Nobody likes finding out afterwards that they were recorded. Everyone, or nearly everyone, agrees to it when they are simply asked. Between the two, there is only one sentence, said at the right moment.
This guide is not legal advice. The rules change from one country to another, and according to whether you are acting as a private individual or as a professional: for a specific case, consult a lawyer.
Why say it, always
Because it is the least you can do. Your client is talking to you about their company, their doubts, sometimes their figures. They have a right to know that their words are being kept.
Because the relationship depends on it. A recording discovered afterwards destroys a trust that no explanation repairs. A recording that was announced bothers almost nobody.
Because the legal texts point that way. Without going into detail:
- in Europe, the General Data Protection Regulation calls personal data any information relating to an identifiable person. The CNIL, the French data protection authority, specifies that a person can be identified by their voice or their image;
- an organisation that processes personal data must tell the people concerned who it is and what it intends to do with the data, the European Commission points out;
- for telephone calls recorded by an organisation, the CNIL writes that each party to the call must be informed at the time of the call: of the purpose, of the recipients, of their right to object and to access the recording;
- in France, article 226-1 of the Criminal Code punishes with one year’s imprisonment and a fine of €45,000 the wilful violation of the intimacy of another person’s private life by recording, without the consent of the person speaking, words spoken in private or confidential circumstances. The same article presumes that consent when the recording is made in the sight and with the knowledge of those concerned, without their objecting although they were in a position to do so.
That last text does not say that every recorded call is an offence. It says where the limit lies, and which side of it you stand on once you have told people.
When the platform tells them, and when it does not
The three big call platforms flag their own recordings.
| Platform | What participants see |
|---|---|
| Google Meet | a notification when the recording starts and when it stops |
| Zoom | a message on screen, which each person accepts in order to stay or declines by leaving the call |
| Microsoft Teams | a notification as soon as the recording starts |
That is what Google, Zoom and Microsoft write in their help pages. Microsoft adds that, depending on the region, you may need each person’s permission before recording them.
These notifications concern the platform’s own recorder only. An outside tool, whether it is a browser extension, screen-capture software or a recorder sitting on the desk, triggers none of them.
In that case, nobody tells your guests for you. That is one more reason to say it, not a reason to skip it: the absence of a banner is not agreement.
The four things to say
A complete announcement comes down to four pieces of information.
- That you are recording. Plainly: “I’m recording this call”.
- Why. To keep a record of it, to make videos from it, for your own training.
- Who will have access to it, and what you will do with it. You alone, your team, or an audience if you post clips.
- That the person can say no. And that it changes nothing for the rest of the call.
The United Kingdom’s data protection authority, the ICO, sums it up this way in its advice for small organisations: before you record, tell people why you are recording, what you will do with the recording and how long you will keep it.
The right moment: twice rather than once
In the invitation. A written line leaves time to think it over and to refuse without embarrassment. “I record my advisory calls to make short videos of my answers. Let me know if you’d rather I didn’t.”
At the start of the call, out loud, before you start the recording. Not five minutes in, not “by the way, this is being recorded”. You ask the question, you wait for the answer, then you record.
If someone joins the call part-way through, do it again for them.
The sentences, by situation
With a client you know. “Before we start: I record our calls to make short videos where I answer general questions. You aren’t seen or heard in them. Is that all right with you for today?”
With a prospect, on the first call. “I record my discovery calls, only so that I can reuse my own explanations. Nothing you tell me is posted. If you’d rather I didn’t record, just say so, it changes nothing.”
In a coaching session. “I’d like to record this session. I would keep only passages where I talk about method, never about your situation. You can say no, now or later.”
In front of a group. “This session is being recorded. I’ll post clips from it in which I’m seen answering. If you ask a question, your picture will be blurred and your voice altered. If you’d rather not appear at all, turn your camera off and type your questions.”
With a guest whose words you want to post. “I’m recording this conversation to post clips from it, and you’ll appear in them. I’ll send you each clip before it goes online, and you’ll be able to turn any of them down.”
If someone hesitates or refuses
Do not insist, and do not record. An agreement won by force of argument is not an agreement.
What you can do is offer what often removes the hesitation:
- keeping only your own answers;
- blurring the person and altering their voice in anything that would be posted;
- showing them each clip before it is posted;
- stopping the recording at any moment, as soon as they ask.
And if the answer is still no, hold the call as you normally would. There will be others.
Recording is not posting
It is the most common confusion. An agreement to be recorded is not an agreement to be posted.
Two steps, two agreements:
- the first, before the call, to record;
- the second, before anything goes online, for any clip that shows the person, lets them be heard or quotes them. Preferably in writing, and after they have seen the clip.
What you say yourself, on a general subject, without revealing anything about the other person, is what is simplest to post. It is also what makes the best clips: see How to choose video clips. For coaches, whose profession rests on confidentiality, we have written a separate guide.
Keep a record
A spoken agreement exists, and it cannot be proved. Three simple habits:
- the line in the invitation, which stays in your sent messages;
- the question asked out loud once the recording has started, so that the answer is on it too;
- an email for any agreement to post, with the clip concerned.
What Dailies does, and what it leaves to you
Dailies is a Chrome extension that records the calls you hold on Google Meet, Microsoft Teams or Zoom, in French or in English, and cuts captioned vertical shorts from them. Its interface is in French. It records from your browser, and not with the platform’s recorder: so it is up to you to tell your guests.
- One switch blurs your guests and disguises their voice in your shorts.
- Nothing is posted by itself. You download the shorts you choose, and you put them online yourself.
- Your recordings train no model, ours or anyone else’s.
Key takeaways
- Always say it, before you record, and wait for a clear answer.
- Four pieces of information: you are recording, why, for whom, and the person can refuse.
- A platform’s recorder tells the participants; an outside tool does not do it for you.
- Recording is not posting: a second agreement is needed for anything that shows or quotes the person.
- Keep a written record.
Sources
- European Union, Regulation (EU) 2016/679, article 4.
- CNIL, definition of personal data and recording of telephone conversations.
- European Commission, principles of the GDPR.
- Légifrance, French Criminal Code, article 226-1, version in force since 23 March 2024.
- Information Commissioner’s Office (United Kingdom), advice for small organisations.
- Help pages of Google Meet, Zoom and Microsoft Teams, read on 1 October 2026.