Integrating Screen Sharing into a React Native Video Call App

Screen sharing is a feature users expect in modern video call apps. Whether for remote work, online classes, or live demos, the experience should feel seamless and should not interrupt the ongoing call.

In this post, I’ll explain how to integrate screen sharing into a React Native video call app, focusing on the architecture and design decisions rather than low-level implementation. The full code and setup details are available in the GitHub repository and the original blog post.

How Does Screen Sharing Work in a React Native Video Call App?

At a high level, screen sharing works by capturing the device screen and sending it as a live video stream to other participants in the call.

Instead of replacing the camera feed, screen sharing is treated as an additional video source. This allows the app to maintain the normal video call experience while temporarily adding screen content as another stream.

How Can Camera Video and Screen Sharing Run at the Same Time?

The key is to separate responsibilities:

• The camera stream continues to run normally
• The screen stream is published independently

By keeping these two streams separate, users can start or stop screen sharing without affecting their camera or audio. This avoids common issues such as camera freezes or call reconnects.

Why Use a Separate Channel for Screen Sharing?

Using a dedicated auxiliary channel for screen sharing makes the system more reliable and easier to manage.

This approach allows:

• Independent control of camera and screen streams
• Cleaner stream lifecycle management
• Better scalability for group calls
• A user experience similar to professional meeting apps

From both a technical and product perspective, this separation reduces complexity.

What Are the Android Requirements for Screen Sharing in React Native?

On Android, screen sharing relies on system-level screen capture permissions.

Key considerations include:

• Handling runtime permission requests
• Responding to the system screen capture consent dialog
• Managing foreground services on newer Android versions

Once permission is granted, the screen content can be captured and published as a real-time video stream.

What Are the iOS Requirements for Screen Sharing in React Native?

iOS places stricter limits on screen capture.

Cross-app screen sharing requires a Broadcast Upload Extension built on ReplayKit. This extension runs in a separate process and sends screen data back to the main app.

• Important points to consider:
• The extension has a strict memory limit
• Screen capture is handled by the system, not the app
• Setup is more complex than Android, but very stable once configured

How Does the Screen Sharing Flow Work from Start to End?

The typical flow looks like this:

• A user joins a video call room
• The camera stream starts on the main channel
• Screen sharing is initiated on the auxiliary channel
• Other users detect and subscribe to the screen stream
• Screen sharing stops without interrupting the call

This flow keeps both the media pipeline and the user experience predictable.

Where Can I Find the Full Implementation?

To keep this post focused on concepts and architecture, detailed code examples are not included here.

Documentation: Share the screen in React Native

Step-by-step tutorial: How to Integrate Screen Sharing in React Native Video Chat

These resources cover SDK setup, permissions, and platform-specific configuration in detail.

When Should You Add Screen Sharing to a Video Call App?

Screen sharing is especially useful for:

• Remote collaboration tools
• Online education platforms
• Live product demos
• Technical support or walkthroughs

If your app already supports video calls, adding screen sharing as a parallel stream is often the most flexible approach.

Final Thoughts

To successfully integrate screen sharing into a React Native video call, it’s best to treat screen capture as a parallel media stream rather than a replacement for the camera.

By keeping video calls on the main channel and screen sharing on an auxiliary channel, you can deliver a smooth and professional user experience while keeping the system architecture clean and maintainable.