Microsoft Teams is a software suite that’s commonly used by companies to facilitate online meetings between employees or to talk to external collaborators or important customers. This app allows for instant communication between thousands of users at any given time with video, audio, note sharing, and more. Compared to traditional means of business communication such as phone or e-mail, Microsoft Teams is clearly a huge upgrade.
Since videoconferencing is such a big part of this app, the communication is largely visual and occurs in real-time. Video recording is popular. The same is true for meetings organized with Microsoft Teams, where invited users can chat with their webcams turned on or share the content of their computer screen with others. That’s great for brainstorming new ideas and discussing a detailed schedule of activities, but it can sometimes be hard to remember everything that was said during the meeting.
How to Record Teams Meeting
This is why many people are wondering how to record Teams meeting and be able to access its content whenever it’s convenient. This is possible to do, but you should be aware of certain limitations and conditions before you try executing it in practice.
Also read: How to Record Online Meeting? >
Table of Contents: hide
Who Can Record a Meeting in Microsoft Teams?
How to Record Microsoft Teams Meetings [5 Methods]
Using Microsoft Meeting Built-in Recorder
Record a Teams Meeting Using FocuSee
Record a Teams Meeting Using OBS Studio
Record a Teams Meeting Using Xbox Game Bar
Who Can Record a Meeting in Microsoft Teams?
- All Teams meetings are initiated by an organizer and overseen by an admin, and both of those individuals have the power to record a meeting, or specifically issue permission for certain participants to do it.
- The administrator also has the power to extend expire date for the recording or to remove it altogether, depending on the type of meeting, the relevance of the content, company policies, etc.
- In addition to people assigned by admin and organizer, some individuals can independently start recording a meeting in Microsoft Teams based on the type of license they have. In particular, this pertains to holders of Office 365 Enterprise Business, Business Premium, or Business Essential licenses.
- Participants belonging to the same organization as the meeting organizer also have this possibility, even if the organizer is not currently present. With this in mind, it can be said the system is quite democratic and allows most shareholders to create recordings on their own initiative.
It’s important to know that the recording will continue even if the person that started it leaves the meeting, and will only end once all participants leave.
How to Record Microsoft Teams Meetings
On the other hand, if you are wondering if can you record a Microsoft Teams meeting as a guest, the answer is unfortunately negative. External guests and those who participate anonymously in the meeting are precluded from recording it without explicit permission from the admin. When the recording is started, Teams will notify all the participants with a direct message.
Depending on the jurisdiction it may be legally required to obtain a formal agreement from all participants before proceeding, which should be kept in mind when holding international meetings.
How to Record Microsoft Teams Meetings [5 Methods]
Using Microsoft Meeting Built-in Recorder
Microsoft Meeting Built-in Recorder
Once you navigate all the rules regarding who can record the meeting, the rest of the process is not very complicated. Since it’s possible to record from within the app and most settings are applied by default, there is no need to install any software or undergo any lengthy preparations. Just follow a succession of simple steps and Teams will do everything else automatically.
Here is how to start and stop a recording session in Microsoft Teams and capture everything that’s said and shared during a meeting:
Starting the Recording
Step 1. Open the Microsoft Teams app on your computer or phone and join the meeting in progress, or start a new one.
Step 2. Click on the three-dot icon at the top of the screen to access meeting controls for that meeting.
Click on the Three-dot icon
Step 3. Select More options from the menu, before clicking on the Start recording item.
Click on the Start Recording Button
Step 4. From the same menu, you can also select Live transcriptions to be included, but only if that’s allowed by the admin.
Stopping the Recording
Step 1. Again, open the meeting controls by clicking on the three-dot icon in the Teams interface
Step 2. Choose More options, and then select Stop recording and/or Stop transcription, depending on what was being captured
Step 3. If there is a company policy regarding meeting recording, you must accept it before saving
Step 4. Wait for a short while for the recording to be processed and saved before it can be viewed
Finding the Finished Recording
All recordings are saved in the cloud, but the exact location might differ for meetings of various types. If you are unsure where Teams save recordings, there is a very simple rule of thumb to follow. In case the recorded meeting was conducted within a channel, it will be saved on SharePoint. Otherwise, you should look for the recording on the OneDrive cloud service.
The file will remain in the same location for a fixed period defined by the admin, and in some cases may be kept permanently if the No Expiration option is active. Only members of the organization can access the recording by default, as guests and external participants require permission from the admin.
Record a Teams Meeting Using FocuSee
FocuSee is a professional screen recorder that allows you to easily record everything on your screen without any additional editing process.
The FocuSee method allows for discreet recording without notifying others in the meeting. Ensure you have the right to record and are compliant with any relevant policies or laws.
Record a Teams Meeting Using OBS Studio
OBS Studio is a powerful and free tool widely recognized for its ability to capture high-quality screen recordings. It’s not just for gamers—it’s also perfect for professionals looking to record online meetings with ease.
Step 1. Download and install OBS Studio on your PC.
Step 2. Open the app > Go to Settings and set your Video resolution and output format. Confirm with OK.
Step 3. Click the + icon and choose Window Capture.
