# How to record a video introduction in your browser, no download

A step by step guide to recording a video introduction in your browser with no download, covering camera permission, retakes, trimming and sharing the link.

By Pranav Reddy, founder of hi.video. Published 2026-08-26, updated 2026-08-26. Canonical page: https://hi.video/blog/record-a-video-introduction-in-your-browser

## Short answer

You can record a video introduction in a modern browser on a laptop or phone with nothing to install. Open the recorder, allow camera and microphone access when the browser asks, record, retake or trim if you need to, then publish. You get a link to paste into an email or message, and the recipient watches it without an account.

Recording yourself used to mean finding software, installing it, working out where the file went and then finding somewhere to host it. For a 40 second introduction that is a lot of overhead, and I think it is the main reason most people never send one.

A browser can do the whole job now. You record, trim and get a link on one page, and the person you send it to needs no account and no app either.

## What you need before you start

A laptop or a phone with a camera, a current version of a mainstream browser, and a few minutes in a room where nobody will walk behind you. That is the whole list.

You do not need a webcam beyond the one built into the laptop. The built in camera is fine once the light and the angle are right, and I cover both in [how to look good on a laptop camera](https://hi.video/blog/how-to-look-good-on-camera-with-a-laptop).

Decide what you want to say before you open the recorder. One or two lines on paper is enough. A hi should sound like a person, so you are not writing a speech, but knowing your first sentence stops the long pause at the start that you would otherwise have to trim.

## Allow the camera, then add the recipient's name and note

Open the recorder at [hi.video](https://hi.video/app) and sign in or create an account. New accounts go through a quick camera check first. Every video on hi.video is made with its own recorder, with no uploads and no AI avatars. The [trust page](https://hi.video/trust) explains what that does and does not tell the person who receives your link.

When you reach the recording screen, the browser shows a prompt near the address bar asking whether this site can use your camera and microphone. Click allow. Nothing records until you press the button, and the permission applies to this one site only.

If you clicked block by accident, or you did it weeks ago and forgot, look for a small camera icon at the end of the address bar. Clicking it lets you change the answer, then reload the page.

Two things outside the browser can also stop the camera from appearing. On a Mac, System Settings has a Privacy section where each app, including your browser, must be allowed to use the camera and microphone. Windows has the same under Privacy in Settings.

One more: if another app such as a video call is already using the camera, close it first.

Then type the recipient's name and a short note. The name appears at the top of their page and the note sits above the video, so one or two sentences is right: who you are and why you sent this.

Choose what the button under the video does as well. It can open an email to you or an https link such as a calendar booking page.

## Choose camera only, or screen plus camera

For an introduction, camera only is usually right. The person wants to see you.

Screen plus camera, which needs a supported desktop browser, is for when you need to show something: a page of a proposal, a design, a spreadsheet, a part of their website. The browser asks which screen or window to share.

Share a single window rather than your whole screen, so a notification or a stray tab cannot wander into the recording. Your camera sits in a small frame in the corner, and the recipient sees both.

Before you share a window, close anything you would not want a stranger to read. Check the tab bar too.

## Record, watch it back, retake or trim

Take a breath, press record, and look at the lens rather than at your own face on the screen. The preview is below the camera, and looking at it makes you appear to be looking down.

When you stop, watch the recording before you do anything else, with the volume at a normal level. Can you hear yourself clearly, and did you say the recipient's name correctly? Then ask whether the first five seconds would make you keep watching if someone sent it to you.

If the whole thing is wrong, record it again. Retakes cost nothing and nobody sees the ones you discard. I usually get one I am happy with on the second or third try, and the third is often shorter than the first, which is a good sign.

If the middle is fine but you fumbled the start or trailed off at the end, trim instead. The trim tool moves the start and end points, so the recipient never sees the moment you reached for the mouse.

A rough script for a camera only hi, if you need somewhere to begin:

> Hi Dana, I'm Pranav. I saw the role you posted for a support lead and wanted to say hello properly instead of only sending a PDF. I've spent four years running a support team of six at a small software company, and the part of your posting about writing the help docs yourself is the part I'm most interested in. My CV is attached. If it looks useful, the button below books 20 minutes with me. Thanks for watching.

That is about 30 seconds at a normal pace. Replace the details with your own and resist the urge to add a second paragraph.

## Pick a cover frame and add captions

The cover frame is the still image the recipient sees before they press play. Choose one where you are looking at the camera with your mouth closed or mid smile. The first frame of a recording usually catches you looking at the record button, so pick one from a second or two in.

Captions are worth adding. Many people open a link on their phone with the sound off, and a caption lets them follow you before they find their headphones. You add them from the Captions option on a published video, so publish first, add and check them, then send the link. Read every caption line back, because a misspelt name looks careless. There is more in [captions on your intro video](https://hi.video/blog/captions-on-your-intro-video).

## Publish and share the link

Press publish and copy the link. Paste it into the email or message you were going to send anyway, on its own line, with a sentence before it saying how long the video is. I find a link with "45 seconds" next to it is easier to click than a bare one.

The link is unlisted. Anyone who has it can watch, so send it only to the person it is for. Search engines are told not to index the page. You can see when it has been viewed, which tells you whether to follow up or wait. The detail is in [who can see my video link](https://hi.video/blog/who-can-see-my-video-link).

On the free plan you can publish five videos a month, each up to a minute long, and keep five stored, with no card required. If you need more than that, the [Pro plan](https://hi.video/pricing) allows videos up to ten minutes, 100 published minutes a month and 500 stored minutes, and puts your own username in the link.

## What the recipient sees

They tap the link on whatever device they have. The page opens with their name at the top, your note underneath, the video and the button you chose. There is no signup and nothing to install. They watch, and if they want to reply they press the button.

If you have ten minutes now, [record your first hi](https://hi.video/app) and send it to yourself first. Watching it on your own phone shows you exactly what the other person will see.

## Questions people ask

**Do I need to install anything to record a video in my browser?**

No. A current version of any mainstream browser on a laptop or phone can use the camera and microphone directly. You allow access when the browser asks, and the recording happens on the page. There is no app, plugin or desktop recorder to download, and nothing to update later.

**Why does the browser ask for camera and microphone permission?**

Browsers never let a website use your camera or microphone silently. The prompt is the browser asking you, once per site, whether this page may use them. If you click block by mistake, the camera icon in the address bar lets you change the answer. On a Mac or Windows laptop, the operating system has its own camera and microphone privacy settings that can also block a browser.

**Can I record my screen and my camera at the same time?**

Yes, in a supported desktop browser. Pick screen plus camera before you start and the browser asks which tab, window or screen to share. Your camera appears in a small frame in the corner of the recording, so the recipient sees your face while you walk them through a document, a slide or a web page. On a phone you record with the camera.

**What if I mess up halfway through the recording?**

Stop, watch it back and record again. Retakes are normal and nobody sees the ones you throw away. If the middle is fine but the start or end is awkward, trim those off instead of recording the whole thing again.

**Who can watch the video after I publish it?**

Anyone who has the link. The page is unlisted, so it is not listed anywhere and search engines are told not to index it, but the link itself is not password protected. Send it to the person it is for, and you can see when it has been viewed.

Related: https://hi.video/blog/how-to-introduce-yourself-in-a-video, https://hi.video/blog/how-to-look-good-on-camera-with-a-laptop, https://hi.video/blog/who-can-see-my-video-link