How to Record Google Meet (A Step-by-Step Guide)

Whether you’re using Google Meet for an interview, a meeting, or even as practice, recording Google Meet can be exceptionally helpful. You can even take it a step further by using the Yoodli AI public speaking tool to analyze your speech, from your filler word usage to your body language. 

Regardless, recording a Google meeting doesn’t have to be confusing. Follow our simple, step-by-step guide to recording Google Meet so you can start improving your communication skills.

Can You Record a Google Meet?

To start, let’s get an understanding of who can actually record a Google Meet.

There are four main scenarios in which you can record a meeting:

• You’re hosting the meeting
• You’ve been made a co-host (and you’re not in the host’s organization)
• Host Management is disabled, and you’re within the host’s organization
• Your meeting is through Google Classroom, and you’re a teacher or co-teacher

Can I Record Google Meet for Free?

Yes, you can record Google Meet for free — just make sure you’ve already signed up and created a Google account. After that, you should be good to go. If you run into problems recording, check out the most common reasons you can’t record a Google Meet below.

What’s Actually Recorded When You Record a Google Meet?

When you record a meeting, the recording will include anything that the host is presenting, as well as the host themselves or the active speaker. Things like notifications, closed captions, or other windows aren’t included when you record a meeting.

How to Record Google Meet in 5 Easy Steps

Now, let’s get to the actual recording. To begin, make sure you’re using a computer. You won’t be able to record a meeting if you’re on a phone. There’s also a time limit of 8 hours, so after that, the recording will automatically end.

1. Join or host a Google Meet.
2. Navigate to “Activities” and then “Recording,” which is located at the bottom right.
3. Select “Start recording.”
4. A window will open. When it does, click “Start.”
5. In a few moments, the recording will begin, and any participants in the meeting will see a notification that the recording has started.

If you’d like to stop a meeting recording, return to “Activities,” then “Recording,” and then “Stop recording.” Similar to starting a recording, a window will pop up, offering a “Stop recording” option. Select that and the Google Meet will end the recording. Keep in mind that when the meeting’s participants leave, the recording will stop automatically.  

How Do I Save a Google Meet Recording?

Luckily, saving after recording a meeting is pretty straightforward.

When you record a meeting, the resulting recording file will be automatically saved to the host’s Google Drive. You can access this if you’re the organizer by navigating to your Drive and clicking into the “Meet Recordings” folder. Here, you’ll find the latest meeting recording (and any other recordings from past meetings you’ve recorded).

After you record a Google Meet, you can upload that video straight to Yoodli, an AI speech coach that’s completely free, for analysis.

The only time the location would change is if the host changes or the Google Meet doesn’t take place during the scheduled meeting time. In that case, you’ll be able to find the meeting recording in the original event creator’s Drive.

How Do I Share a Google Meet Recording?

If you’d like to share a recording of a meeting, start by locating the file. Once you do that, navigate to the “Share” option, which allows you to share the recording with others. You can also select “Link,” which will give you a shareable link that you can then share via a chat message or email that lets others access the recording.

What Happens to My Google Meet If My Google Drive Is Full?

If your Google Drive is out of space, you’ll be unable to record. Even if you have space in your Drive, if your organization is out of space, you won’t be able to record your meeting either.

Before you start, just make sure your organization hasn’t reached its Google Drive quota and that you yourself haven’t met your own space limit.

Why Can’t I Record a Google Meet?

There are a few reasons why you might not be able to record a Google Meet. Let’s take a look at the most common reasons you can’t record a Google Meet.

1. You might be on your phone.

First, as mentioned earlier, keep in mind that you can only record a Google Meet if you’re using a computer. So if you’re using your phone, you won’t be able to. It’s also important to remember that you can only record some meetings. If they’re not organized by specific Google Workspace versions, you might run into trouble when trying to record.

2. The recording function might be disabled.

If you can’t record a Google Meet, it could be because the recording function is disabled. The most common reasons for this function to be disabled include:

• You’re in a breakout room (you can’t record in a breakout room)
• Your Google Drive is disabled
• Recording was turned off by the meeting administrator
• This is a specific meeting that you can’t record
• Recording isn’t supported by your workspace edition

If you were able to record meetings in the past and are only just now having issues, check with your admin to make sure they turned on recording capabilities.

How Do I Enable Recording on Google Meet?

If you think you need to enable recording on Google Meet, don’t worry — it’s pretty simple to set up.

To enable recording, start by signing into your administrator account and navigating to your Google Admin console. Once you’re logged in, go to Menu > Apps > Google Workspace > Google Meet.

From here, you can click “Meet video settings.” You can either grant the ability to record to everyone or you can select a configuration group or a child organizational unit. If you want to grant everyone access, don’t unselect the top organizational unit.

Find “Recording” and click on the option that reads: “Let people record their meetings.” Just save to apply the changes and you’re done.

What Do I Do Next?

Now that you have the meeting recording, the options are completely up to you. Many people choose to record a meeting so they can review the meeting later or share it with people who were unable to attend. This is particularly helpful for training sessions or school-related presentations, for example. 

You can also use Yoodli’s AI tool to not only practice your communication skills but to dig deeper and analyze your speech patterns and identify areas that need improvements, like how to stop using filler words if you use too many. You can also explore techniques that can improve your speaking in presentations, such as in a Google Meet.