What each call app on a Mac can do with sound

The table

Mac desktop apps, except Google Meet and Jitsi Meet, which run in a browser. “Not in … help” and “None in … help” mean the maker’s own help pages say nothing either way, so we don’t guess. Switch names are as each app prints them.

Zoom

Microphone: Click your profile picture, then Settings › Audio, and pick one from the Microphone menu. In a meeting, the arrow next to the microphone icon opens the same list.

With a screen share: Click Share Screen, pick a screen, window or app, and tick “Share Sound”. Its menu offers Mono or Stereo (high fidelity). For a video, Zoom now calls its smoother-video setting “Optimize for video sharing”: it’s under Options in the share window, or More in the share toolbar, and Zoom suggests turning it off when you aren’t sharing video.

No screen: Share Screen › Advanced › Computer Audio › Share. The meeting hears your Mac’s sound and sees nothing.

In a browser: Zoom documents Share Sound, with Mono or Stereo, for the Zoom Web App in Chrome only.

Music: Settings › Audio › Microphone modes › “Original sound for musicians”, which Zoom says “improves audio quality for music by capturing a fuller range of sound”. Under it are High-fidelity music mode, Echo cancellation and Stereo audio. You can switch microphone mode from the audio menu in a meeting too.

Mac trip-up: macOS asks you to allow Zoom under Screen & System Audio Recording before it can share a screen. If you clicked Don’t Allow, turn it on by hand in System Settings › Privacy & Security.

Our guide: Share audio on Zoom.

Source: Zoom: Sharing background music or computer audio; Zoom: Changing settings in the desktop app (Audio); Zoom: Setting up professional audio (Original sound for musicians); Zoom: Granting macOS permissions for Zoom; Zoom: Optimize for video sharing.

Teams

Microphone: Settings and more (…) › Settings › Devices › Audio settings, then the Microphone and Speaker menus. In a meeting, the arrow next to Mic › More audio settings.

With a screen share: Click Share, turn on “Include sound”, then pick a screen or window. On a Mac, install the Teams audio driver once, from Teams’ prompt or aka.ms/macaudiodriver, and restart. Microsoft says a notice appears at the top of the meeting controls about 10 seconds after sharing starts.

No screen: Microsoft’s help describes sound only together with a screen or window share.

In a browser: In Teams on the web, turn on “Also share tab audio” when you share a tab, or “Also share system audio” for a window or your screen. Microsoft lists screen sharing on the web for Chrome and Edge only; Safari can join a meeting but not share a screen.

Music: In a meeting, the arrow next to Mic › More audio settings › “High fidelity music mode”. It turns off noise suppression, echo cancellation and other effects. It isn’t available in live events or with spatial audio.

Mac trip-up: The first share asks for screen recording. If you said no, open System Settings › Privacy & Security › Screen & System Audio Recording, turn on Microsoft Teams, then click Allow in Teams. Microsoft notes macOS Sequoia 15.2 adds extra prompts. Teams on the web needs the same permission for your browser.

Our guide: Share sound in Teams.

Source: Microsoft: Share sound from your computer in Teams meetings or live events; Microsoft: Use high fidelity music mode in Teams; Microsoft: Manage your device settings in Teams; Microsoft Learn: Teams for the web (supported browsers); Microsoft Tech Community: Share computer audio on web (public preview).

Google Meet

Microphone: More options › Settings › Audio, then choose Microphone and Speakers. The arrow next to the microphone icon opens a quick device menu.

With a screen share: Present a Chrome tab and Meet shares that tab’s audio by default (“Also share tab audio”). Present a window or your entire screen and you can turn on “Also share system audio”, which needs Google Chrome 142 or later and macOS 14.2 or later. It’s off by default, doesn’t work with adaptive audio, and Google suggests setting Meet’s speaker to the system default.

No screen: Meet’s help has no audio-only option: sound goes with a tab, window or screen you present.

In a browser: Meet runs only in a browser. Its supported browsers are Chrome, Firefox, Edge and Safari, but Google’s help describes sharing sound only in Chrome, and doesn’t say whether Safari or Firefox can share a tab’s audio. Google says stereo shared sound is received only in Chrome and Firefox.

Music: There is no music mode. Google’s advice: “If you need other sounds in your meeting, like music, turn off noise cancellation”, under More options › Settings › Audio. Sound you share by presenting isn’t affected by noise cancellation.

Mac trip-up: On macOS Sequoia, Chrome shows a prompt the first time you present; click Allow. Sharing system audio brings up a macOS permission prompt the first time too.

Our guide: Share audio on Google Meet.

Source: Google Meet Help: Present during a video meeting; Google Workspace Updates: Share your device’s audio when presenting (December 2025); Google Workspace Updates: Share stereo sound in Google Meet (December 2025); Google Meet Help: Audio devices; Google Meet Help: Noise cancellation; Google Meet Help: Supported browsers.

