The short version
The route depends on your computer. A Mac on macOS 13 Ventura or later can use an iPhone XR or newer (iOS 16 or later) with Continuity Camera, built in. A Windows 11 PC can use an Android phone running Android 10 or later as a connected camera through Phone Link. For any other mix, OBS lists phone webcam apps such as Camo, DroidCam and EpocCam. In each case the phone then appears as a camera in OBS’s Video Capture Device source.
iPhone and Mac: Continuity Camera
Sign both into the same Apple Account with two-factor authentication, and turn on Wi-Fi and Bluetooth on both. Mount the iPhone near the Mac, locked and steady, with its rear cameras facing you, in landscape so apps can pick it automatically. It works wired or wireless. Plug it into the Mac or a charger to keep the battery up.
In OBS, choose the iPhone in a Video Capture Device source, or pick it in your meeting app’s camera menu. The iPhone’s microphone is offered as an input too, but Apple expects you to need it only when the Mac has no other microphone; for a stream, keep your own. Unlocking the iPhone or taking a call on it pauses the video until you lock and mount it again.
- It needs: iPhone XR or later on iOS 16 or later, and a Mac on macOS 13 Ventura or later.
- Over USB, the iPhone must trust the Mac. Wirelessly, the Mac can’t be using AirPlay or Sidecar.
- The iPhone can’t share its mobile connection, and the Mac can’t share its internet connection, while you use it.
Android and Windows 11: connected camera
Windows 11 can use a linked Android phone on Android 10 or later as a webcam, with the Link to Windows app version 1.24022.0 or later. On the PC open Settings, Bluetooth & devices, Mobile devices. Add the phone if it isn’t linked yet, select it and turn on Use as connected camera. The phone then appears as a camera in Windows and in camera apps; choose it from the app’s camera list.
If the picture stays black, look for a new window with a camera icon on the taskbar and follow its steps, and check that Link to Windows has camera permission in the phone’s settings.
Any phone, any computer: a webcam app
OBS’s own guide lists apps that make a phone show up in OBS like a webcam, over USB or Wi-Fi. Camo works with iPhone and Android on Windows and Mac. DroidCam works with iPhone and Android on Windows and Linux, and has an OBS plugin; its free use is at 640 × 480. EpocCam, from Elgato, works with iPhone on Windows and Mac. Each offers paid features, so check what the free version gives before you plan around it.
Make it work as a stream camera
Mount the phone on a tripod or arm at eye level, keep it charging, and silence calls and notifications: on a Mac, a call answered on the iPhone pauses the picture. Then check the picture in the webcam test before you go live.
To send the result to a call as well as the stream, add the phone to OBS and use OBS’s virtual camera. Camera and microphone mounts covers where to put it.
Questions
Can I use an iPhone as a webcam on Windows? Not with Continuity Camera, which is Mac only. Use an app OBS lists for iPhone on Windows, such as Camo or EpocCam.
Is a phone better than a webcam? Apple sells Continuity Camera on effects a webcam lacks, such as Center Stage and Portrait mode. The cost is a phone tied up for the stream, a mount, power, and an app or wireless link in the chain. The webcam guide covers what a dedicated webcam gives you.
Can the phone be my microphone too? Yes: use your phone as a microphone covers the iPhone on a Mac and DroidCam’s audio in OBS.