In short
A notetaker that runs on your Mac notices a call by watching which apps are using audio.
It misses a call for one of four reasons: it does not recognise the app, the call is in a browser and the microphone is not in use yet, the notetaker was not running, or it did notice and was waiting for you to say yes. For any of them, the fallback is the same: press record yourself.
This guide explains how detection works, why each gap exists, and what to do. Notey's specifics are at the end.
How a desktop notetaker notices a call
A notetaker that joins the call as a bot knows the meeting from your calendar. One that runs on your Mac has no invitation to go on. What it can see is which apps are using the microphone and speakers.
The logic is roughly: a known meeting app has been using audio for more than a moment, so a call has probably started. It then either starts recording or asks you, depending on the tool and your settings.
Each part of that can miss.
Why a call is missed
The app is not on the list
Detection works for the apps the notetaker knows. Zoom sitting in the Dock all day uses no audio; a Zoom meeting does, and the notetaker recognises Zoom by its identity. An app it has no entry for — a smaller conferencing tool, a game chat, a softphone — can use the microphone all day without triggering anything.
This does not mean the app cannot be recorded. A recorder that captures what the Mac plays records any app. It just will not prompt you.
It is a browser call
Google Meet, Teams on the web, Zoom's web client and many others run in a browser tab. From outside the browser, all that is visible is that the browser is using audio, and a browser plays sound all the time: videos, music, notifications. A notetaker that prompted every time a browser made a sound would prompt constantly.
A reasonable rule is to count only the microphone for browsers: a tab using the microphone is much more likely to be a call. That means a browser call is noticed when the microphone comes on, and a webinar you are only listening to, with your microphone never used, is not noticed at all. Recording a meeting that runs in the browser goes into more detail.
The notetaker was not running
A notetaker that is not running cannot notice anything. If you quit it, or it did not start after a restart, the call goes by unseen. Check the menu bar before the call.
It noticed, and was waiting for you
A notetaker that asks before recording will, correctly, record nothing if you did not answer. If the prompt appeared while you were in another window and you missed it, the call was noticed but not recorded. Look for the prompt, or check the notetaker's list of meetings for the time of the call.
The call is not on this Mac
If you joined from your phone, a room system or another computer, the Mac has nothing to notice and nothing to record.
What to do instead
- Press record. Every desktop recorder has a manual start. It works for any app.
- Decide in advance for the next call. Some tools let you arm a recording for the next call you join, so you do not have to catch a prompt.
- Use the calendar. If your meetings are on a calendar the notetaker can read, it can record them by schedule rather than by detecting audio. Recording meetings from your calendar covers doing that without recording everything.
How Notey notices calls
Notey notices calls in Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Slack and FaceTime, and in Chrome, Safari, Arc and Edge when the browser uses the microphone. An app counts as in a call once it has used audio continuously for a couple of seconds, so a notification chime does not count.
When it notices one, the floating button says so — for example "Zoom call started" or "Call in Chrome started" — with "Notey is hearing this call. Nothing is being saved yet." and Allow and Not now. Nothing is saved until you press Allow. For a browser, Notey names the browser, not the service: from outside, a Meet tab and a Webex tab look the same.
Apps Notey does not notice — Webex, Discord, Firefox and others — are recorded by pressing Start in Notey. Notey records what your Mac plays, so they are captured like anything else. Recording a Webex meeting on a Mac walks through it. The desktop apps for the following are not noticed either, and each has a guide: Discord, RingCentral, GoTo Meeting, Dialpad, WhatsApp and Signal.
Three ways to have Notey start without catching the prompt, each visible and each withdrawable:
- Arm the next call. Decide now to record the next call you join. It covers one call and lapses after an hour if none starts.
- Always record a specific app, ticked on the floating button. It is listed on the Account screen, where you can change it back to asking each time.
- Record from ticked calendars. Home shows the next meeting Notey will record, with Turn off beside it.
Every recording Notey starts on one of these choices is announced on the floating button with Stop beside it. Notey never records every meeting by default.
Frequently asked questions
Which apps does Notey detect calls in?
Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Slack, FaceTime, and calls in Chrome, Safari, Arc and Edge when the browser uses the microphone. In any other app, start the recording yourself.
Why doesn't Notey offer to record when I watch a video in Chrome?
For browsers, Notey counts only the microphone. A browser plays a lot of sound that is not a call, and a prompt for every video would teach people to dismiss prompts without reading them.
Can I record a Webex, Discord or Firefox call with Notey?
Yes. Notey records what your Mac plays, whatever app is playing it. It does not notice those calls starting, so press Start yourself.
Why did Notey not start recording when the call started?
Noticing a call is not the same as recording it. Notey asks on its floating button and saves nothing until you press Allow, unless you made a choice in advance, such as arming the next call or ticking "Always record" for that app.