How to disable recording in Google Meet

The short answer

Google Meet has no single switch that disables recording. What you can do depends on what you mean by disabling and on your role. Anyone who has permission to stop an active recording can stop it from the in-meeting tools. A meeting organizer can turn off automatic recording for a scheduled event, if their plan includes that feature. Only a Google Workspace administrator can remove the recording feature for an organization or for groups of users.

In-meeting controls cannot stop people from capturing a call with screen-recording software or a separate device. If your concern is not being recorded at all, Meet settings reduce the risk but cannot remove it.

Which situation are you in?

Your goal | Who can do it | Where to look

Stop a recording that is running now | The person who started it, the host or co-hosts, and possibly others depending on settings | In-meeting Activities or Meeting tools menu

Stop a scheduled meeting from recording automatically | The meeting organizer | Video call options in the Google Calendar event, if your plan offers automatic recording

Prevent users in an organization from recording | A Google Workspace administrator | Google Meet settings in the Admin console

Avoid being captured as a participant | You | Your own camera and microphone controls; you can also ask the host

Recording is only available on certain Google Workspace and paid plans. If you never see a recording option, your account may not offer it. In that case, nobody using your account can start a recording from inside Meet.

Stop a recording that is in progress

Before you start: you must be in the meeting, and your account must be allowed to stop recordings. In most setups that means the person who started the recording, the host or a co-host.

• 1. Look for the recording indicator near the top of the meeting window, which shows that a recording is active.
• 2. Open the Activities or Meeting tools menu, usually found in the lower-right controls.
• 3. Select Recording.
• 4. Choose Stop recording and confirm when prompted.

How to tell it worked: the recording indicator disappears and participants are told that recording has stopped. Stopping only ends capture from that point on. Everything recorded so far is still processed and saved, usually to the meeting organizer's Google Drive. Deleting that file is a separate step.

If you cannot find the stop option, you probably lack permission. Ask the host or the person who started the recording to stop it.

Turn off automatic recording for a scheduled meeting

Some Workspace editions let organizers set a meeting to record as soon as it starts. If yours does, you can switch this off in the Calendar event.

• 1. Open the event in Google Calendar and choose to edit it.
• 2. Open the video call or Google Meet options for the event.
• 3. Find the section covering meeting records. It may be labeled Meeting records or Recording.
• 4. Turn off the setting that records the meeting automatically.
• 5. Save the event.

How to tell it worked: reopen the event options and confirm the automatic recording setting is still off. When the meeting starts, no recording indicator should appear unless someone starts a recording by hand. Turning off automatic recording does not stop participants with permission from recording manually.

Transcripts and AI note-taking are separate features with their own settings. If you want none of these, check each one in the same options area.

Disable recording for an organization (administrators)

Before you start: you need a Google Workspace administrator account with permission to manage Meet settings.

• 1. Sign in to the Google Admin console.
• 2. Go to Apps, then Google Workspace, then Google Meet.
• 3. Open Meet video settings and find Recording.
• 4. Select the organizational unit or group to change. Settings apply to the top-level unit unless you pick a narrower one.
• 5. Clear the option that lets people record their meetings, then save.

How to tell it worked: changes can take some time to reach all users. Afterward, ask an affected user to start a test meeting and open the Activities or Meeting tools menu. The recording option should be missing or unavailable. This shows the in-app feature is off for that user. It does not show whether outside participants can record meetings hosted elsewhere, and it does not block external recording tools.

If you just don't want to be recorded

As a participant, you cannot turn off another person's ability to record. You can still limit what gets captured.

• Ask the host before the meeting not to record, or to stop if a recording starts.
• Turn off your camera. Meet then has no video of you, although your name or profile image may still appear.
• Mute your microphone when you are not speaking. A muted mic sends no audio, even if the device is still detected and allowed by the browser.
• Watch for the recording indicator and notification, and leave if you did not agree to be recorded.

Turning off your camera in Meet is different from revoking camera permission in your browser or operating system. Either way, Meet receives no video from you. Revoking permission also stops other sites from using the camera until you allow it again.

Gaps in this guide

No product-specific evidence was supplied for this article, such as screenshots, plan comparisons or dated release notes. Menu names and locations above follow Meet's general layout and may differ by plan, device or interface update. Which plans include recording or automatic recording, and how long admin changes take to apply, are not confirmed here. Check Google's current help documentation or ask your Workspace administrator for those details.