Loom: The Ultimate Screen Recording Tool for Asynchronous Feedback
The Importance of Browser Extensions
Browser extensions are small software programs that enhance the functionality of a web browser. They offer a convenient and efficient way to tailor the browsing experience to meet individual needs and preferences. Besides customizing the browser interface, extensions can also augment browsing capabilities, improve web content accessibility, and facilitate a variety of online activities – from web development and digital marketing to personal productivity and web security.
About Loom: A High-Quality Chrome Extension
Loom is a top-tier browser extension available on the Chrome Web Store. With more than 14 million users across 200,000 companies, it is recognised as an industry-leading screen recording tool. Designed to make screen recording and sharing incredibly straightforward, it allows users to capture their screen and camera with a single click, automatically saving the recordings to the cloud.
Main Goals of the Loom Extension
- Record your screen, camera, microphone, and internal audio: Loom provides a comprehensive recording solution, capturing not just your screen and camera, but also microphone and internal audio.
- Instant sharing: After recording, Loom automatically saves videos to the cloud, generating a shareable link instantly. This feature makes it very easy to share your recordings with anyone.
- Facilitate asynchronous feedback: Loom enables time-based comments and emoji reactions, making it an excellent tool for providing asynchronous feedback.
- Manage your video library: With Loom, users can easily manage their video library across devices and on-the-go.
- Ensure video security: Users can control who can watch their videos, thanks to Loom's security and access controls.
As a versatile and user-friendly tool, Loom aims to simplify the screen recording process, enhance communication, and foster collaboration among teams and individuals. Whether for product demos, feedback provision, or thought sharing, Loom is a practical solution for staying connected with your team through asynchronous video.
Installation and Setup of Loom Extension
Loom extension is a leading screen recording tool used by millions of people for recording screen, sharing thoughts visually, and providing asynchronous feedback. Here is a step-by-step guide on how to install and setup the Loom extension.
Step-by-step guide on how to install the extension
- Open the Chrome Web Store in your browser.
- Type 'Loom' in the search bar and press enter.
- Click on the 'Add to Chrome' button next to the Loom extension.
- A confirmation box will appear, click on 'Add extension'.
- Wait for the installation process to complete.
Notable settings during the setup process
During the setup process of Loom, you can adjust various settings to tailor the extension to your needs.
- Recording options: Choose between recording your screen, camera, or both. You can also select the recording quality, with options including 720p, 1080p, 1440p, and 4k HD.
- Notification settings: Enable notifications to get alerted when someone views, reacts, or comments on your video.
- Access controls: Decide who can see your video with security and access controls.
- Video management: Manage your Loom video library on-the-go and across devices.
Loom offers compatibility with various devices and platforms. You can access and use Loom on a desktop through the Chrome browser extension, or on mobile devices with the Loom iOS and Android apps. Loom videos automatically display in popular team collaboration platforms like Slack and Microsoft Teams.
For more information about the features and capabilities of Loom, visit the official Loom website.
Key Features of Loom – Screen Recorder & Screen Capture
Feature 1: Versatile Screen Recording
Loom allows you to record your screen, camera, microphone, and internal audio. You can either record your screen, camera, or both for free. It also provides iOS and Android apps to record your mobile phone. Recordings can be in 720p, 1080p, 1440p, or 4k HD resolution. Adding to these, you can enhance your videos with camera frames, backgrounds, and camera effects like blurring.
Feature 2: Video Hosting and Management
All your recordings are automatically stored inside of Loom HQ, providing you with a centralized location to manage your videos. You can also upload Zoom and Google Meet recordings directly into Loom for later retrieval. For easier navigation and organization, you can create hashtags to keep track of important videos.
Feature 3: Instant Sharing with a Link
Once you finish recording, Loom generates a link that you can share with anyone. Loom makes screen recording sharing effortless, allowing anyone in the world to watch your recording for free. You can also share your videos to LinkedIn, Twitter, or publish to the Google Search index.
Feature 4: Enhanced Engagement
Loom fosters video engagement by allowing comments and emoji reactions on your videos. You can even respond with your own Loom in the comments to create a video message thread. Plus, Loom videos automatically display in popular collaboration tools like Slack and Microsoft Teams.
Feature 5: Meeting Replacement
With Loom, you can record a presentation and send it to your audience ahead of time, effectively replacing needless meetings. Screen record your next weekly update to add rich visual context and your own personal touch.
Enhancing Browsing Experience with Loom
The features offered by Loom collectively enhance the browsing experience by offering a seamless way to record, share, and interact with video content. Screen recording is made easy and versatile with multiple recording options and quality settings. Video management is also simplified with automatic cloud storage and organizational tools.
Moreover, instant link sharing enables quick and easy distribution of your screen recordings. Engagement features like comments and emoji reactions allow for interactive and dynamic communication. Lastly, the meeting replacement feature empowers users to communicate more effectively by providing visual context and personal touch in their messages.
Security and Privacy
Extension's Security Analysis
My security analysis is based on different parameters including the manifest.json, content script, permissions, and host permissions. Each parameter is ranked between 0 and 10, with 10 having the highest potential impact on security. Detailed rankings are as follows:
- Manifest.json rank: 0
- Content script rank: 8
- Permissions rank: 6
- Host permissions rank: 7
Potential Security Concerns or Vulnerabilities
Certain permissions requested by the extension have a more pronounced impact on security. These permissions, along with their weights, are:
- cookies, weight 6
- activeTab, weight 6
- scripting, weight 8
- tabCapture, weight 5
- contextMenus, weight 3
- desktopCapture, weight 5
Requested Permissions and their Impact on Security
Requested permissions can significantly influence the security of an extension. For instance, permissions to access cookies or the activeTab could potentially expose sensitive user data if mishandled. Similarly, permissions to access scripting, tabCapture, contextMenus, and desktopCapture also carry significant security implications. It's important for users to understand these permissions and how they can affect their security.
