How to Record a Google Meet on a Laptop With Audio (and Ask First)

Meet's own Record button only works on certain paid plans, and only if the host has permission to record. If you don't have it, you can record the Meet tab in your browser with a free screen recorder and "Also share tab audio" switched on. Either way, ask everyone first.

1. Ask before you press Record

When Meet's own recording starts, Google says "Participants get a notification when the recording starts or stops." A browser recorder sends no notice to anyone. So tell people yourself, out loud or in the chat, and wait for a yes.

The UK's data regulator, the ICO, puts it this way for organisations: "Before recording, you should tell people why you're recording, what you'll use it for, and how long you'll keep it."

The rules differ by country. Some US states, such as Washington, require everyone's consent; Washington's law bars recording a private conversation "without first obtaining the consent of all the participants in the communication". Others need only one person's. This isn't legal advice, so check the rules where you and the other people are.

2. Option A: Meet's built-in Record button

Google's Record a video meeting page lists the plans that can record. They include Business Standard, Business Plus, several Enterprise and Education editions, Workspace Individual and Google One with 2 TB or more. A free personal Gmail account isn't on that list.

Even on the right plan, a few rules apply:

• Who can press it. "Participants can only record a meeting if the host has permission to record." Hosts can record by default, and a Workspace administrator has to turn recording on for your account.
• Where it goes. "Recordings are saved in the meeting organizer's Google Drive in the "Google Meet" folder." The organiser and the person who started it get an email with the link.
• How long. "Meetings can only be recorded for a total of 8 hours, then the recording stops automatically."
• Which device. You can only record on a computer or an Android device.

If the button is there, use it. Everyone gets the notice, and the file lands in Drive.

3. Option B: record the Meet tab in your browser

No Record button, or you're a participant? Record the call yourself, after you've asked.

1. Put on headphones. Our advice: with speakers, your mic can pick up the other side a second time, so their voices may sound doubled. Headphones avoid that.
2. Open the screen recorder in a separate tab. Keep Microphone and Tab/system audio switched on.
3. Pick the Meet tab in Chrome's share prompt. The recorder hides its own tab, so your Meet tab will be in the list.
4. Switch on "Also share tab audio". That's how the other people's voices get in. Your own voice comes from your mic.

Want the full walkthrough of the share prompt? See how to record your screen in Chrome without installing anything.

4. No sound from the other side?

If you forget the tab audio switch, the recorder says "No tab audio is being recorded. To include it, pick the tab again with "Also share tab audio" switched on." Press Pick again to discard that take and start over.

5. Switching tabs during the call

The recording follows the tab you shared, not the tab you're looking at. You can check notes in another tab and the Meet tab keeps recording. To record a different tab instead, use Chrome's Share this tab instead button. If you stop sharing, the recording stops.

6. Save it, and get a transcript

When you stop, click Download to save the file to your device as MP4 where your browser supports it, otherwise WebM. If the take has sound, a Transcribe button appears. It runs Whisper in your browser, and the model downloads the first time you use it.

On Zoom instead? Transcribe the Zoom recording after the meeting.

Where your recording goes

The screen recorder records with your browser's own tools and lets you download the file straight to your device. Your recording never goes to our server. The page does load Google Analytics, which counts visits. More on the privacy page.

Next step

Asked everyone and got a yes? Open the free screen recorder, pick your Meet tab and switch on "Also share tab audio". It's free, with no signup.