The right screen-sharing tool depends on what must happen during and after the session. A client walkthrough needs a live view. A training archive needs a recording. Hands-on technical support may need remote control. Those are different jobs, even if each starts with “Can you see my screen?”
Before comparing features or prices, answer four questions: Does anyone need an account? Must the session be recorded? Does another person need control? Should the room or its history still exist tomorrow?
1. Does anyone need an account?
An available account is not the same as a required account.
Choose an account-based tool when the session must attach to a durable identity: a recurring workspace, an organization-managed member, saved settings, or history that people can revisit.
For a one-off screen share, you may already know the other person and have a trusted way to send the room link. In that case, a persistent profile may add work without helping the session.
Linkside does not provide durable identity. Neither the host nor the guest creates an account or supplies an email address. The host creates a temporary room; a guest opens its link and joins with a nickname used only in that room. If you need an organization directory, reusable membership, or account-level access policies, Linkside is the wrong fit. Why Linkside requires no account explains that choice.
2. Must the session be recorded?
If a class, review, or formal process needs a replayable video or transcript, recording is a requirement rather than a bonus. Choose a tool that records the session and gives you suitable retention and access controls. Linkside is not that tool.
Linkside has no recording or transcription feature and does not store the screen or audio stream. After the room closes, Linkside has no video or transcript to return.
That promise covers what Linkside does. An invited viewer can see the content you choose to share, so send the room link only to people you trust.
3. Does someone else need to control the computer?
Watching and operating are different jobs.
If a technician must click buttons, type commands, or work while the owner steps away, choose a remote-control product. Check how control is granted and revoked, whether unattended access is possible, and what the remote operator can reach.
If the owner stays at the keyboard while another person talks them through a task, view-only sharing may be enough. In Linkside, a guest can watch what the host chooses to share, talk, and use the in-session chat. The guest cannot send mouse or keyboard input to the host’s computer.
Screen sharing without remote control explains when that boundary is useful and when it is not.
4. Should anything persist after the session?
If tomorrow’s session must reopen today’s room, messages, files, attendance, or decisions, choose a persistent workspace.
Linkside rooms are temporary. Chat stays in the browser for the session, and Linkside keeps no recording. When the host ends a room, it becomes unavailable immediately. Linkside keeps a short-lived marker for five minutes, then removes the room record. A later conversation starts with a new room and link. One-time rooms explains that lifecycle.
Compare tools against the job
Rule out any tool that misses a requirement before comparing price or secondary features.
| Your non-negotiable | Choose a tool built for | Is Linkside a fit? |
|---|---|---|
| Saved identity or recurring workspace | Account-based continuity | No |
| A replayable session artifact | Recording and artifact management | No |
| Someone else operating the computer | Remote control | No |
| A temporary room sent by link | Temporary, view-only sharing | Yes |
| No service-side recording or chat history | No saved session content | Yes |
| Hosting in desktop Chrome or Edge without an install | Browser-based sharing | Yes |
Linkside fits a temporary, no-account, view-only session. A free room supports one host and one guest. A licensed private room supports up to four people in total. Nothing needs to be installed, and desktop Chrome or Edge gives hosts the recommended experience. Mobile browsers are for guests, not hosts. If you need a larger group, remote input, a reusable room, or an artifact after the call, choose another tool.
Where Linkside’s privacy model fits
Linkside is peer-to-peer first: it tries to send the screen and audio directly from the host’s browser to each guest’s browser. Some restrictive networks prevent that direct path. When this happens, Linkside can fall back to a TURN relay, but the media remains encrypted in transit and the relay does not hold the keys needed to decrypt it. A free room gets a five-minute relay trial when the fallback is needed; a licence removes that relay time limit.
“Peer-to-peer first” does not mean Linkside learns nothing about the session. While a room is live, the service holds temporary room and participant details needed to connect everyone, including nicknames and connection-setup messages. When operational analytics are enabled, Linkside can also record limited facts such as whether a connection succeeded, session duration, join counts, broad browser and country categories, and relay or licence status. Those analytics do not include the screen, audio, chat text, room password, or participant nickname.
For the full boundary, read what Linkside stores about a session and what screen-sharing encryption does and does not guarantee.
Run the one-minute fit test
Before inviting anyone, finish these sentences:
- “After this call, I need to keep ___.”
- “During this call, the guest needs to do ___.”
- “Before joining, each person can reasonably be asked to ___.”
If the blanks contain a recording, a persistent workspace, remote input, or organization-managed identity, rule Linkside out. If the answers are “nothing,” “watch, talk, or chat,” and “open a link,” Linkside’s temporary room model may fit.
Create a temporary room when those constraints match your session, then send the link to someone you trust.