User Reviews and Ratings
User reviews on the Chrome Web Store
Users have varied experiences and feedback about the Loom Screen Recorder & Screen Capture tool. Here are some of the user reviews from the Chrome Web Store:
- Hayitov Bekzod rated the tool 1 out of 5, complaining about the difficulty in recording both the camera and screen at the same time. He found the tool not user-friendly and inconvenient.
- George Warren had a positive experience, giving the tool a 5-star rating and describing it as a "Great tool".
- Kashif Muhammad, like Hayitov, had a negative experience, citing that the microphone option was not working. He rated the tool a 1-star.
Common user feedback and experiences
From the user reviews, it's clear that many users have issues with the tool's functionality, particularly with the microphone option and the feature to record both the camera and screen simultaneously. Some users also expressed disappointment with the fact that certain features are only available in the paid version of the tool. However, there were also users who found the tool helpful and appreciated its features.
Positive and Negative Reviews
While the negative reviews highlight some technical issues that need to be addressed, it's important to note that some users have a positive experience with the tool. For instance, George Warren, who rated the tool 5 out of 5, finds it a "Great tool". This suggests that while there are issues that need fixing, the tool may still prove beneficial to some users depending on their specific needs.
Comparing Loom with Similar Extensions
Tweet Hunter X, formerly known as Twemex, is a free app that enhances productivity on Twitter. Unlike Loom, which is focused on screen recording and sharing, Tweet Hunter X enhances your Twitter experience by providing top-performing tweets from your timeline, highlights of anybody's best tweets, and an improved search experience. However, it does not have the option to record videos or screen content like Loom does.
Drift Video is a screen recorder that allows you to chat directly from the videos you create. Similar to Loom, Drift Video lets you record your screen, face, or both. It also has the added feature of live chat with viewers of your video. However, Loom offers automatic saving of videos to the cloud, time-based comments, and emoji reactions, which Drift does not have. Also, Loom has a larger user base and a higher rating in the Chrome Web Store.
Aircall Dialer is a unique tool that allows you to dial and call phone numbers from any webpage or add them to an automated calling list. Unlike Loom and the other extensions, Aircall Dialer does not offer screen recording or video sharing capabilities. It focuses solely on calling functionality within webpages.
Key Differentiators and Unique Selling Points
What sets Loom apart from these similar extensions is its comprehensive approach to screen recording and sharing. Not only can you record your screen, camera, microphone, and internal audio, but you can also automatically save videos to the cloud and share them instantly with a link. Loom also offers security and access controls to choose who can see your video, and a video library to manage your Loom videos on-the-go and across devices. Furthermore, it allows users to leave time-based comments and emoji reactions.
Recommendations Based on Comparisons
If your primary need is for screen recording and sharing capabilities with a wide range of features, then Loom is the recommended choice. It offers comprehensive recording and sharing features that the other extensions do not provide. However, if you are looking for an extension to enhance your Twitter experience or to dial and call numbers from web pages, then Tweet Hunter X or Aircall Dialer would be more suitable options.
Conclusion
Overall Strengths and Weaknesses of Loom Extension
One of the major strengths of the Loom extension is its simplicity and speed. It offers an all-in-one solution for recording screen, camera, microphone, and internal audio. The automatic saving of videos to the cloud and instant sharing via a link enhance its usability. Plus, the additional features like emoji reactions, time-based comments, and security controls add to its value.
On the downside, quality of the recordings might be an issue, particularly if you are recording in a higher resolution like 4k HD. Although Loom allows for such high-resolution recordings, the output might not be as smooth or as crisp as expected.
Final Verdict
In conclusion, given the extensive range of features and ease of use, the Loom extension is definitely worth trying. Whether you are a professional looking for a screen recording tool or a student needing to capture online lectures, Loom can be a valuable tool.
Additional Tips and Recommendations
- Ensure your internet connection is stable for the best recording and uploading experience.
- Utilize the feature of adding flair to your video with camera frames, backgrounds, and effects to make your content more engaging.
- To boost engagement, use comments and emoji reactions.
- Make good use of the security controls to manage who can see your videos.
- Don't forget to explore other features like the ability to upload Zoom and Google Meet recordings directly into Loom.
In addition, consider the Loom mobile apps for recording on-the-go. For more information and to try using Loom, click here.
20 Reviews For This Extension
I switched to paid business plan so that I can download the videos and extend the amont of time, but I can't record my camera and screen at the same time. Looks not user-friendly. Inconvenient.
Great tool
Worst ever app, microphone option is not working
This is a joke. After adding the extension, when clicked on, will just bring you right back here..
Unfortunately I am not getting the option to record both screen and camera. I have restarted my machine, reinstalled the extension but it does not give me the option.
My recording keeps ending automatically for very important meetings. This is disapointing.
I really don't like it :( Especially forcing the startup on Windows feature
its paid and we cant make videos offline for student version
Unable to download for students about what I recorded.
Cannot detect my Microphone even I already allow all on the site settings.
Last second freemium for downloads
pls fix dis i cant even record on roblox :(
Works Hour Yes Hour No. Very buggy extension :) If found myself remove and reinstall this extension hundreds of times (Each time for difference reason - all kind of). hh. Anyway in the day it is working - its good.
Waist of time.
how do i record
sucks butt, you have to pay to download a simple video idk how this is rated so highley
terrible.
0 starts
Waste of time.
I wish there was a 0 or negative rating option. even after purchasing I dont get certain options. and the chat help is hopeless !!!!