Introduction
Google Meet is Google's premium video conferencing solution that enables users to meet virtually via video call. One useful feature in Google Meet is the ability for meeting hosts to record sessions. This allows participants to revisit the discussion after the meeting has ended.
There are several benefits to recording Google Meet calls:
- Meeting hosts can share the recording with people who couldn't attend the live session. This ensures everyone gets the information discussed.
- Participants can go back and review parts they may have missed or not fully understood during the real-time discussion.
- Recordings create helpful archives of meetings that can be referenced in the future.
- Recording also encourages accountability and focused participation since attendees know the discussion is being captured.
However, recording is a permission that must be enabled by the meeting host before or during a session. Regular participants cannot start recording on their own in Google Meet. The host must grant this ability.
In this guide, we'll explain how meeting hosts can start, stop, and manage recordings using both the mobile and desktop apps for Google Meet.
Enable Recording Permission as Meeting Host
In order for the meeting host to enable recording capability for a Google Meet call, they must start the meeting as the host. Follow these steps:
- Open Google Meet and click on "New meeting" to start an instant meeting or schedule a meeting in Google Calendar and click on "Join now" at meeting start time. This will initiate a new meeting with you as the host.
- Once in the meeting, click on the 3 dot "More options" menu at the bottom right.
- Select "Settings" from the menu.
- Under the "Recording" section, toggle the switch for "Allow recording" to the ON position to enable recording capability.
- Click "Done" to save the setting change.
Now that you've enabled recording permission as host, you will be able to start and stop recordings during the meeting. The meeting host must enable recording permission for each new meeting instance in order for meeting recordings to be allowed.
Start Recording on Mobile
To start recording a Google Meet from your mobile device, follow these steps:
- Open the Google Meet app on your Android or iOS device and join the meeting.
- Once in the meeting, tap on the more options icon (three vertical dots) in the top right corner of the screen.
- In the menu that opens, tap on "Record meeting".
- You will get a prompt asking if you want to start recording. Tap on "Start recording" to begin capturing audio and video.
- The recording icon will turn red to indicate that recording is now active.
- To stop recording, open the options menu again and tap on "Stop recording".
- You will get a confirmation that the recording has stopped. The video will be processed and made available shortly after in the meeting recordings section.
- Tap on "Meet Recordings" in the app to access and share your recorded videos.
So in summary, starting a recording on mobile is easy - just tap the options menu, select record, confirm to begin, then stop when you are done. The recording will be available for playback and sharing right in the Google Meet app.
Start Recording on Desktop
To start recording a Google Meet session from your desktop, first make sure you have enabled recording permissions as the meeting host.
Then follow these steps:
- Open the Google Meet desktop app and start or join the meeting.
- Once in the meeting, locate the camera icon in the bottom toolbar.
- Click on the camera icon. This will open a menu.
- In the menu, click "Start recording".
- A notification will appear indicating that recording has started. The camera icon will turn red to indicate that recording is in progress.
- To stop recording, simply click on the camera icon again and select "Stop recording" from the menu.
- You will get a confirmation that the recording has stopped.
That's it! The recording will now be available for you to access, share and edit within Google Meet. Just remember that you need to be the meeting host with recording permissions enabled to start recording using the desktop app.
Recording Controls
- While recording a meeting, users have access to 3 key controls: Record, Pause, and Stop.
- The Record button allows the meeting host to start and resume recording. When you first join a meeting as host, click the Record button to initiate recording. The button will turn red to indicate recording is live. If you pause recording, clicking Record again will resume recording.
- The Pause button lets you temporarily pause the recording session. This can be useful if you need to stop recording for a quick break or to have an off-the-record conversation. When paused, the recording will stop capturing audio and video. Click Pause again to resume recording.
- The Stop button ends the recording entirely. Once you stop a recording, it cannot be restarted within the same meeting. You would need to start a new meeting to record again. Click Stop when you are finished recording the meeting and ready to end the session.
- Note that all participants in the meeting will be notified when recording starts, pauses, resumes, and stops. Recording controls are only available to the meeting host.
Share the Recording
Once you end a meeting, Google Meet will process and convert the recording so it's ready to share. The processing time depends on the length of the recording, but is usually completed within hours.
The recording will be saved to the meeting host's Google Drive in a folder called "Meet Recordings". To find your recordings:
- Open Google Drive on the web.
- Look for the "Meet Recordings" folder. If you don't see it, you may need to wait for processing to complete.
- Open the folder to view your recordings. Each will be saved as an MP4 video file.
To share a recording:
- Right click on the video file.
- Select "Share" from the menu.
- Enter the emails of people you want to share access with. You can also get a shareable link this way.
- Click "Send" to share the recording.
The recipient will receive an email with the video file attached or a link to view it in Drive. They can then download or stream the video as needed. Share settings can be adjusted to control permissions as needed.
Recordings are saved privately to your Drive, so remember to proactively share them with meeting participants.
