What Is a Screenshot?

A screenshot is a picture of what is on your computer screen, saved as a picture file. It can show the whole screen or only part of it. People take screenshots to keep a copy of something or to show someone else what they see.

What it looks like

A screenshot opens like any other picture, showing what was on the screen at that moment, including any windows and messages. Before you send one to anyone, look at it, and do not send it if it shows a password, a card number or another private detail.

On Windows and on a Mac

On Windows 11, the Snipping Tool app takes screenshots and saves them in the Screenshots folder inside Pictures. On a Mac, the Screenshot app takes them and saves them on the desktop, with names that begin with Screenshot and include the date and time.