Screenshots are useful. You can use them to show your grandparents how to use a new app. You can use them to send a snapshot of this strange error message to your company’s IT department. You can use them to capture your or someone else’s tweets before they get lost in the erasure black hole.
Screen capture methods may vary depending on the version of Android your phone is running and who manufactured your phone. In this case, we used a Pixel 3 phone to create screenshots using Android 12 and Android 11, and an original Pixel to create screenshots with Android 10. using a different phone type.
Take a screenshot with Android 12
- Hold the power button and press the volume down button. Or…
- Go to the app and/or page you want to screenshot. Swipe to the Recents screen from the bottom of the screen; At the bottom of the screen you will see a button for “Screenshot”.
- Activate Google Assistant and tell it to take a screenshot.
Note that a small version of your screenshot will appear at the bottom left, with buttons that let you share or edit it, or possibly take a scrolling screenshot (which I’ll explain in a moment). You can also tap the screenshot to get more options. But hurry – this corner version disappears in a few seconds.
Take scrolling screenshots with Android 12
A really nice feature in Android 12 is the ability to take scrolling screenshots – in other words, getting more of the page than what you see right away on your screen. Unfortunately, this feature seems somewhat limited so far: for example, I was able to take a scrolling screenshot of my Settings app, but it didn’t work in Chrome (probably where most people would want it). In any case, here’s how to do it:
- Take your screenshot.
- In the lower left corner, look for the “Catch more” button next to the Share and Edit buttons. If it’s there, you’re in luck! Tap on it.
- You will see the whole page on your screen; the longer the page, the smaller the type. Adjust the margins to cover as many pages as you want to capture, then select “Save” in the upper left corner of the screen.
Take a screenshot with Android 11
- Hold the power button and press the volume down button. Or…
- Use the multitasking pane to reveal all your current apps to reveal the Screenshot button. (Note: If you’re using 2-button navigation, you won’t be able to see the button. See our explanation here for more information on changing navigation methods.) Tap the button to take a screenshot of the visible page.
- In both cases, the screenshot will appear as a thumbnail in the lower left corner. Tap the thumbnail to edit, share or delete it.
Take a screenshot with Android 10
- Hold down the power button. On the right side of your screen, you will see a popup with icons that allow you to shut down, reboot, call the emergency number or take a screenshot. Or…
- Hold the power button and press the volume down button.
- After taking the screenshot, it will briefly appear as a smaller version and then disappear. A notification will appear at the top of your screen informing you that the screenshot has been saved, and then within a few seconds, it will be replaced with a drop-down menu that will allow you to share or delete it when you tap on it. take a screenshot or make some basic edits. This dropdown will also disappear after a few seconds, but if you check the notifications bar at the top left, you’ll find one for that screenshot.
Some Android phones (for example, certain Samsung and Huawei phones) allow you to take “long” screenshots where you can scroll down and capture the whole page. Check your phone’s support pages if you think you might have it. It can be useful.
Find your screenshots
If you want to find all your past screenshots and you are using Android 10 or earlier:
- Go to your Photos app
- Tap the three parallel lines in the upper left corner
- Select “Device folders” > “Screenshots”
If you want to find all your past screenshots and you are using Android 11:
- Go to your Photos app
- Tap on “Library” in the lower right corner
- Under the “Photos on device” category, you should see an icon that says “Screenshots” below it. Tap on it.
Update October 1, 2020, 11:45 PM ET: This article was originally published on July 27, 2020 and has been updated to include guidelines for Android 11.
Update October 4, 2021 at 10:45 PM ET: Updated to include instructions for Android 12.