Guide

How to record a livestream with translated subtitles on iPhone

You can't do it with iOS screen recording while a translation app is listening: iOS runs one screen broadcast at a time, and live translation over another app already uses it. The way around that is to record from inside the translating app. Hono Translate does this: turn on recording, tap the record button on its floating window, and the picture, the sound and the translated subtitles are saved together as a video in Photos, on the same iPhone.

Which option fits your case

What you wantWhat works
Record a clip of a stream with no subtitlesiOS screen recording from Control Center
Watch a foreign-language stream with translated subtitlesAn app that translates the audio over the stream
Keep a clip of the stream with the translation in itAn app that translates and records in one broadcast
Save just the words, not the videoTake a screenshot of the subtitle card
Record from a second devicePoint a camera at the screen — works, but looks like it

Why screen recording stops working

Live translation over another app needs that app's audio, and iOS hands one app another app's audio only through a screen broadcast: the same system mechanism that screen recording uses. iOS allows one broadcast at a time. Once a translation app has started sharing audio, the Screen Recording button in Control Center can't start a second one.

So the usual advice, "just screen-record it", fails exactly when you need it most: when the stream is in a language you don't understand and you want to keep the moment with the translation.

How to record with subtitles in Hono Translate

  1. Open Hono Translate, go to Settings › Try New Features and turn on Record from the Window. The first time, iOS asks for permission to add videos to Photos.
  2. Choose the language being spoken and the language you want to read, tap Start translating sound, confirm Start Sharing in the iOS sheet, then tap the empty space below the sheet.
  3. Go back to the livestream or video. The subtitle card follows you as a floating window.
  4. Tap the play button on the floating window to start recording. A small counter on the card shows the time.
  5. Tap it again to stop. The clip is saved to Photos, and the card says so.

What the clip contains

  • The picture and the sound of what you were watching, with the subtitle card on top, as a 720p video.
  • The subtitles exactly as you saw them: translation only, both languages, or the original.
  • Landscape content is saved the right way up.
  • If audio sharing ends in the middle of a recording, what was recorded so far is kept.

The clip is written on the iPhone and goes straight to your Photos library. Nothing is uploaded.

Good to know

  • Recording is an early-access feature, off until you turn it on.
  • Some streaming apps protect their video; protected video may record as black, the same as with iOS screen recording.
  • Calls and some apps don't allow their audio to be captured at all.
  • The clips are for your own use. Check the platform's rules and the creator's wishes before sharing them.

Questions

Can I use iOS screen recording and live translation at the same time?

No. iOS runs one screen broadcast at a time, and translating another app's audio already uses it. Record from inside the translating app instead.

Does the recording include the translated subtitles?

Yes. In Hono Translate the clip contains the picture, the sound and the subtitle card, saved together as one video.

Where are the clips saved?

In the Photos app on the same iPhone. They are never uploaded.

Which apps does this work with?

Any app whose audio iOS lets you share, such as YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Twitch, Weverse or Safari. Protected video may record as black.

Can an iPhone app hear the sound another app is playing? Do I need a second phone?

Yes, and one iPhone is enough. Through screen sharing — the iOS sheet you confirm when you start — iOS hands the sound that is playing to the app you pick. Hono Translate takes that audio from iOS, not from the microphone, so headphones are fine, and its subtitles float in a Picture-in-Picture window over TikTok, YouTube or any other app.

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