How to Share Your Screen From Gmail (Google Meet in Gmail)

Start a Google Meet call from Gmail on a computer

Open Gmail in your browser. In the left sidebar, click Meet, then New meeting. Google then offers to copy the invite, send it by email, or start the call right away. Work and school accounts may see Join now instead of Start now.

If you do not see Meet in the sidebar, it is probably turned off. Open Settings, find Chat and Meet under Quick settings, click Customize, and tick Google Meet. If you use a work or school account and the option is missing, your admin may have turned Meet off for your organization.

• Start now or Join now opens the call.
• Send invite emails the link to the people you choose.
• Copy meeting invite gives you a link to paste anywhere.

Join a meeting from Gmail

Click Meet in the sidebar, then Join with a code. Work and school accounts see Join a meeting. Enter the code or nickname the organizer sent, then click Join.

Meetings from Google Calendar also appear under My meetings. Select one and click Join now. Only calendar events with a Meet link show up there, so a Zoom or Teams invite in your inbox will not appear in this list.

Share your screen once you are in the call

At the bottom of the Meet window, click Present now. Google Meet may show this as a screen share icon. You then choose what to share: a tab, a window, or your entire screen. Pick one in the browser dialog and click Share.

Google recommends presenting a Chrome tab for the best results, and tab audio is shared by default. If you share a window or your whole screen and want sound, turn on the option to also share system audio in the same dialog.

To stop, click Stop presenting in the Meet window or open You are presenting at the bottom and choose Stop presenting.

• A tab: viewers see only that page, which is the safest choice.
• A window: viewers see one app window, including its toolbars.
• Your entire screen: viewers see everything, including pop-ups and other apps.

Share your screen from the Gmail app on a phone

In the Gmail app, tap Meet at the bottom of the screen. Tap New meeting to start a call or Join with a code to join one. If the Meet tab is missing, open the Gmail app settings, pick your account, and turn on the option to show the Meet tab for video calling.

Once you are in the call, use the share screen option in the call controls. On a phone, Meet shares your whole screen, not a single app or tab. That means every notification, message preview, and app you open while sharing is visible to everyone in the call.

• Turn on Do Not Disturb before you start sharing.
• Close banking, chat, and photo apps you do not need.
• Stop sharing before you switch to anything private.

Keep your inbox out of the share

The most common mistake is sharing your entire screen while Gmail is open in another tab or window. Everyone sees subject lines, sender names, and the first line of each email the moment you switch back to it. Even with tab sharing, it is easy to pick the Gmail tab by mistake in the share dialog.

Before you click Present now, open the page you want to show in its own tab and make it the only thing you share. If you need to show an email, open that one message rather than the inbox list, and check what the reading pane and side panels display.

• Present the tab with your slides or doc, not the Gmail tab.
• Close or minimize the inbox if you must share your whole screen.
• Turn off desktop notifications for new mail during the call.
• Check the chat and Meet panels in the Gmail sidebar for names and messages.

When you need to show Gmail itself

Sometimes the email is the point, such as a support call about a message or a training session on filters. In that case, prepare the view first. Search for the exact message, open it, and collapse the folder list and side panels you do not need.

Names, addresses, and quoted replies in the thread can still be private. If those details have to stay on screen, blur them in the page before you present so the call and any recording never capture them.

Fix common screen sharing problems

If the share button does nothing or the window you want is missing, the cause is usually a permission or a setting. On a Mac, the first time you present, macOS asks whether Chrome may record your screen. If you missed that prompt, open System Settings, find the screen recording permission, and allow your browser. You may need to restart the browser afterward.

Windows only appear in the share list if they are open, so restore any minimized window first. On work and school accounts, an admin or the meeting host can also turn off screen sharing. If the button is grayed out, ask the host to let you present.

If someone else is already presenting, click Present now, pick what you want to share, and confirm that you want to present instead. Their share pauses while yours runs.

• Allow screen recording for your browser on macOS.
• Restore minimized windows so they show in the list.
• Ask the host if sharing is turned off for you.
• Share a new tab, not the meeting tab, to avoid a mirror effect.