What is Loom?
Loom lets people record short videos of their screen, their camera or both, then share them instantly with a link. Viewers can watch in a browser without installing anything, leave time-stamped comments and emoji reactions, and follow along with transcripts and captions. The idea is to replace many meetings and long written explanations with a quick recorded walkthrough that colleagues watch when it suits them.
Recordings upload while they are being made, so a link is ready as soon as the creator stops recording. Loom also provides simple editing tools for trimming and stitching clips, call-to-action buttons that point viewers to a next step, and engagement insights that show who watched a video and for how long.
Since joining Atlassian, Loom has been built into Confluence and Jira, where videos can be recorded and embedded directly. AI features generate titles, summaries and chapters automatically and can turn a recording into written material such as a document, a step-by-step guide or a bug report, bridging video and text-based workflows.
Key features of Loom
- 01
Screen and camera recording
Record the full screen, a single window or a browser tab, with an optional camera bubble and microphone audio, from desktop apps, a Chrome extension or mobile apps.
- 02
Instant link sharing
Videos upload as they record, producing a shareable link immediately, and viewers can watch in the browser without downloading anything.
- 03
Comments and reactions
Viewers leave time-stamped comments and emoji reactions on specific moments, keeping feedback tied to the exact part of the video it refers to.
- 04
Transcripts and captions
Automatic transcripts and closed captions make videos searchable and accessible, and viewers can speed up playback to get through updates faster.
- 05
AI summaries and workflows
AI generates titles, summaries and chapters and can convert a recording into written formats such as documents, step-by-step guides or bug reports.
- 06
Editing and calls to action
Simple tools let creators trim clips, stitch recordings together and add call-to-action buttons that send viewers to a link or next step.
- 07
Viewer insights
Engagement data shows who viewed a video, how much of it they watched and how they responded, which is especially useful for sales and customer outreach.
Who uses Loom?
- Remote and hybrid teams share project updates and code or design walkthroughs asynchronously instead of scheduling meetings across time zones.
- Support and customer success teams send personalized how-to videos that show customers exactly where to click.
- Sales teams record personalized prospecting videos and see which prospects actually watched them.
- Engineering and QA teams capture bugs on video so developers can see the exact steps and on-screen behavior that led to a problem.
History of Loom
Loom was founded in San Francisco in 2015 by Joe Thomas, Vinay Hiremath and Shahed Khan. The team initially worked on a user-testing product called Opentest before pivoting to a simple screen recorder, which launched as Loom in 2016 and grew quickly as a Chrome extension.
Adoption accelerated with the shift to remote work in 2020, and by 2021 the company had raised more than $200 million from investors including Sequoia Capital and Andreessen Horowitz. Atlassian announced a deal to acquire Loom for about $975 million in October 2023 and completed the purchase at the end of November that year.
- 2015
Joe Thomas, Vinay Hiremath and Shahed Khan found the company that becomes Loom.
- 2016
The Loom screen recorder launches, initially spreading as a Chrome extension.
- 2021
A $130 million funding round led by Andreessen Horowitz values Loom at about $1.5 billion.
- 2023
Atlassian completes its acquisition of Loom for about $975 million.
Loom pricing
Pricing modelFreemium
Free Starter plan with limits on recording length and video count; Business and Enterprise plans add unlimited recording, AI features and admin controls.
Prices change often. Check the official Loom website for current plans.
Loom alternatives
Well-known alternativesVidyard, Zight, Screencastify, Microsoft Clipchamp and Descript
Loom: frequently asked questions
Who owns Loom?
Loom is owned by Atlassian, the company behind Jira and Confluence. Atlassian completed its acquisition of Loom in November 2023 for about $975 million. Loom was founded in San Francisco in 2015 by Joe Thomas, Vinay Hiremath and Shahed Khan.
What is Loom used for?
Loom is used to record and share quick videos of a screen, a camera or both. Teams use it for asynchronous status updates, product demos, code and design reviews, bug reports, onboarding tutorials, customer support walkthroughs and personalized sales outreach.
Is Loom free?
Loom offers a free Starter plan with limits on recording length and the number of videos each person can keep. Paid Business and Enterprise plans remove those limits and add features such as AI summaries, custom branding, advanced privacy controls and administration tools.
When was Loom released?
The Loom screen recorder launched in 2016, a year after its founders started the company around a different product called Opentest. It first gained popularity as a Chrome extension before adding desktop and mobile apps.
Is Loom part of Confluence and Jira?
Loom is still a standalone product with its own apps, but since the Atlassian acquisition it has been integrated into Confluence and Jira, where users can record, embed and watch Loom videos without leaving their pages and issues.
Sources
- Loom loom.com
- Loom pricing loom.com
- Loom, Inc., Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org
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