There are many times when family or friends need help with their Macs, or they aren’t sure how to do something. Trying to walk them through it blind is challenging, at best. Luckily, a little known feature in the Messages exists that allows me to share my screen instantly with another Mac user, or I can request direct access to their screen.
Prior to screen sharing being native to Messages, you’d have to use a third party solution such as Team Viewer to help someone with a Mac issue. Messages is far more convenient, and in my experience, something that almost 100% of Mac owners actually use and already understand.
How to share your Mac’s screen through the Messages app
To share your Mac’s screen, or request access to someone else’s screen, just follow these steps:
- Launch Messages and find the contact you want to share your screen with. Make sure that chat is selected.
- In the top navigation, click on Buddies.
- Choose Invite to Share My Screen or Ask to Share Screen, whichever option you want.
- The person on the other end will get a request that they will have to accept.
That’s pretty much it. As far as screen sharing on Mac goes, this is the easiest method I know of. However, it can be finicky sometimes. I’ve seen some requests not go through to the other person. In that case, cancel your first and perform the same steps again. In my experience, the second time usually does the trick if the first doesn’t.
How do you screen share with Mac users?
If you regularly share your screen, or request access to someone else’s, what method works best for you? Let me know!
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