Webex

Microphone: Settings › Audio: choose the devices for the ringer, speaker and microphone, or “Follow system setting”.

With a screen share: Share content, pick a screen or app, and turn on “Include computer sound” (an older article calls it “Share computer audio”). On a Mac, Webex asks to install audio drivers the first time you share computer audio; click Install, with an administrator password. Shared audio is heard in mono.

No screen: Share content › Advanced › Computer audio › Share. A “You’re sharing your computer audio” banner and a music note show; click Stop sharing to end. Webex documents this for its Webex Suite meeting platform.

In a browser: The Meetings web app has a “Share your computer audio” check box for Chrome and Edge only. Safari has no content sharing in the web app.

Music: In a meeting, open the menu on the Mute button and, under Webex smart audio, choose “Music mode”; a musical note appears on Mute. Webex says it “preserves your microphone’s original sound”. Make it the default in Settings › Audio.

Mac trip-up: If Share is greyed out or the prompt keeps coming back, open System Settings › Privacy & Security › Screen Recording and turn on Cisco Webex Meetings and Webex. On macOS Sonoma, Apple’s Mic Modes clash with Webex smart audio; Webex recommends the Standard mic mode.

Our guide: Play music on Webex.

Source: Webex: Share computer audio; Webex: Include computer sound when you share content; Webex: Play background music or audio without sharing content; Webex: Turn on music mode; Webex: Change your audio settings; Webex: Meetings web app known issues and limitations; Webex: Unable to share screen on a Mac.

Discord

Microphone: User Settings (the cog) › Voice & Video › Input Device, with Output Device under it.

With a screen share: Share Your Screen, then choose an app window or your entire screen. Discord: “Sharing audio from applications and games is supported on macOS 13 and above.” Its Mac article names no separate sound switch. Viewers can mute a stream or set its volume.

No screen: Discord’s help covers sound only as part of a screen or app stream.

In a browser: Discord: “Audio can only be captured by the Windows desktop, MacOS desktop, Chrome browser, and mobile clients.” So in a browser, only Chrome sends stream sound.

Music: No music mode. Noise Suppression (Krisp) is in Voice & Video, or on the icon in a voice channel, and you can turn it off.

Mac trip-up: A stream with no sound on a Mac usually means macOS blocked Discord’s audio access, or the Mac is older than macOS 13. Allow Discord’s screen and audio permission when it asks.

Our guide: Discord screen share with no audio.

Source: Discord: macOS Screen Share with Audio; Discord: Go Live and Screen Share; Discord: Voice and video troubleshooting; Discord: Krisp FAQ; Discord: Audio and video error codes.

Slack huddles

Microphone: Your profile picture › Preferences › Audio & video › Microphone. Noise suppression and automatic gain control are there too.

With a screen share: In a huddle, click the share screen icon, select a screen, window or app, click “Share system audio”, then Share. Slack names no driver or macOS version for it.

No screen: None in Slack’s help. “Play music” in a huddle is Slack’s own music for when you’re the last one there, not your audio.

In a browser: Huddles run in Chrome and Firefox on a Mac, not Safari. Slack gives screen-share steps for the desktop app only, and doesn’t say whether “Share system audio” is in the browser.

Music: No music mode. You can turn off noise suppression in Preferences › Audio & video.

Mac trip-up: After switching between the App Store and direct-download Slack, screen sharing can fail. Slack’s fix: System Settings › Privacy & Security › Screen & System Audio Recording, select Slack, click the minus button, then quit and reopen Slack.

Our guide: Play music in a huddle.

Source: Slack: Use huddles in Slack; Slack: Adjust your huddles preferences; Slack: Troubleshoot the huddles screen-sharing bug on the Mac app.

FaceTime

Microphone: In FaceTime, open the Video menu and pick a microphone, or “Use System Setting” to follow System Settings › Sound. In a call, the Video (or Audio) button in the menu bar has Mic Mode, on Macs from 2018 on.

With a screen share: Click the Video button in the menu bar, then the Screen Share button: Share Entire Screen, Share This Window, or share all of an app’s windows (macOS 12 or later). Apple’s screen-sharing guide doesn’t say whether the sound goes too.

No screen: Only through SharePlay. On a FaceTime video call, open Music and press play: “Everyone on the call who has a subscription to Apple Music hears the music start playing at the same time.” Others are asked to subscribe, and not all music works with SharePlay.

In a browser: There is no browser version for Mac users. FaceTime links open in a browser only for people without an Apple device.

Music: Choose Mic Mode › “Wide Spectrum”, which Apple says “brings every sound into your call”, instead of Voice Isolation.