Step 4. Open Microsoft Teams in your browser without joining the meeting.
Step 5. In OBS, select the Teams window for a preview > Right-click the preview and select “Fit to Screen.”
Step 6. Hit the Start Recording button > Join the Teams meeting; recording will be in progress.
Step 7. Return to OBS and click Stop Recording to finish.
Record a Teams Meeting Using Xbox Game Bar
Step 1. During a Teams meeting, press Windows + G to open Xbox Game Bar.
Step 2. Click the Record icon to start capturing your screen.
Step 4. Stop the recording using the Stop icon.
Step 5. Locate the file in File Explorer at C:\Users\YourUsername\Videos\Captures. Replace “YourUsername” with your actual username.
Record a Teams Meeting Using Gemoo Recorder
If you find that you can’t record a team meeting with Microsoft Meeting, or don’t have permission to do so, you can use a free and powerful third-party recording tool to help you out. Gemoo Recorder comes here. With 4 recording modes, you can record the screen, sound, or camera, and you can also mix and combine the three as you want.
- Free choice of recording area – Capture the entire screen to be more comprehensive or focus on a specific application window to show your point of view or just a tab in your browser.
- Multiple record modes – You can choose to record “Screen & Camera”, “Camera Only”, “Screen Only” and “Audio Only”.
- Express your thoughts – Freely insert shapes, text, memes, or other notes during recording. Express your thoughts more clearly.
- Platforms Supported – Web, Windows, and macOS.
Step 1. Free download Gemoo Recorder and launch it on your computer > Enter your account and password to log in Gemoo Recorder.
Sign in Gemoo
Step 2. Gemoo Recorder supports 4 recording modes. You can choose the one your want to record. Here you can choose Screen Only to record team meetings.
Launch Gemoo Recorder and Choose the Screen Only Mode
Step 3. After choosing the recording mode, please hit on the Start Recording button to initiate recording.
Wait for the Recording of Countdown
Step 4. You can control your recording process by tapping on the control panel in the left sidebar.
Start to Record the Screen
How to Record Teams Meetings Secretly?
The official method for recording a meeting in Teams is optimized primarily for corporate context, and it provides full transparency to everyone present in the virtual room. When using this method, it’s not possible to hide from the other participants that recording is taking place, but there are other ways to accomplish this with third-party meeting recording software.
Step 1: Choose Third-Party Software Select a reliable screen recording tool, such as OBS Studio, which is free and capable of capturing video and audio from a specific application.
Step 2: Set Up the Recorder Enter the Teams meeting and launch the screen recorder. Configure it to capture the desired screen area and to include system and microphone audio as needed.
Step 3: Record the Meeting Instruct the screen recorder to begin capturing the meeting. Participants will not be notified that the content is being recorded.
Step 4: Save the Recording Save the recording discreetly to your hard drive, ensuring it remains accessible only to you without any time constraints.
Is it legal to screenshot or screen record? While it’s not very hard to learn how to secretly record Microsoft Teams meetings, you should think twice before doing it. Such an action probably runs afoul of the company policy and may even be illegal in some places.
Legal and Ethical Considerations:
- Company Policy and Laws: Secretly recording meetings may violate company policies and could be illegal in some jurisdictions.
- Risk of Discovery: While Teams cannot detect external recordings, there’s always a risk of the recording being discovered, leading to potential sanctions.
- Justification: If you have legitimate reasons to record, such as threats or unethical proposals, be aware that online software can assist you.
While Teams isn’t able to automatically detect when an external recorder is turned on, there are still plenty of ways for the clandestine recording to be discovered and fall into the wrong hands, exposing you to the risk of being sanctioned. Of course, if you have good reasons to record a meeting without anyone knowing (i.e. your boss threatening you, or a client suggesting an under-the-table deal), it’s comforting to know that you can complete this action using software that’s easy to find online.
FAQs on How to Record a Teams Meeting Secretly
How Do I Record a Meeting in Microsoft Teams?
Why do People Need to Record Teams Meeting?
Recording a meeting or part of it in Teams can be advantageous for many reasons:
- Keeping the official record.
- Providing a reminder about pending tasks.
The recording typically includes video, audio, as well as screen sharing, so it is a fairly realistic representation of the meeting’s actual flow.
The recording option is provided within the Teams software, with completed videos saved to the cloud (OneDrive or SharePoint).
However, there are certain limitations concerning who can record a meeting and for how long the recording will be kept in storage. It’s highly recommended to become familiar with the exact criteria so that you know whether you can initiate the recording and when it will remain available for viewing within the software. This is especially important since it’s not possible to create multiple recordings of the same meeting at the same time, and all participants will have to use the same one if they want to go back to what was said in the meeting.
Final Words
Since the core functionality of Microsoft Teams is multimedia communication in real-time, it’s logical that the recording feature was given a lot of consideration. The limitations put in place serve to prevent any attempts at the abuse of this collaborative software and help companies keep their conversations private. Despite this, it’s still possible to get around some of those limitations by using a third-party screen recorder instead of the built-in function. This method allows meetings to be recorded without notifying other participants, but it’s ethically questionable and should be used only when it’s really necessary.
