How are meeting participants notified?

The Canto notetaker never records covertly. On every platform it joins as a visible, named participant in the meeting, and it only records after the meeting's organiser or host lets it in.

What does everyone see, on every platform?

Two things are always true:

• The bot is in the participant list, under the Bot name you chose — the default is Canto Notetaker. Anyone who opens the participant list sees it for the whole meeting.
• Recording starts only after admission. The bot waits at the platform's door — an approval prompt, lobby, or waiting room — and someone in the meeting has to let it in. Nobody's meeting gets recorded without a participant taking that action.

The exact door differs per platform.

What do participants see in Google Meet?

Google routes third-party bots through an explicit host approval. The host sees a prompt asking whether to admit the bot, and Meet may label the request a potential risk — that's Google's standard wording for any third-party recording participant. After approval, the bot sits in the participant list like anyone else. Details: Use the Canto notetaker in Google Meet.

What do participants see in Microsoft Teams?

The bot arrives in the meeting lobby and the organiser admits it. Teams labels external bots "Unverified" next to their name — that's Teams' standard treatment of third-party meeting apps, not a warning specific to Canto. Once admitted it appears in the participant list under its bot name. Details: Use the Canto notetaker in Microsoft Teams.

What do participants see in Zoom?

If the meeting uses a waiting room, the bot waits there until the host admits it; otherwise it joins directly when the meeting allows it. Either way it shows in the participant list under its bot name for the duration of the call. Details: Use the Canto notetaker in Zoom.

Is admission the same as consent?

No. Admission means one person — the organiser or host — actively let a labelled recording bot in. Participants who join late or never open the participant list may still not realise a notetaker is present, so announce it: in the invite, out loud at the start, or both. What the law expects of you varies by place — see Do I need consent to record?

FAQ

Can I rename the bot to something unrecognisable?

You can change the Bot name in notetaker settings — teams often use "Acme Notetaker" so colleagues know whose it is. Don't use a name that hides that it's a notetaker; a clearly labelled bot is part of keeping the recording visible, and it's what our in-product consent guidance assumes.

What about recordings made with my phone or the web recorder?

Those don't involve a bot, so nothing appears in anyone's participant list — the recording indicator is on your own device. Telling the people in the room is entirely on you.

Does everyone in the meeting need Canto?

No, only the person who sent the bot. If several participants use Canto, one shared bot joins for all of them — see Why did only one bot join?