How to use an Android phone as a webcam for a Mac

You can use an Android phone as a webcam for a Mac in three ways. Plug it in with a USB cable and use Android's built-in webcam mode, if your phone has it. Install a webcam app pair such as Camo or Iriun, which both list macOS support. Or use The Relay, which makes the phone's camera and microphone appear on the Mac wirelessly, as devices you can select in Zoom, Google Meet, or FaceTime. Apple's own Continuity Camera only works with an iPhone.

Publisher note: The Relay publishes this guide and is one of the products discussed. Details about other products come from each maker's own pages, checked on 1 October 2026. Prices and features change, so confirm before you buy.

Is there Continuity Camera for Android?

No. Apple's page, Continuity Camera: Use iPhone as a webcam for Mac, requires an iPhone XR or later on iOS 16 or later and a Mac on macOS Ventura 13 or later, both "signed in to the same Apple Account". It works wirelessly or over USB, and Apple lists effects such as Center Stage, Portrait mode, Studio Light, and Desk View.

Nothing on that page includes Android. What you can do is make an Android phone show up on the Mac as an ordinary camera, which is all Zoom or Meet needs. Apple's named effects belong to Continuity Camera and do not come with it.

Option 1: Android's built-in USB webcam mode (free)

Recent Android versions can present the phone to a computer as a standard USB camera, with no app on either side.

Google's help page for Pixel, Use your Pixel phone as a webcam, gives the steps:

1. Connect the phone to the computer with a USB cable that supports data.
2. On the phone, tap the Charging this device through USB notification.
3. Under "Use USB for", select Webcam.

Then pick the phone as the camera in your video app on the Mac.

Will it work with a Mac? Google's Pixel page says the webcam works on "any device that has USB Video Class (UVC) support implemented, such as laptops, TVs, cars, and other phones and tablets". It does not name macOS. The Android Open Source Project's page for device makers, Use a device as a webcam, goes further. It says the feature exists on devices running Android 14 QPR1 or higher, and that it lets hosts with different operating systems, "for example, Linux, macOS, Windows, and ChromeOS", use the phone's camera.

Two cautions from that same page:

• Not every phone has it. The page tells device makers they must switch the feature on in their build. So it depends on your phone's maker, not only on the Android version. If you do not see Webcam in the USB options, your phone does not offer it.
• The cable matters on a Mac. The page says: "Android devices in webcam mode don't work with USB 3.0+ cables on macOS hosts because of a bug with Apple's UVC driver." If the phone is in webcam mode and the Mac shows nothing, try a plain USB 2.0 data cable before you give up.

Treat this route as something to test, not a promise. It costs nothing to try. Also note what it does not cover: Google's steps set up the camera and do not mention the phone's microphone, and you are tied to a cable.

Option 2: a webcam app

These work as a pair: an app on the phone and a program on the Mac that creates a camera your video apps can select.

Camo

Camo's site says it "enables the camera you already own to produce incredible video", with Camo Studio on macOS 12.3 or later and Camo Camera on Android 7.0 or later, connected by cable or wirelessly. It says it works with video apps including Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams. The pricing page describes a free version with "no watermark, ads, or spam" and a Pro version, sold monthly, annually, or as a lifetime licence, that adds things like 4K, background blur, and manual controls. The page did not state fixed amounts when we checked it on 1 October 2026, so look there for the current price.

If you care about picture controls, this is the specialist.

Iriun

Iriun's site says: "Use your phone's camera as a wireless webcam in PC or Mac." You install the Mac program, which it lists for macOS 12.3 or later, and the phone app, and then, in its words, "start using the phone with your favourite video applications".

DroidCam on a Mac

DroidCam describes itself as "Phone as Webcam" for chat programs such as Zoom and for OBS Studio. Its home page lists desktop clients for Windows and Linux. For macOS, what it offers is the DroidCam OBS plugin, with "WiFi & USB transfer options on all supported systems". That means running OBS Studio, a video production program, with the phone as a source inside it. If you already use OBS, that suits you. If you only want a camera for a meeting, Camo or Iriun is the more direct route.

Option 3: The Relay

With The Relay, the phone's camera and microphone appear on the Mac as a camera and a microphone. Apps such as Zoom, Google Meet, and FaceTime can select them from their usual camera and microphone menus. It is wireless, over your local network.

The webcam is one feature of an app that also syncs the clipboard, moves files, shows notifications, incoming texts and login codes, and incoming calls, and hands links across. It is installed on both devices and paired by scanning a QR code shown on the Mac. It needs Android 8.0 or later and macOS 13 Ventura or later, and costs $19.99, paid once, from the download page.

When it is not the right tool:

• You want a cable. The Relay has no USB mode. Use Android's webcam mode or Camo.
• You want free. Try the built-in USB mode first, then the free versions of the webcam apps.
• The webcam is the only thing you need, and you want fine control over the picture. A dedicated app such as Camo is built for that.

We have not measured picture quality or delay for any of these, including our own. Run the test below.

How do I test a phone webcam in five minutes?

1. Set the phone up with the option you chose and prop it at eye level, rear camera facing you if the app allows.
2. On the Mac, open FaceTime or Photo Booth and choose the phone from the camera menu. If it is not listed, quit and reopen the app.
3. Open your real meeting app. In Zoom or Google Meet, open the video settings and select the phone as the camera. Select the microphone you intend to use.
4. Start a test meeting with yourself or a friend. Clap once and watch whether the picture and the sound stay together.
5. Leave it running for ten minutes. Check that the phone has not dimmed, overheated, or dropped the connection, and look at how much battery it used.
6. Receive a call or a notification on the phone during the test and see what happens to the video. Google's Pixel page notes that webcam mode pauses when another app needs the camera.

Which option should I pick?

For advice on framing, light, and sound in meetings, see using an Android phone as a webcam for video calls.

Questions people ask

Does Continuity Camera work with Android?

No. Apple requires an iPhone and a Mac signed in to the same Apple Account. An Android phone needs one of the routes above to appear as a camera on a Mac.

Can I use my Android phone as a webcam on a MacBook without an app?

Possibly. If your phone shows Webcam in its USB options, connect it with a data cable and select it on the MacBook. Android's documentation names macOS among the supported hosts and warns that USB 3.0 and later cables do not work with macOS in this mode. If the option is missing on your phone, you need an app.

Does my Samsung Galaxy have the built-in webcam mode?

Android's documentation says device makers have to enable it, and Google's help page covers Pixel phones. Connect your Galaxy to the Mac, open the USB notification, and look for a Webcam choice. If it is not there, check Samsung's support page or use an app.

Can the Mac use the phone's microphone too?

With The Relay, yes: the phone's microphone appears on the Mac as a microphone you can select. For the other options, check each maker's page. Google's steps for the built-in USB mode describe the camera only.

Is there DroidCam for Mac?

DroidCam's home page lists Windows and Linux clients, and a DroidCam OBS plugin that supports macOS. So on a Mac it works through OBS Studio.