Screenity — Free Privacy-Friendly Screen Recorder Chrome Extension

Introduction

Screenity is an open-source Chrome extension that records your screen without limits, watermarks, or mandatory sign-ups. It was built to give developers and educators a straightforward way to create demos, bug reports, and tutorials directly from the browser. All processing happens locally, so your recordings never leave your machine.

What Screenity Does

• Records full screen, individual tabs, or application windows
• Overlays webcam video with customizable size and position
• Provides real-time drawing and annotation tools during recording
• Offers built-in trimming and editing before export
• Exports to WebM, MP4, or GIF formats

Architecture Overview

Screenity uses the Chrome MediaRecorder API and Screen Capture API to record video streams entirely client-side. The extension injects a lightweight overlay for drawing annotations using canvas elements. Recorded blobs are processed in the browser using FFmpeg compiled to WebAssembly for format conversion. No data is sent to external servers.

Self-Hosting & Configuration

• Install from Chrome Web Store or clone the repo and load as an unpacked extension
• Grant screen capture and microphone permissions when prompted
• Configure default recording quality and frame rate in extension settings
• Set preferred export format and save location
• Customize countdown timer and notification preferences

Key Features

• Unlimited recording with no time caps or watermarks
• Real-time annotations including arrows, shapes, and text
• Push-to-talk and microphone audio mixing
• Privacy-first design with all processing done locally
• Lightweight extension with minimal resource usage

Comparison with Similar Tools

• Loom — cloud-based with analytics but requires an account and has free tier limits
• OBS Studio — powerful desktop app but complex for quick recordings
• ShareX — Windows-only desktop tool with more export options
• Kap — macOS-only screen recorder with clean UI

FAQ

Q: Does Screenity send my recordings to a server? A: No. All recording and processing happens locally in your browser.

Q: What browsers are supported? A: Screenity works in Chromium-based browsers including Chrome, Edge, Brave, and Arc.

Q: Can I record system audio? A: Yes, when recording a tab. Full system audio capture depends on OS-level permissions.

Q: Is there a time limit on recordings? A: No. Screenity has no time limits, though very long recordings depend on available memory.

Sources

• https://github.com/alyssaxuu/screenity
• https://screenity.io/