You’re mid-call and words aren’t cutting it. You’ve said “top-right, under the second heading” three times, and the other person is still looking at the wrong thing.
Keep the phone call for voice and add Linkside for the screen. There is no meeting to schedule, account to create, or software to install. The person showing their screen creates a temporary room, then sends an invite link or reads a 10-character code aloud.
The one rule: whoever’s showing creates the room
Only the person who creates a Linkside room can share a screen. Decide who needs to show something before either of you opens a room:
| What needs to happen | Who creates the room? | Who joins? |
|---|---|---|
| You show your screen | You | The other person |
| They show their screen | The other person | You |
In Linkside, sharing requires a desktop browser. Chrome and Edge are the recommended choices for a host. A guest can view from a supported mobile browser, so the person watching may be able to use the phone already in their hand. They can also join from another computer.
Share your screen while you keep talking
Here is the flow when you need to show your screen.
Create the room
Open linkside.io/app/create. The page offers optional waiting-room and password controls, but you do not have to fill out a field. Leave the defaults as they are and select Create room.
Start sharing
Select Start sharing. The next dialog belongs to your browser, not Linkside. The browser must ask each time, and you choose a screen, window, or tab. Linkside cannot skip that prompt or choose for you.
If you close the dialog without choosing anything, select Start sharing again.
Get them in: text the link, or read the code
The session header contains an Invite link pill. Select it to copy the full link; the label briefly changes to Copied. Send that link through a message or email available on your computer.
If the phone call is your only communication channel, hover over or focus the Invite link pill to reveal the URL. Read the last 10 characters, after /app/join/, aloud. Capitalization does not matter.
The other person enters the code at linkside.io/app/join. The page checks it as they type and shows Room found when it matches a live room. Their nickname is already filled in; they need a password only if you chose to add one. They can then select Join room.
You can keep the phone as your voice channel. Neither creating, joining, nor viewing a Linkside room requires microphone permission.
When they need to show you
Reverse the roles. They open the same create page on a desktop computer, select Create room, then Start sharing, and send you the invite link or read you the code. You join as the guest from a supported mobile browser or another computer.
If they would benefit from more detailed directions, use the walkthrough for screen sharing with someone who isn’t technical. For a support call, see remote tech support without installing anything.
Why stay on the phone for audio?
Because it is already working. Linkside has an optional microphone control for hosts and guests, but turning it on requires browser permission. During a phone call, leaving it off avoids an unnecessary prompt and keeps each tool to one job: the phone carries your voices, and Linkside carries the screen.
What happens to the screen you share?
Linkside is peer-to-peer first. It tries to send the media directly from the host’s browser to each viewer’s browser. When a restrictive network prevents that direct path, Linkside falls back to an encrypted TURN relay. The media remains encrypted in transit on either path, and the relay cannot read the screen content.
Some operational information is still visible. Linkside’s signaling service observes that a room exists, roughly when guests join, and how long the session lasts. If the relay is needed, it sees encrypted packet routing, while Cloudflare’s edge sees IP-level traffic to the relay endpoints. That information is needed to operate the connection; Linkside does not retain it long-term or pair it with an account identity.
Linkside does not record sessions, transcribe audio, or analyse the screen. There is no persistent chat log or session history.
If something trips
- The page says the browser is not supported. The link may have opened inside a messaging app’s built-in browser. Linkside detects common in-app browsers and warns when it can. Open the link in regular Chrome or Edge instead.
- The page says “This room link has expired.” An unused room expires after about 15 minutes of inactivity. Activity within a Linkside session refreshes that timer; the separate phone call does not. Create a new room and send the new link or code.
- You cancelled the share dialog. Nothing has been shared. Select Start sharing and choose again.
- You are trying to share from a phone. In Linkside, mobile browsers are for guests viewing a screen. Move to desktop Chrome or Edge to host.
- The app says a relay is active. The direct connection was blocked by the network, so Linkside is routing encrypted packets through its fallback relay. Free rooms include a five-minute relay trial; a licence enables unlimited relay use.
When you are finished
The phone call and Linkside room are separate, so hanging up does not close the room for you. End the Linkside session when you are done. The room does not persist after the session ends, and there is no recording, chat log, or account to clean up.
For the next “let me show you” moment, create a fresh room and share a new link or code.