Share Screen in Teams

Hi @Michele Bruhn, 

Thank you very much for reaching out regarding the issue where you’re unable to see the screen being shared in some calls. I appreciate your patience and the details you provided. 

In most cases, this doesn’t come from a viewing permission on your side. These situations often happen when the presenter’s device hasn’t granted screen‑recording permission (especially on macOS), when meeting settings from the organizer or external tenant restrict sharing, when DRM‑protected content is being shared, or when the browser/app version causes inconsistent behavior. 

Here are a few quick checks that usually help: 

• If you’re joining through a browser, try using the latest version of Microsoft Edge or Google Chrome, or switch to the Teams desktop app for the most stable experience. 
• If the meeting is organized by an external partner, their meeting policy may restrict who can share or what type of content is allowed. 
• If the presenter is on macOS, you can ask them to enable System Settings > Privacy & Security > Screen Recording for Teams (or their browser) often resolves cases where viewers only see a black or blank screen. 
• DRM‑protected windows such as Netflix or other streaming services will always appear black to participants. 

For additional information, you can refer to this article: 

Manage meeting policies for content sharing - Microsoft Teams | Microsoft Learn 

I hope this information is helpful. Should you have any further questions or need additional assistance, feel free to reach out.   

I look forward to hearing your thoughts on this.    

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In Teams meetings, not seeing someone’s shared screen is usually not caused by a permission setting on the viewer’s side.

Based on the provided information, common causes include:

1. The viewer has not accepted the sharing request yet. In both meetings and chat-based screen sharing, participants must accept the notification to start viewing the shared content. If this is missed or dismissed, the shared screen will not appear.
2. Older or incompatible client versions. As seen in similar Microsoft real-time collaboration tools, participants using older clients or different products may not be able to view shared content correctly.

To improve reliability when viewing shared screens in Teams meetings:

1. Ensure the meeting organizer or presenter is using the standard Teams sharing flow:
   • In the meeting controls, select Share.
   • Choose Screen, Window, Microsoft Whiteboard, Content from camera, or PowerPoint Live.
   • When sharing starts, a red border surrounds what is being shared (except on Linux, where the border may not appear).
2. Confirm that the viewer accepts the prompt to view shared content whenever it appears.
3. Make sure both sides are using an up-to-date Teams client and supported platform (for example, Linux has some limitations such as no window sharing and no red border indicator).
4. If the issue only happens with certain external organizations, the organizer should verify that their meeting policies and external access settings allow screen sharing to guests.

If some participants in a meeting can see the shared screen and others cannot, the problem is more likely related to client version, platform limitations, or the participant not accepting the share prompt, rather than a specific permission assigned to the viewer.

References:

• Show your screen during a meeting
• Share your screen in a chat in Microsoft Teams
• Some people in meeting are not viewing what you are sharing