How to Use Loom to Create Screen Recordings (Even If You've Never Done It Before)

Go to loom.com and click the 'Sign Up for Free' button in the top right corner. You can create your account using your email address, Google account, or Microsoft credentials — the process takes about 60 seconds. No credit card is needed for the free tier. Once your account is created, you'll land on your Loom dashboard, which is your central hub for all recordings. The free plan gives you access to core recording features with videos up to 5 minutes long, cloud storage in your Loom library, and basic AI tools like auto-transcripts. This is plenty for beginners getting started. If you find yourself needing longer recordings or advanced features later, the Pro plan starts at $12.50 per user per month and removes the 5-minute limit entirely. For now, stick with free and explore the platform before committing. After signing up, Loom will prompt you to download the desktop app or Chrome extension — we'll cover that in the next step. Keep your login details handy, as you'll need them each time you open the app.

After signing up, Loom will direct you to choose between the desktop app or the Chrome extension. Here's how to decide: if you want to record any application on your computer — like Microsoft Word, Zoom, or your entire desktop — download the Loom Desktop App for Windows or MacOS from loom.com. Installation takes less than 2 minutes and requires no advanced setup. If you mostly record browser-based content like websites, Google Docs, or online tools, install the Loom Chrome Extension directly from the Chrome Web Store. It sits in your browser toolbar and launches with one click. On mobile, search 'Loom' in the App Store or Google Play and install the free app. Whichever option you choose, open it and log in with your account. On first launch, Loom will request permission to access your microphone, camera, and screen — click 'Allow' for all three. Skipping these permissions is one of the most common beginner mistakes and will prevent recordings from working properly. Once installed and logged in, you'll see the recording panel with all your options ready to go.

Click the Loom icon in your taskbar or browser toolbar to open the recording panel. Before you start, spend 60 seconds confirming your settings to avoid ruining your recording. First, choose your capture mode. 'Screen Only' records your entire desktop or a specific window without showing your face — ideal for software walkthroughs. 'Screen + Camera' adds a floating camera bubble (usually bottom-right) that shows your face alongside the screen, which is great for tutorials where a personal touch matters. 'Camera Only' records just your face, useful for quick video messages. Next, select your microphone from the dropdown menu — this is critical. If you skip this step, your video will have no audio. Choose your built-in mic or an external USB microphone if you have one. For the camera, select your webcam from the list. If you're recording sensitive information like passwords or private tabs, use the 'Screen Blur' feature or select 'Current Tab' instead of full screen to limit what gets captured. You can also adjust the recording area by resizing the capture frame. Loom supports up to 4K resolution, though 1080p is the default and works perfectly for most tutorials. Once everything looks right in the preview, you're ready to record.

Click 'Start Recording' and Loom will count down from 3 to 5 seconds, giving you time to position your cursor and take a breath. Once the countdown ends, you're live — everything on your selected screen area is being recorded along with your audio. Speak clearly and at a natural pace, narrating what you're doing as you go. This makes your video far more useful for viewers than a silent screen recording. As you record, a small floating toolbar appears on screen. This toolbar lets you pause the recording by clicking the double bar icon — useful when you need a moment to think or navigate to a different part of your screen. You can also draw on the screen using the pencil tool, which lets you circle or highlight specific areas to draw attention to them. Use this sparingly so your video doesn't look cluttered. If you make a major mistake early on, click the restart icon to begin again from scratch without losing your setup. When you're finished demonstrating, click the red square stop button. Loom immediately begins uploading your recording to your cloud library — no manual saving required. The video is typically ready to view within seconds.

Once your recording uploads, Loom automatically opens it in your library for review. You'll find a built-in video editor that requires no extra software. The most useful editing tool for beginners is the trim function — click and drag the handles at the start and end of the video timeline to cut out awkward pauses, mistakes at the beginning, or any content you don't want viewers to see. You don't need to re-record anything just to fix a small error at the start or end. Loom's AI tools kick in automatically after upload. These include an auto-generated transcript that converts your spoken narration into searchable text, suggested chapter markers based on what you said, a video title suggestion, and a summary of the content. These features save significant time if you're creating content regularly. You can also add text overlays, zoom effects on specific moments, custom thumbnails, and emoji reactions to make the video more engaging. For accessibility, enable closed captions using the transcript Loom already generated — this takes about 10 seconds. Organize your video by adding it to a folder or applying tags so you can find it easily later. All of this happens directly in your browser.

Loom makes sharing dead simple. As soon as your video finishes uploading, a shareable link is automatically copied to your clipboard. You can paste this link directly into an email, Slack message, Google Doc, project management tool, or anywhere else — the recipient clicks the link and watches the video in their browser without needing a Loom account. Before sharing, take 30 seconds to check your privacy settings. In the video settings panel, you can set access to 'Anyone with the link,' 'Only people in my workspace,' or 'Password protected.' For sensitive internal demos, use the workspace-only setting. For public tutorials or customer-facing content, anyone-with-the-link is fine. If you need the actual video file rather than a link — for example, to attach to a website or upload somewhere else — click the three-dot menu and select 'Download' to save the video as an MP4 file to your computer. You can also embed the video directly into a website or blog by copying the embed code from the share settings. Track how your video performs using the analytics in your library, which show you view counts and how long people watched.