The Complete Guide to Recording Yourself on Zoom Meetings

Zoom has cemented itself as one of the most ubiquitous business technologies of the last few years. The video conferencing platform saw meteoric growth in 2020, leaping from 10 million to 300 million daily participants as organizations rapidly shifted to remote work.

Industry researchers anticipate Zoom still has room to grow despite the economy reopening. According to Grand View Research, the global video conferencing market will reach $50.6 billion by 2028 – an 8.2% CAGR rise from 2020‘s figures.

Clearly, Zoom is a video standard that‘s here for the long haul. That makes mastering professional features like recording increasingly important.

This comprehensive guide will teach you how to record yourself on Zoom using both local and cloud capturing. Follow these best practices to professionally preserve important meetings for future reference.

Why Record Your Zoom Meetings?

Before jumping into the how-to, let‘s explore key reasons you‘d want to record your Zoom sessions in the first place:

1. Retain Key Details

It‘s tough to remember every single item covered across long meetings and lectures. Recordings serve as an external "memory" you can easily reference. They capture things like:

Meeting decisions and action items
Training/course material
Patient health history notes
Step-by-step processes or tutorials

According to Forbes, Zoom users on average spend 2.5 hours in meetings per day. With that sheer volume of video calls, recording becomes essential.

2. Share Content with Key Stakeholders

Despite your best efforts, not every key stakeholder may be able to attend meetings live. Recordings make it possible to get absent individuals up to speed in their own time.

Common scenarios where you may need to share post-meeting include:

Catching up cross-regional team members across timezones
Briefing executives or managers who can‘t attend
Distributing video to customers as a reference

According to Fortune Business Insights, 90% of surveyed organizations use video conferencing to communicate with clients and partners. Recordings keep external stakeholders looped in.

3. Review Sections You May Have Missed

Despite your best intentions, it‘s difficult to remain laser focused on virtual meetings 100% of the time. As 2020 MIT research revealed, we only remember 25-50% key points covered on average.

Common distractions participants report struggling with mid-meeting include:

Tuning out during lengthy presentations
Losing focus during repetitive status updates
Getting interrupted by household members
Temporarily shifting attention to urgent emails/messages

Referring back to recordings allows you to catch the pieces you may have initially missed out on.

4. Increase Accessibility for Certain Groups

Beyond just acting as a reference, recorded meetings can enhance the experience for those who benefit from replayable media.

Use cases include:

Slowing down rapid speech for those hard of hearing
Adding captions for Deaf audience members
Breaking long recordings into more digestible chunks

Approximately 20% of Americans identify as disabled. Recording makes your meetings more accessible and inclusive to this cohort.

Overview of Recording Approaches on Zoom

Now that we‘ve covered why recording Zoom can prove so valuable, let‘s explore your options to capture meetings.

There are two core methods:

Local Recording: Saves footage directly onto the host‘s device.
Cloud Recording: Uploads video to Zoom‘s secure servers.

Here‘s an at-a-glance comparison:

Recording Type	Local	Cloud
Cost	Free	Paid Zoom Plans
Maximum Resolution	1280 x 720 HD	1920 x 1080 Full HD
Meeting Duration Limits	4GB or ~12 hours	24+ hours
Camera Angles	Gallery View or Active Speaker Only	Customizable Multi-Track Recordings
Access Recordings	Zoom Desktop App	Zoom Website + App
Requires App Install	Yes	No
Transcription	❌ Manual Only	✅ Automated Speech-to-Text

Let‘s explore how to set up both in more detail…

Step 1: Enabling Local Recording on Zoom

Local recording comes included free with all Zoom tiers by default. You just need to toggle it on:

Login at zoom.us and click "Settings" then "Recording" on the left navigation bar.
Under "Local Recording" flip the switch to enable.

Scroll down and select a save destination folder on your hard drive, like Documents > Zoom Recordings.

You also have more advanced local recording options like automatically generating meeting transcripts using a third party plugin.

Now when you host meetings, the recording controls will be unlocked.

Step 2: Starting a Local Recording in Zoom

As host, initiate a Zoom meeting as normal then:

Hover over the bottom toolbar and click "Record"
A red dot icon will confirm you are recording locally.

All presenters should state their name before speaking in case multiple people‘s voices are captured.

When finished, click "Stop Recording" to conclude the local capture.

Step 3: Accessing Local Recordings

Your Zoom recordings will save to your pre-selected local destination folder as .mp4 files.

