How to record a Zoom meeting on any device, and grant others permission to record your meetings

Facebook Email icon An envelope. It indicates the ability to send an email.

Email Twitter icon A stylized bird with an open mouth, tweeting.

Twitter LinkedIn icon

LinkedIn Link icon An image of a chain link. It symobilizes a website link url.

Copy Link lighning bolt icon An icon in the shape of a lightning bolt.

• You can record Zoom meetings by clicking the "Record" button at the bottom.
• It's free to record Zoom meetings on desktop, but you need a paid subscription to record on mobile.
• Zoom meetings can only be recorded if the host allows, but it's easy for hosts to grant permission.
• This story is a part of Insider's Guide to Zoom.

Recording a Zoom meeting can be useful for people who weren't able to attend the meeting live. It's also great if the meeting was very long, and you need to refer back to specific segments of it later.

Quick tip: You can record a Zoom meeting for free on the desktop app or with a paid subscription on the mobile app. The host of the meeting needs to give permission to record, which can be done in settings beforehand.

Here's how to record a Zoom meeting using the desktop app or the mobile app, as well as a guide to setting up recording permissions if you're the host.

How to record a Zoom meeting in the desktop app

Before you enter the meeting and start recording, you'll need to make sure you save the file to the appropriate folder on your desktop.

On the "Home" tab of the Zoom app, click the small gear icon in the upper-right corner. Then select the "Recording" tab and choose the folder where you want to save recordings.

To record a Zoom meeting:

1. Click the "Record" button at the bottom of the screen when you're in the Zoom meeting. This button won't appear at all if your host hasn't allowed recording.

2. You'll see a small "Recording…" label in the upper-left corner. You can pause or stop the recording with the controls on the bottom toolbar.

3. Click the "Stop" button to end the recording when you're finished.

4. Your recorded video will be saved to your computer, and can also be found in the "Recorded" tab in the "Meetings" section of the app.

Quick tip: You can rename your files as you wish and send them to others via email. Some versions of the Zoom app will also save the audio and video separate from one another so that you can send both or only one.

How to record a Zoom meeting in the mobile app

If you have a paid Zoom membership — a Pro, Business, or Enterprise account — you can record meetings in the mobile app.

These recordings won't be local recordings, which are typically saved directly onto your device. Instead, they will be cloud recordings, which get saved to an online folder, i.e. to "the cloud."

Quick tip: Your Zoom account can only save a certain amount of cloud recordings before running out of space. For information on how much space your account has, or how to buy more, check out Zoom's page on cloud recording.

To record a Zoom meeting with Cloud Recording:

1. Open the Zoom app on your iPhone or Android device and join a meeting. Once there, tap the three dots in the bottom-right corner.

2. From the menu that appears, select "Record to the Cloud" (iOS) or "Record" (Android). If you don't see this option, it's because you don't have a paid Zoom account.

3. The meeting will begin to record, and a "Recording. " icon will appear in the top-right corner. You can tap this icon to stop or pause the recording.

4. Once you stop the recording, you can find and share it by going to the "My Recordings" section of the Zoom website. Your recorded meeting can also be accessed on the desktop app by going to the "Meetings" tab and clicking "Recorded" on the top-left side.

How to give other users permission to record Zoom meetings

If you're the host of a meeting, you can record your own meetings without making any changes. But if you want to give someone else the ability to record, you'll need to change your settings.

1. Head to the Zoom website, log into your account, and click "My Account" in the upper-right corner.

2. Click "Recordings" on the left side. This will bring you to the recording settings with two tabs: "Cloud Recordings" and "Local Recordings."

3. Click the "Settings" button in the top-right corner of either the "Cloud Recordings" or "Local Recordings" page.

4. Check the boxes that give hosts and participants permission to record locally and to the cloud. Again, they'll need to be paying subscribers to have Cloud Recording access.

5. You can also switch the toggles to change the following settings:

• Automatic recording may be helpful to switch on if you plan to use Zoom to record all your class lectures or lengthy meetings. However, you may not want this feature turned on if you'll be using Zoom frequently, as recordings can take up a lot of storage space.
• Recording consent will ask participants for consent before recording starts. You may want to turn this on if you're in a group setting where some may not feel comfortable being recorded.
• Multiple audio notifications of recorded meeting lets participants know when recording stops and starts without interrupting the meeting.

Marissa Perino is a former editorial intern covering executive lifestyle. She previously worked at Cold Lips in London and Creative Nonfiction in Pittsburgh. She studied journalism and communications at the University of Pittsburgh, along with creative writing. Find her on Twitter: @mlperino.