Embedded Files
Distribute a recording to the appropriate people, stored securely, for free? Without bureaucracy but two clicks and the agreement of the people on your call? Google Meet's recording feature has been heavily relied upon, but many people do not know how it works or are seeing it for the first time. Time for a deep dive and make your Meets better.
Rocking our world since 2018
How to record
How to record
Who can start, stop recordings
Who can start, stop recordings
Any person from your company can start and stop recording. No outside person can.
If you forget to stop, the recording ends when the last person drops off the Meet.
This is how it's done. YES the screenshot is super old - a nostalgic present to you. BUT the buttons have not changed, there are just more of them today.
Who owns the recording
Who owns the recording
For ad-hoc calls ("hey, jump on this Meet"), it will be the person who created the Meet/who called.
For calls on your calendar, it's the owner of the calendar.
More details on Meet ownership here.
Who can access the recording
Who can access the recording
When the Meet is over, the owner of the recording gets an email. They can then share the recording with others, like any other drive file.
For calls on your calendar, the recording gets attached to the invite. People from your company (and only those!) will be able to access it.
Why recording is amazing
Why recording is amazing
Easy to use
Easy to use
Compared to other tools, it is unbureaucratic - just one click and a confirmation.
Secure
Secure
Recordings are stored in Drive, your most secure storage service, only shared with others from your company on the call. "Need to know" is built in.
Add value to your Meet
Add value to your Meet
Meet is both a place to informally catch up and to conduct serious business. The ability to record adds to Meet's impressive web conferencing credentials.
It is free
It is free
You would be amazed at what vendors get away with. Let's just say: use Meet. You have better ways to spend your budget.
The same applies to live streaming - if not more.
Frequently asked questions
Frequently asked questions
What exactly gets recorded? The server-side view. This is independent on what you or I see. It will always be person currently speaking, full-screen. There is no grid-view, no thumbnails, no chatting*, no hand-raising.
*Messages exchanged using Meet's chatting function while recording are stored in a text file with timestamps, so that they can be integrated as closed captions. I have yet to see that being used.
Can I sneakily record? Absolutely not. All people on the call hear a chime before recording starts and see a message: "Holger has started recording." They have a few seconds to object, stop talking, turn off their cameras or drop off the call. Also, people who join later will see a message that they are about to join a call that is being recorded. People dialing in will hear a message before they join etc. Full transparency.
Can someone else stop the recording? Yes! Anyone from your company can stop the recording. I have not ever seen a start/stop war (we're adults), so this would probably apply more to cases where the recorder had to leave for another call. But still: Good to know.
What does the recording look like? It's an MP4 file, stored in Drive. There is no metadata and you can download the file.
Is recording compatible with live streaming? Yes. Recorded Meets can be live streamed, for people who miss the stream.
Is recording compatible with breakout rooms, Q&A, polls, hand raising? Recording is not compatible with breakout rooms (different Meet sessions will be created, those will not be recordable). Q&A, polls, hand raising can be used normally, but you will not see them on the recording (except the participants' delighted faces).
A personal note I have been telling many people: Recording a conversation instantly makes it a very formal affair. On our team, we always announce when a Meet is about to be recorded (it's become formulaic: "I'm going to start recording - if you do not want to be recorded, please leave now."). It's become part of our Meet etiquette. Recording a conversation, in the age of Meet, is the same thing as putting a microphone on a desk, or to start filming. Nobody in their right mind would do that over lunch, or when catching up with a group of friends, or for a 1:1 with their boss.
So just because you can record Meets, doesn't mean you will do it all the time, in fact it will be rare. But now it won't be scary or weird, I hope. And when you need it - Meet is there. Thank you for reading!
#meetPublished 2021-01-21 by Holger Matthies.Modified 2022-10-29 by Holger Matthies.
Page updated
Report abuse