Share the tab, not the screen
Choosing the tab is what gives you the call's audio along with the video. Sharing your whole screen may capture your microphone only, depending on the browser.
How to
Record a Google Meet without the recording button.
Meet's own recording needs the right Workspace plan and usually the host. Recording your own screen needs neither, and takes about thirty seconds to set up.
Start recording for freeNo installationNo host permissionFree
Why the built-in button is often missing
Google Meet recording is tied to your Workspace edition, and on many accounts it either is not there or is limited to the host and the organiser. If you are a guest on someone else's call, or your company is on a plan without it, the button simply is not an option.
Recording your own screen sidesteps all of that, because you are capturing what your machine shows rather than asking Google for a file. It also means the recording is yours immediately, instead of waiting for Drive to process it and land in someone else's folder.
One thing first: tell the other people on the call. Recording a conversation without saying so is rude at best, and depending on where you and they are, it may not be legal. A sentence at the start is enough.
How to record a Meet call
Do this before the call starts so you are not fumbling while people wait.
- 1
Open the recorder alongside the call
Sign in to Rekkko free in a second tab and open the recording page. Turn your microphone on so your own voice is captured. Leave the camera off if the call already shows faces.
- 2
Share the call
Start recording and choose the tab the call is in, or the whole window if you use the Meet app. Sharing the tab also captures the tab's audio, so the other voices come through. Then go back to the call and say you are recording.
- 3
Stop, trim, share
Stop when the call ends. Trim the waiting-room minutes off the front, cut any part the group would not want kept, then copy the link. Add a password or an expiry if the call was sensitive.
Things that trip people up
Mute notifications first
Your recording captures whatever appears on screen. Turn on do not disturb so a message preview does not end up in a video you send to a client.
Long calls get large
An hour of call at high resolution is a big file, and a recording caps at 2 GB. For a long call, record the part that matters rather than the whole thing.
After the call, make it watchable
Nobody watches a fifty-minute recording. The useful version is usually four minutes: the decision, the demo, or the part where someone explained the thing everyone else missed.
On the timeline you can trim the start and end, split out the section worth keeping, and remove silences and filler words in one click. Every recording gets a transcript, so you can find the moment by reading rather than scrubbing, and deleting those words cuts that part out of the video.
The honest limits
Better you read this here than find out halfway through a recording.
- A single recording can be up to 2 GB. Long recordings at high resolution get there faster than you would think.
- Recording works in desktop browsers only. Phones and tablets can watch, but not record.
- You need a free account to record. The people you send the link to need nothing at all.
- Rekkko is free today and I cover the hosting myself, so limits may change as it grows. Nothing gets deleted without telling you.
FAQ
Questions about recording calls
Do I need to be the host?
No. You are recording your own screen, so no host permission and no Workspace upgrade is involved.
Will the other people hear a recording announcement?
Google will not announce it, because Meet's own recording is not being used. Tell them yourself. It is the decent thing to do and in some places it is required.
Does it capture their voices?
Yes, if you share the browser tab the call is in, which lets the browser include that tab's audio. Keep your microphone on for your own voice.
Can I record a call on my phone?
No. Recording needs a desktop browser. Phones and tablets can watch recordings but not make them.
How long can I record?
There is no timer. The practical ceiling is 2 GB per recording, and long high-resolution calls reach that faster than you would expect.
Who can watch the recording?
Anyone with the link, and they do not need an account. If the call was sensitive, add a password, set an expiry, or turn the link off afterwards.
Can I cut a part out before sharing?
Yes. Trim, split, or delete the words in the transcript and that part of the video goes with them.
Ready to record something?
It runs in your browser. Nothing to install, no card, and the link works for anyone you send it to.
Start recording for free