whiteboard, and you can let everyone draw or keep it to yourself from the settings gear in the Whiteboard toolset (Microsoft Support: Use annotation while sharing your screen). While annotation is on, the screen is locked, so you can't click around in your app until you close it. Annotation is built for screen shares; if you don't see the button while sharing a window, switch to sharing your screen.
Give control lets a named participant use your mouse and keyboard; select Take back to end it. Microsoft's own advice is blunt: "Only give control to people you trust." Remember that whoever has control can open any app on the shared screen.
How do you stop sharing in Teams?
Select Stop sharing in the presenter toolbar at the top of your screen, or in the meeting controls. If the toolbar has slid away, move your pointer to the top edge. Ending the share doesn't end the call or turn off your camera.
How do you share your screen on Teams on a Mac, the web or a phone?
Mac
Select Share. The first time, macOS asks for permission: select Open System Settings, turn on Microsoft Teams under Screen & System Audio Recording, return to the meeting and share again. Teams also has an optional native mode (Settings > General > Screen sharing > Use macOS content sharing), but it doesn't support giving or taking control.
Teams on the web
Use Chrome or the latest Edge. You'll see the browser's own picker (tab, window or entire screen) after selecting Share, and the browser needs screen recording permission on a Mac.
Android and iPhone
Tap Share, choose Share screen, then Start broadcast or Start presenting. Microsoft's description is "Show your entire screen, including notifications and other activity," so turn on Do Not Disturb first. Linux isn't supported for screen sharing at all.
Why isn't Teams screen sharing working?
| Problem | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| No Share button | You joined as an attendee in a meeting where only presenters can share | Ask the organizer to make you a presenter in Meeting options |
| Black screen for viewers | Graphics driver or GPU switching issue, or protected video content | Update the graphics driver, share a window instead of the screen, restart Teams |
| One window shows as black | That app blocks capture on purpose (display protection) | Expected; share another window or disable the app's screen security |
| Mac shares only the desktop background | Screen & System Audio Recording permission missing | Allow Microsoft Teams in Privacy & Security, then rejoin |
| Video stutters | Optimize is off, or upload bandwidth is low | Select Optimize in the presenter toolbar; share a window rather than a 4K desktop |
| No sound on shared video | Include sound was off | Select Share audio in the presenter toolbar |
| You can't see participants | Teams minimises the meeting window while you present | Use the minimized meeting window, or put the meeting on a second monitor |
What can others see when you share your screen in Teams?
Only what you shared. Teams can't watch apps you didn't select (the details are in Can Teams see other windows?). But "what you shared" is bigger than people think when they pick Screen:
- Toast notifications from Outlook, Slack or WhatsApp Desktop, with message previews.
- Your taskbar, including unread badges and pinned apps.
- Every window you alt-tab to, even for a moment while looking for the right file.
- Sounds from all of the above if Include sound is on.
With Window sharing, the four leaks above mostly disappear. Toasts, the taskbar and other apps aren't part of the capture. The trade-off is that menus and dialogs opened by the shared app can be missing for viewers, so you'll occasionally narrate a click nobody saw.
How do you keep notes or an AI assistant private during a Teams share?
- Present slides with PowerPoint Live. Speaker notes stay on your side by design.
- Share a window and keep notes in any other window.
- Turn on Do not disturb before you present. Our guide to hiding notifications while screen sharing covers the Windows setting and the chat apps that ignore it.
- Use a window that's excluded from capture. On Windows 10 version 2004 and later, an app can call
SetWindowDisplayAffinitywithWDA_EXCLUDEFROMCAPTURE, and Teams then leaves it out of a full-screen share. See how to hide a window from screen share for all the options side by side.
AuraCloak is an AI chat overlay that Teams leaves out of your share, even when you present the whole screen.
Get AuraCloakAuraCloak is an invisible AI overlay for Windows. It sits on top of the Teams window or your slides, shows answers from OpenAI, Claude, Gemini or Copilot, and uses that capture-exclusion flag so viewers don't see it. A colleague looking at your monitor or a phone camera pointed at it still will. If you run sales or customer calls in Teams, the meetings use case shows a typical setup.
FAQ
Why can't I share my screen in Teams?
Most often you're an attendee in a meeting where only presenters can share; ask the organizer to change your role. On a Mac, Teams also needs Screen & System Audio Recording permission. On Linux, Teams screen sharing isn't supported.
How do I share my screen with sound in Teams?
Turn on Include sound in the share tray before you pick a screen or window, or select Share audio in the presenter toolbar while sharing. All computer sound is shared, including notification chimes.
Can people see my notifications when I share my screen on Teams?
Yes, if you share your screen. Windows notifications appear on the shared monitor. If you share a single window or use PowerPoint Live, notifications aren't captured. Turn on Do not disturb before sharing either way.
Can I see my speaker notes while sharing in Teams?
Yes, with PowerPoint Live. Share the PowerPoint file from the share tray instead of your screen. You see notes, thumbnails and chat; attendees see only the slides.
How do I share a second screen in Teams?
Set Windows to Extend with Win + P, then select Share in the meeting. The share tray shows a thumbnail per display. Pick the monitor you want to show; the other one stays private.