Introduction

This article explains how to share Google Meet recordings with users outside your Google Workspace organization. Recording Google Meet sessions is essential for documentation, training, compliance and sharing discussions with absent participants. However, by default, only users within your organization can start and access these recordings, which can hinder collaboration with external clients, partners or stakeholders.

Whether you're an IT administrator managing Google Workspace settings or a team lead who frequently works with external collaborators, this step-by-step guide will help you enable recording permissions and securely share those recordings with external users.

Why is it Necessary to Record Google Meetings?

Recording Google Meet sessions can be incredibly useful  across various industries and use cases.

  1. For businesses, it ensures that critical discussions, decisions and action items are documented and can be revisited for clarity or compliance.
  2. In education, teachers can share recorded classes with absent students or for revision purposes.
  3. For remote teams and client collaborations, meeting recordings improve transparency and reduce the need for repeated discussions.
  4. Additionally, recordings support training, onboarding and performance reviews by allowing teams to reuse valuable meeting content.
  5. Overall, enabling the ability to record meetings enhances communication, accountability, and efficiency.

How to Enable Google Meet Recording for External Users?

Important Note: Only the Google Meet host or users from the host’s domain with recording permissions can record Google Meet sessions.  If you want an external user to record the meeting then either ask the external organization to host the meeting or ensure someone from your domain with recording privileges joins and starts the recording and later shares them with outside users.

Step-by-Step Guide 

Step 1: Enable Recording in the Admin Console

  1. Sign in to the Google Admin console.
  2. Go to Apps > Google Workspace > Google Meet.
  3. Click on Meet Video Settings.
  4. Under Recording, ensure that Let people record their meetings is turned on.
  5. Save changes.

    Enable Recording in the Admin Console

Step 2: Adjust Drive Sharing Settings

Google Meet recordings are saved in the meeting host’s Google Drive. To allow external users to access recordings follow the steps below.

  1. Go to Admin Console > Apps > Google Workspace > Drive and Docs.
  2. Click on Sharing Settings.
  3. Under Sharing outside your organization, choose Allow users to share files with people outside the organization.
  4. Save changes.

    Adjust Drive Sharing Settings

Step 3: Share the Recording Manually (Optional)

  1. The meeting organizer must go to Google Drive > Meet Recordings folder.
  2. Find the relevant recording, click Share and manually enter the external user's email address.
  3. Set appropriate permissions and share the access to recordings.

Limitations to Keep in Mind

  • External users cannot start or stop recordings, only someone within the host organization can do that.
  • There's no way to automatically send the recording to external participants unless they are added as viewers post-meeting.
  • Your organization must have an eligible Google Workspace plan to use recording features.

Best Practices for Allowing Meet Recordings and Sharing Recordings with External Users

  1. Only grant recording privileges to hosts or users who genuinely need them. This reduces the risk of unnecessary or unauthorized recordings.
  2. In Google Admin Console, assign the privileges at the organizational unit (OU) level to keep control.
  3. Make it a standard practice to inform all participants including external guests that the meeting will be recorded. This promotes transparency and ensures compliance with local recording consent laws and workplace policies.
  4. If you're working with external organizations on a regular basis, consider setting up a shared drive with limited access. This helps keep all recordings organized and securely shared without repeated manual steps.
  5. When sharing a recording via Google Drive, especially with external users, set an expiration date on access permissions.
  6. Avoid giving Editor access to recordings unless absolutely necessary. For most cases, Viewer access is sufficient and prevents the recipient from making changes without permission.
  7. To limit who can receive shared recordings, you can restrict file sharing to only specific external domains.
  8. Periodically review who has access to shared recordings in Google Drive. Remove old or unnecessary access permissions to reduce risk.
  9. Provide training or guidelines to your team on how to responsibly record meetings and share them with external collaborators.

Conclusion

Sharing Google Meet recordings with external users can greatly enhance collaboration, learning and communication especially in remote and hybrid environments. While Google Workspace doesn’t allow external users to initiate recordings, administrators can configure Drive and Meet settings to support secure sharing after the meeting.

By following the steps and best practices, you can ensure your organization's recordings are shared responsibly and only with intended recipients.

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