You can also find recordings centralized in the Zoom app:

In Zoom desktop, click "Meetings" then select "Recorded"
Double click any recording to play the MP4 video file directly within Zoom.

From here you can also share via link, export, or delete recordings.

Now let‘s switch gears to the more advanced cloud approach…

Enabling Cloud Recording

Cloud recording uploads your Zoom meetings straight into a secure online account rather than device storage. Benefits include:

HD Quality Video: Capture up to 1080p Full HD footage. Local tops out at 720p HD.
Automated Transcription: Zoom will machine generate subtitles and annotations.
Unlimited Storage: Record sessions longer than 12 hours without large local files.
Encrypted Security: 256-bit AES encryption protects sensitive video data in transit and stored.
Centralized Access: View recordings anywhere via Zoom‘s website rather than just the desktop app.

The tradeoff is that cloud recording requires a paid Zoom account, starting at $14.99/month for individuals. Some corporate plans may also include it.

If you already have a paid tier or want to upgrade, enable cloud recording:

In your Zoom profile, navigate to "Settings">"Recording" and turn on cloud recording.
Adjust settings like auto-transcribing, multi-track recording and cloud storage location.
Share cloud recordings access with other users if desired.

Your meetings will now sync into secure Zoom cloud storage for simple online access.

Starting a Cloud Recording Session

The process of cloud recording matches setting up local:

On Desktop:

Click "Record" then "Record to the Cloud" once your meeting begins. Zoom will upload HQ footage straight into your account storage.

On Mobile Devices:

Tap the "More" (3 dots) icon during an ongoing call.
Select "Record to the Cloud" from the menu.
Tap "Stop Recording" when finished.

The video will process online, making it accessible across devices soon after wrapping.

Finding Cloud Recordings in Zoom

Cloud recordings centralize into your Zoom user account for simple access:

Via Website

Go to zoom.us and login to your profile.
Select "Recordings" from the left nav bar.
Open cloud recordings to stream, share or delete.

Via Desktop App

In your Zoom app, click the "Meetings" from the toolbar.
Choose "Recorded" then switch to the "Cloud" sub-tab.
Double click any recording to play it directly within Zoom desktop.

Now you and any stakeholders you grant access can view cloud recordings on demand without device tethers.

Bypassing Zoom‘s 40-Minute Free User Limit

One heads up – in mid 2022 Zoom enacted a policy limiting free accounts to just 40 minute group calls. Previously it was 24 hours for 1-on-1 sessions.

If you want to record longer sessions without paying, migrate meetings to no-limit platforms like Google Meet, Microsoft Teams or GoToMeeting. Then use screen recording software like Quicktime (Mac) or OBS Studio (Windows) to capture the full-length footage locally.

Some other workarounds include:

Keep using Zoom‘s free plan only for 1-on-1 or shorter group meetings
Upgrade to a $150/year Zoom Pro tier to lift the 40 minute cap
Mix and match tools – use Zoom for client calls but Microsoft Teams internally
Live stream discussions on YouTube/Twitch to leverage their recording features instead

Combining tools strategically lets you stick to a budget while still capturing important company discussions.

Best Practices When Recording Zoom Meetings

Follow these expert guidelines when activating recording on Zoom calls:

Notify participants that you are capturing the session so they can consent. Zoom places a subtle "Recording" note atop meetings when activated. But explicitly mentioning it upfront is wise.
Have presenters state their name before speaking so viewers distinguish voices when rewatching recordings.
Pause recording during sensitive sections like health diagnoses or strategy planning if legally or commercially advisable.
Review footage post-meetings against an agenda to ensure important items were captured and audible. Having a backup audio recorder as fail safe is also wise.
Secure video files behind password protections if recordings contain confidential intellectual property, PII or medical information.

Following healthy recording practices ensures your Zoom archives remain usable long after meetings conclude.

The Bottom Line

Zoom has rapidly emerged as the gold standard for enterprise video conferencing. And feature wise, little beats the versatility of Zoom‘s multi-layered recording capabilities.

Cloud recording brings powerful functionality like automated AI meeting transcriptions, device agnostic accessing and full HD quality footage. Local recording offers a simplified free option for those on a budget.

Either method lets you conveniently preserve key discussions to reference down the line. Now you can tap back into important moments from past Zoom meetings without relying solely on imperfect memory.

Join 45 Million+ Zoom Users Now – Sign up for a free Zoom account to schedule and record meetings today.