How to Record a Video Meeting: Options, Storage, and Best Practices

Recording a video meeting is a one-button action on most platforms, but the decisions around recording are more complex: where does the recording go, who can access it, how long is it kept, and should you be recording at all when a transcript serves the same purpose more efficiently.

How recording works on major platforms

• Zoom: host starts recording; saves to local storage or cloud (cloud requires paid plan). Participants see an on-screen notification.
• Google Meet: recording saves to the host's Google Drive. Requires Workspace Business Standard or higher.
• Microsoft Teams: recordings save to OneDrive or SharePoint. Available on most Teams plans.
• MeetOye: host enables recording for a specific meeting. Recording saves to MeetOye storage with signed download links. Transcript is captured by Oya separately.

The consent requirement

In most jurisdictions, recording a conversation requires the consent of participants. All major platforms display an on-screen notification when recording starts. For legal compliance, verbally announcing that the meeting is being recorded at the start is best practice, particularly for external meetings with clients or candidates.

When to record vs when to rely on transcript

• Record when: the visual element matters (screen shares, presentations, product demos), coaching from watching the full call is the goal, or the exact wording matters for compliance.
• Use transcript instead when: the goal is capturing decisions and action items, the meeting is an internal standup or planning session, or storage cost is a concern.

Storage and retention

Video recordings consume significant storage — 500MB to 2GB per hour depending on quality. Transcripts are a few kilobytes. For teams that record every meeting, storage costs accumulate and retention policies need active management. MeetOye supports both recording and transcript capture; the recommended approach is transcript by default, recording when the video record is genuinely needed.