You can record a Zoom meeting as a participant and there are several ways to do that. It depends on whether you have the host’s permission or not. With permission, you can use Zoom’s built-in recording feature. Without it, third-party screen recorders offer a reliable alternative
In this blog, we’ll share clear steps to record Zoom meeting as a participant. Whether you have the host’s permission or not, you will find this blog useful.
Recording Zoom Meetings as a Participant with Host’s Permission
Recording a Zoom meeting as a participant is straightforward when the host grants you permission. Once the host allows it, you’ll see the recording option appear in your Zoom controls. After you tap on the recording button, everyone in the meeting is notified that recording has started. This ensures that there is full consent and accountability among participants.
Steps to record a Zoom meeting as a participant with host’s permission:
- Join the Zoom meeting.
- Request the host to grant you recording permission.
The host must follow these steps to give you permission (you don’t have to follow these steps):
- Click on the Participants button at the bottom of the Zoom window.
- Hover the mouse pointer over your name in the participant list, click More, and select Allow Record
Here’s what happens after the permission is granted:
- Once you have permission, a Record button will appear in your Zoom toolbar.
- Click the Record button to start recording the meeting
- You can pause or stop the recording at any time using the controls in the toolbar.
- When the meeting ends, Zoom will process and save the recording to your computer
Recording Zoom Meetings Without the Host’s Permission
If you don’t have the host’s permission to record a Zoom meeting, you can still record it using a third-party screen recorder like dadan.
This approach is useful when the host is unable or unwilling to grant recording rights. Or simply you want to record the entire session discretely. dadan records your screen, audio, and even your webcam without sending any notifications to other participants.
Here are the simple steps to record a Zoom meeting using a third-party screen recorder like dadan:
- Download and install dadan on your Mac or Windows PC, or add it as a Chrome extension.
- Sign up with your email address
- Join your Zoom meeting as usual
- Select the option to record your screen.
- Enable microphone recording to capture your own voice
- Click Start Recording in Dadan moments before your Zoom meeting starts.
- In the next screen you will be asked to choose the recording area. Choose to record the entire screen, a specific window, or a browser tab. We suggest you choose the recording a tab option, so that nothing else on your screen gets recorded even when you switch windows
- Tap on the “Also share audio option” if you want to record everyone else’s voice (this option is visible only for tab and entire screen recording mode)
- When your meeting is over, click “Stop Recording” in Dadan.
- Your recording will be saved to your Dadan library, where you can edit, trim, annotate, and share it instantly via a secure link or download it for offline use
How to Record Zoom Meetings as a Participant Using Built-In Screen Recorders
If you don’t want to rely on third-party tools, both Mac and Windows provide built-in screen recording options. Here’s how you can use them-and what you should know before you start.
For Mac: QuickTime Player
Steps:
- Open QuickTime Player from your Applications folder.
- Click File > New Screen Recording.
- In the recording toolbar, click Options to select your microphone if you want to capture your own voice.
- Start your Zoom meeting and click Record in QuickTime to begin capturing your screen.
What you must know:
By default, QuickTime Player only records external audio. Meaning only your voice through the microphone. It does not capture the internal audio of other Zoom participants.
To record both your voice and the meeting audio, you’ll need to install a virtual audio driver such as Soundflower or BlackHole and route your system audio through it. Yeah, that’s a bit of a work, but if you’re comfortable with that, QuickTime Player could be a good choice.
For Windows: Xbox Game Bar
Steps:
- Start your Zoom meeting.
- Press Windows + G to open the Xbox Game Bar.
- Click the Record button in the Capture widget or press Windows + Alt + R to start recording
- To include your microphone audio, press Windows + Alt + M during recording.
What you must know:
- The Xbox Game Bar is primarily designed to record games and may not always work reliably with Zoom. We did a bit of a research on Reddit and found some significant issues users faced while recording Zoom meeting using GameBar:
- Not recording system audio (other participants’ voices) .
- The recording stops if you switch to another window
- A few users faced this issue where GameBar stopped recording when a participant started sharing their screen during the meeting
So, what you must do now?
Simple. Use Zoom to record the meeting when you have the host’s permission. Use a third-party screen recorder like dadan when you don’t have the permission. QuickTime and Xbox GameBar provide the advantage of a built-in tool, but both are not very reliable. It’s hard to suggest them for long term usage.
Why not you go ahead and record your next Zoom meeting with dadan like a test run? dadan offers a free trial with access to all its features. You don’t have to share your credit card information at the time of creating an account, so no amount will be deducted after the trial period is over. You will be automatically switched to the free plan.
Here’s the link to sign up.
