You want a desktop recorder rather than a meeting bot. Instead of sending a participant into your call, it records the screen in front of you and the audio your computer is playing. Nothing appears in the participant list, nothing has to be admitted, and it works identically in Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, Webex, Slack huddles or anything else.
The tools that work this way include Jotted, Granola, Bluedot, Notta's desktop mode, and Fathom in its transcript-only modes. Only some of them keep the video, which is the next thing to check.
Usually one of three reasons, and often all three.
The client asks about it. An unexplained robot named Notetaker in a first sales call is a distraction at the exact moment you least want one.
It gets blocked. A lot of companies now refuse outside meeting bots. The recording you assumed you had does not exist.
It joins things it should not. Several notetakers join every meeting on your calendar by default, including the ones you would rather nobody recorded.
Consent. Removing the bot removes a distraction and a dependency, not an obligation. In many places every person on a call has to agree before it is recorded, and the absence of a visible bot does not change that at all.
Say it out loud at the start. It takes four seconds. More on the legal side.
You open the app before the call, pick which display to record, and press Record. It captures the screen at up to 1080p so text stays readable, plus two separate audio tracks: your microphone, and everything coming out of the speakers.
Two live meters show both tracks moving while you record, so you know it is working. When you stop, the transcript is generated on your own computer, and on the paid plan the summary and action items are written and the recording is backed up to your library.
Free covers unlimited recording of any length plus the local transcript, forever, with no card.
Jotted, Granola, Bluedot, Notta's desktop mode and Fathom's transcript-only modes all record without a bot. Otter, Fireflies, tl;dv and most others send a participant into the meeting.
Not from anything on screen, because nothing joins the call. That is precisely why you should tell them, and in many places you are required to.
Yes. You are recording your own screen rather than asking the platform for permission, so host settings do not affect it.
Yes, because it does not integrate with any of them. Zoom, Meet, Teams, Webex, Discord, Slack huddles, even a phone call on speaker all work the same.
It should be recorded at 1080p or the source resolution, whichever is lower. That keeps on-screen text legible without producing enormous files.
Record free forever, no card and no bot. Join the waitlist and you'll be first in.
Free forever plan · Unlimited recordings · No bot, ever