A local screen recorder for Mac that doesn’t ask you to sign up
Qreata records your screen, camera, microphone and system audio into a project on your Mac. Editing, transcription and MP4 export run on the same machine, and you can start recording without creating an account.
7-day trial · $49 once · no subscription · Apple Silicon · macOS 14+The short answer
Qreata is a local screen recorder for Apple Silicon Macs: recording, editing, transcription and MP4 export all run on your Mac, and you don’t need an account to record. Uploading is a separate choice you make after export, either to Google Drive or to the paid Qreata Cloud for a share link. The app is a one-time $49 purchase with a 7-day full trial.
Choose a local recorder when
The file should exist on your disk before it exists anywhere else.
- Your screen shows customer data, internal tools or unreleased work, and a rough draft shouldn’t go to a hosting service by default.
- You don’t want to create an account to make a video.
- You want an MP4 you can put anywhere: a help center, a pull request, a shared drive.
- You would rather pay once than per month for recording.
It won’t help when
Your workflow depends on a hosted viewing page or on another platform.
- You need viewer comments or reactions on the video. Qreata has neither.
- Your team records on Windows, on Intel Macs or in a browser.
- You need live streaming. Qreata records; it doesn’t broadcast.
- You need SRT or VTT caption files from the recorder. Qreata burns captions into the video but doesn’t export caption files.
What stays on your Mac and what uses the network
The recording workflow is local. The two media uploads happen only when you press the button, per video. Optional first-party usage counts send only three milestones after you opt in; see the privacy policy. There is no automatic media upload or third-party analytics SDK.
Recording needs no account. The license is activated with a key in one online request and works offline after that. Qreata Cloud needs a qreata.cc account.
| Step | Where it runs | Uploads your video |
|---|---|---|
| Recording screen, camera, mic, system audio | On your Mac | No |
| Editing and Replace Take | On your Mac | No |
| Transcription and burned-in captions | On your Mac | No |
| MP4 export | On your Mac | No |
| Google Drive upload | Network, on a button press | Yes, the exported file |
| Qreata Cloud share link | Network, on a button press, paid | Yes, MP4 up to 1 GB |
| License activation and update checks | Network | No |
| Downloading the app, buying a license | Network | No |
How to record your Mac screen without an account
Take a 12-minute walkthrough of an internal admin panel, the kind of recording you would not want on someone else’s server as a first draft.
- Download Qreata and open it. You can record without creating an account.
- Allow screen recording, camera and microphone access when macOS asks.
- Choose what to capture: Display, Window, Application or a preset Area. For an admin panel, Window keeps the rest of the desktop out of the video, and Blur · select elements blurs the interface elements you click, such as a column of customer emails, and follows them as the page scrolls.
- Look at the Active source check. It shows live frames and audio for each source before recording starts, so you don’t discover a silent microphone 12 minutes later.
- Record. Screen, camera, microphone and system audio are written as four separate tracks; system audio is always captured with the screen, and the camera can be switched off. Pause when someone interrupts and resume, or use Add clip to record another clip into the same project.
- Edit on the same Mac: trim the slow start, cut a detour, re-record one wrong step with Replace Take (the Rerecord tool in the editor).
- Export an H.264 MP4 at the project’s resolution: 720p, 1080p or 4K, at 30 fps. Up to this point the recording has lived in a project on your Mac.
- Decide where the file goes: attach it yourself, press the Google Drive button for a link, or use Qreata Cloud for a qreata.cc share link.
What happens if the app or the Mac crashes mid-recording?
Qreata writes the recording to disk in five-second chunks and keeps a recovery journal. The next time you launch the app after a crash, it restores what was already saved. If the failure hits at minute 38 of a 40-minute recording, you get back the chunks that were written; the part not yet saved can be lost.
Two more checks run around that. Before you start, the Active source check shows live frames and audio for every source. While you record, Qreata watches free disk space and stops the recording automatically before the disk runs out.
Why the project keeps four separate tracks
Microphone and system audio are separate tracks, each with its own Mute and a Volume from 0 to 200%. System audio is always recorded with the screen; there is no switch for it and no per-app picker. If the app’s sound is too loud under your voice, lower system audio afterwards and leave the microphone as it is.
The camera is separate from the screen, so after recording you can change its layout, shape, size, position and background, for the whole project or for one fragment. Keep the project: it is what you edit and retake later. The MP4 is the delivery copy.
What local recording doesn’t give you
Local is not a compliance certificate. What is on screen, who can use your Mac and where your backups go are still yours to manage. The privacy policy covers what the app and the website process.
Qreata can burn captions into the video, but it doesn’t export SRT or VTT files or raw tracks as separate files. It records at 30 fps, never 60. It does not detect sensitive data for you: sample data is the first line of defense, and blur covers what is left. Blur · select elements blurs up to 8 interface elements while you record and follows them as the page scrolls; it needs the macOS Accessibility permission and can’t be removed afterwards. The Blur tool in the editor adds removable rectangular regions that stay fixed in place, and Never show these apps keeps the apps you list out of display and area recordings. Qreata Cloud is hosting with a link; there are no viewer comments or reactions.
A 10-minute test of the local workflow
Install the trial and record a 2-minute walkthrough with microphone and system audio, without signing up for anything. Trim the start, export the MP4 and find the file on your disk. That is the whole workflow, and every feature is available for 7 days.
Questions worth asking
Can I record my Mac screen without creating an account?
Yes. Qreata lets you record without an account. A license is activated with a key, and only the optional Qreata Cloud hosting needs a qreata.cc account.
Does Qreata upload my recordings automatically?
No. Recording, editing and transcription run on your Mac. A video is uploaded only when you press the Google Drive or Qreata Cloud button, and the app has no third-party analytics.
Is Qreata free?
No, but the trial is: 7 days with every feature. After that the Personal license is $49 once for 3 Macs with all future updates, and Team is $149 once for up to 50 Macs.
Does local mean Qreata never uses the internet?
No. Downloading the app, the one-time license activation, update checks and the uploads you start yourself (Google Drive, Qreata Cloud) use the network. Recording, editing and transcription run on your Mac, and a licensed copy works offline.
Can I get a share link for a recording?
Yes, two ways. The Google Drive button uploads the MP4 and gives you a link anyone with it can open. Qreata Cloud, a separate paid service, hosts MP4s up to 1 GB at a qreata.cc/share link.
Does Qreata work on Windows or Intel Macs?
No. Qreata is a native app for Apple Silicon Macs running macOS 14 Sonoma or later. There is no Windows, Intel or browser version.