I’m trying to share my screen during a Zoom meeting on my Mac, but it’s not working. I’ve tried clicking on the ‘Share Screen’ button, but nothing happens. Do I need to change some settings or give permissions? Any advice would be appreciated!
Hey there,
Looks like you’re running into the common issue of not having granted screen sharing permissions on macOS. This isn’t a Zoom-specific problem, but rather a macOS privacy setting that blocks apps like Zoom from accessing your screen. No worries though, it’s easy to fix!
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Open System Preferences: You can access this by clicking on the Apple logo in the top-left corner of your screen and then selecting “System Preferences.”
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Click on “Security & Privacy”: After opening System Preferences, find and click on “Security & Privacy.”
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Navigate to “Privacy” Tab: Once you’re in Security & Privacy, go to the “Privacy” tab (it’s one of the four tabs at the top).
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Unlock the Settings: In the lower-left corner, you’ll see a padlock icon. Click it and enter your admin password to unlock changes.
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Scroll to “Screen Recording”: On the left-hand side, scroll down until you see “Screen Recording.” Click on it.
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Grant Permissions to Zoom: On the right side, you should see a list of apps. Find “Zoom.us” (this is the Zoom app) and check the box next to it to grant it permission to record your screen.
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Restart Zoom: Close out of Zoom completely and then reopen it for the changes to take effect.
If you’ve done all that and it’s still not working, make sure Zoom itself is up to date. Sometimes outdated software can cause unexpected issues.
That should solve your problem! Remember, whenever dealing with macOS permissions, always give the necessary permissions before troubleshooting further—it’s often just a simple checkbox away from fixing your issue.
Good luck and hope you get that screen sharing working!
If you’ve already followed @waldgeist’s steps and are still stuck, check if you’ve granted permissions to Zoom for microphone and camera as well. Misconfigured audio/video permissions sometimes affect screen sharing.
Another thing: Try starting the meeting from the browser instead of the app. Visit Zoom’s web portal, join your meeting, and attempt to screen share this way. Sometimes, permissions might be bypassed when screen sharing through the browser.
Lastly, if you’re still facing problems, using a different user profile on your Mac might help. Create a temporary user profile, install Zoom there, and try to share your screen. This can indicate if there’s a specific issue with your primary user’s settings.
For future reference, always keep macOS updated. Screen sharing issues are occasionally resolved with macOS patches.
Hang in there! Tech issues can be a real pain, but you’ve got this. 
Open System Settings, then Privacy & Security, then Screen & System Audio Recording. Turn on Zoom Workplace. If Zoom already appears enabled, switch it off, then back on.
Quit Zoom fully with Command + Q. Reopn it and join the meeting again. Click Share Screen and select your desktop or one app window.
This fixes the missing screen-recording permision without changing user profiles or using the browser.
Skip the whole ‘make a new user profile’ thing @vrijheidsvogel suggested. That’s a lot of work for something that’s almost never the actual cause here, and installing Zoom under a fresh account just to test one button is more hassle than the bug itself. Save that for genuine account corruption, not a missing permission.
The permission fix is the real answer, and @shadowspark5386lab is right that toggling it off and back on matters. What trips people up is that macOS won’t apply the new permission to a Zoom window that’s already running. If you tick the box while Zoom is open, it usually throws up a ‘Quit & Reopen’ prompt. Don’t just close the window with the red dot, that leaves it alive in the background. Use Command Q, or check the Dock to make sure it’s fully gone before you launch it again. Half the ‘I enabled it and it still doesn’t work’ cases are just that.
One edge case worth knowing: if you’re on a work laptop, an MDM profile or admin policy can lock screen recording so the toggle either won’t stay on or the checkbox is greyed out entirely. If that’s your situation, no amount of clicking fixes it and you need whoever manages the machine.
The browser workaround is fine as a one-off if you’re stuck in a meeting right now, but manage your expectations. Web Zoom is stripped down, screen sharing there can be flaky depending on your browser, and it still leans on the browser’s own screen capture permission. I’d treat it as a bandaid, not the fix. Get the app permission sorted and you won’t have to think about it again.