Mac trip-up: The Video button in the menu bar is where the mic, Mic Mode and screen sharing live during a call. With “Use System Setting”, FaceTime follows the input and output in System Settings › Sound.

Source: Apple: Choose a camera or microphone for FaceTime calls on Mac; Apple: Change audio options in FaceTime on Mac; Apple: Share your screen in FaceTime on Mac; Apple: Use SharePlay to watch and listen together in FaceTime on Mac; Apple: Listen to music together using SharePlay in Music on Mac.

WhatsApp

Microphone: During a call, click More (…) to change the microphone, camera and speaker. WhatsApp’s help shows no setting for it before a call.

With a screen share: Screen sharing needs a video call and macOS 12.3 or later. Click the screen-sharing icon in the video controls, select the screen and click Share; stop it from the purple bubble in the menu bar. WhatsApp’s 2024 announcement says you can share audio with your screen, without naming platforms; the Mac help page doesn’t mention sound.

No screen: None in WhatsApp’s help.

In a browser: WhatsApp announced calling with screen sharing on WhatsApp Web in 2026. Its posts don’t say whether sound can go with the share.

Music: None in WhatsApp’s help.

Mac trip-up: Screen sharing works only in a video call, not a voice call. WhatsApp warns that anything on screen, usernames and passwords included, is visible to the other side.

Source: WhatsApp Help: Screen sharing on Mac; WhatsApp Help: How to make a video call on Mac; WhatsApp blog: Better calling across desktop and mobile (June 2024); WhatsApp blog: Introducing web calling on WhatsApp.

GoTo Meeting

Microphone: In a session, click the Settings icon in the top toolbar › Audio settings, and select your microphone and speaker. The choice appears when you use Computer audio.

With a screen share: GoTo’s help says sharing media sound is “not yet available” in the Mac desktop app; presenters need a web browser or the Windows app, where it’s Share › pick a screen or app › “Include media sound” › Share. A 2020 GoTo blog post described the feature on Mac, with a GoTo Audio Device driver; the current help page is the later word.

No screen: None in GoTo’s help.

In a browser: The web app runs in Chrome or Edge. Share a tab with “Share tab audio”, which is on by default. “Share system audio” for a whole screen is Windows only, so on a Mac it’s one tab’s sound. You must be on computer audio, and GoTo says changing the audio device stops audio sharing.

Music: None in GoTo’s help.

Mac trip-up: System Settings › Privacy & Security › Screen Recording (and Microphone and Camera) must include GoTo, or Chrome or Edge for the web app. After a Chrome update, GoTo says to turn Chrome’s Screen Recording entry off and on again, then restart the browser.

Source: GoTo: How do I include media sound during a session?; GoTo blog: Media sharing now available in GoTo Meeting (November 2020); GoTo: How do I change in-session settings?; GoTo: Why can’t I access the microphone, share my camera or share my screen?; GoTo: What is the web app?.

Jitsi Meet

Microphone: The arrow next to the mic opens Audio settings, or go to Settings › Devices › Microphone. In Safari you can choose the microphone but not the speaker.

With a screen share: Start a screen share, go to the Browser Tab section of the picker, select the tab, tick “share audio” and click Share. Jitsi: “On Windows you are able to share the entire system audio, but on Linux and macOS just that of the tab you’re sharing.”

No screen: Choose “Share audio” from the toolbar menu to send a tab’s sound without its picture, and “Stop audio sharing” to end. Jitsi says to stop screen sharing first.

In a browser: Jitsi Meet runs in a browser. For sound sharing on a Mac, Jitsi lists Chrome 72 or later and Edge 79 or later. Firefox 68 or later and Safari 14 or later work for calls, but Jitsi documents sound sharing for Chromium browsers only.

Music: No music mode. The toolbar has an “Extra noise suppression” switch you can leave off.

Mac trip-up: On a Mac, only a tab’s sound can go, never the whole system’s, so play the music or video in a Chrome or Edge tab.

Source: Jitsi handbook: Supported browsers; Jitsi blog: Features update, April 2020; Jitsi Meet: interface wording (lang/main.json, official repository).

When the app can’t do it

Every app here hears your microphone, even the ones that can’t send sound without a share. A virtual microphone carries the sound you choose in with your voice, so the call hears both with no share and nothing on screen. Patch, which we make, does this on a Mac with Apple silicon and macOS 26 or later, and its free Patch for Chrome extension can send a single browser tab. How it works in each app is in share audio without sharing your screen.

Questions

Sources

Every page below is the maker’s own help centre, documentation or official blog, checked on 13 October 2026. Forum posts and third-party articles aren’t used.

To cite this page: “What each call app on a Mac can do with sound”, tonal.fm, last checked 13 October 2026, https://www.tonal.fm/patch/call-app-sound-mac