As a part of Google’s pre-I/O Android Show from a few weeks back, they showed off several upcoming features that were a lock for Android 17 at some point. The rollout of each had varying timelines, but we sort of anticipated that some would land with stable Android 17 in Q2, while many would show up in a future 2026 release.
One of the features highlighted was a screen reaction-type of thing, where you could turn on your selfie camera during screen recordings to react to happenings on screen. It basically gave everyone with a Pixel phone the opportunity to make one of those awful YouTuber reaction clips.
That feature was included in the latest Android 17 QPR1 Beta 4 that began rolling out yesterday.
You can find it by turning on a screen recording and then choosing the “Entire screen” option from the top dropdown menu. That choice will present a “Show selfie camera” toggle that, when enabled, presents you through the selfie camera as you record.
It’s pretty slick! When activated, the selfie camera is able to filter out your background, almost as if you had a green screen behind you. You can also choose to add a colored background and drag your picture around the screen too.
Other options are here too, like recording of device audio, using the microphone of your phone, and showing touches.
Aspiring reaction folk, it’s time to install the latest Android 17 QPR1 beta on your Pixel phone.