Edit Recordings
Recorded Google Meetings are saved as video files that can be edited and customized before sharing. Here are some of the editing options available:
- Trim the video - You can trim the beginning or end of the recording to remove any irrelevant sections. When viewing the recording, use the sliders under the video playback to select the desired start and end points.
- Split the video - For longer meetings, you may want to split the recording into multiple parts. Click on the scissor icon in the video editor to cut the video at any point.
- Blur faces - If there are privacy concerns about showing certain participants, you can blur their faces in the video. Just click on the blur tool and drag over the person's face to blur.
- Add captions - To make the video more accessible or to highlight key points, you can add captions. In the video editor, select the CC icon and type in the captions for each section.
- Insert images/video - The editor allows you to overlay external images, videos clips, and more at any part of the recording. This is useful for adding overlays or visuals during certain sections.
- Add transitions - Basic transitions like fade in/out between scenes can be added in the video editor to spice things up.
- Change speed - If needed, you can increase or decrease the playback speed of the video during editing to shorten or extend the length.
- Enhance audio - Options like volume leveling and noise reduction can improve the overall audio quality of the recording.
With these editing tools, you can customize and polish your Google Meet recordings before publishing or sharing with others. The ability to trim, split, blur, add captions, and more gives you flexibility over the final video output.
Recording Limits
When recording a Google Meet, there are some limits to be aware of regarding the length and file size of recordings.
- Length limits - By default, Meet recordings will automatically stop after 24 hours. However, for G Suite Enterprise edition users, recordings can go up to 25 hours before automatically stopping.
- File size limits - Recordings are limited to 25GB per user. If the recording size reaches 25GB before the time limit, it will automatically stop.
- Extensions - For longer meetings that exceed the time limits, the recording can be extended up to 25 hours total by live streaming to YouTube. This allows you to essentially record in 25 hour segments.
- Automatic stopping - If neither the time or storage limits have been reached, Google Meet will automatically stop recordings after 4 hours for Gmail accounts and 24 hours for G Suite accounts.
- Multiple recordings - Instead of one long recording, consider splitting large meetings into multiple sessions of shorter recordings.
- Storage space - Recordings take up Google Drive storage space, so keep an eye on remaining space. Download and back up important recordings.
- Video quality - Lower video quality settings can help reduce file size usage.
Knowing the limitations for Google Meet recordings is important for planning and managing longer recordings. Adjusting settings, segmenting into multiple parts, offloading files, and monitoring storage can help deal with size and time constraints.
Troubleshooting Recording Issues
If you run into problems with recording your Google Meet calls, here are some troubleshooting tips:
- Can't find the recording: If you don't see the recording show up after the call ends, check your Google Drive. Open Drive and look in the Meet Recordings folder. If it's not there, try searching Drive for "Meet Recording".
- Recording stops unexpectedly: Sometimes recordings may stop prematurely if there is an internet connectivity issue or problem with your device. Try restarting your device and rejoining the meeting to start a new recording. Also make sure you have a stable internet connection.
- Poor audio/video quality: Check your microphone, camera, and internet connection. If you are using WiFi, try moving closer to your router or connect via ethernet cable. Also try adjusting your camera and microphone settings in Meet.
- Others can't hear you: Verify your microphone is not muted and levels are turned up. Test your mic prior to joining the call. Make sure you have the correct mic selected if you have multiple audio inputs.
- Can't start recording: Ensure you have host privileges for the meeting. Only the meeting host can start/stop recordings. If you are the host, try leaving the call and rejoining as host again. Also confirm recording is enabled by your administrator.
- No permission to record: If you receive a notice that you don't have permission to record, check with your Google Admin. They may need to enable recording capabilities at the domain or organizational unit level.
- Recording limited to 1 hour: Google limits Meet recordings to 1 hour per meeting for free Google accounts. Upgrade to a paid Google Workspace account for longer recording limits.
- Other issues: For any other recording problems, check Google Meet help documentation or contact Google support. Provide details on when the issue started and steps to reproduce it.
Conclusion
Recording Google Meet calls can be highly beneficial for a variety of purposes. As we covered, enabling recording permissions and starting recordings is quick and easy across both mobile and desktop.
The recording controls allow you to pause, resume, and stop recordings as needed. Once stopped, recordings can be conveniently shared with participants. Participants unable to attend live can view recordings later.
Recordings also provide a way to revisit discussions and capture important details that may have been missed initially. They serve as an archive of meetings that can be referenced in the future.
For recurring meetings like classes or team check-ins, recordings allow absent participants to catch up on any sessions they missed. Recordings can also be used for review and recap.
Overall, recording Google Meet calls is a valuable feature that enhances collaboration, learning, and productivity. With just a few clicks, entire discussions can be captured and shared across Google Meet participants.
And guess what? You can now turn Google Meet recordings into written meeting minutes super fast using Glyph AI. It listens to the recording and spits out what everyone said, making it easy to catch up or keep track of what was discussed.
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