Recording a webinar or all-hands you're only listening to

The one thing to settle first is whether you are allowed to keep what you record.

This guide covers starting the recording, getting a transcript and notes from it, and the terms and courtesy questions that come with recording something you are only watching.

Check the terms before you keep anything

A webinar is often someone's product. Conference talks, paid courses and vendor briefings frequently say, in the registration terms or on the first slide, that recording is not permitted or that the organiser owns the recording. An internal all-hands may be covered by your employer's policy on recording meetings.

So before you keep a recording:

1. Look for a recording notice in the invitation, registration page or opening slides.
2. Check whether the organiser will publish one. Many do, with slides, within a day or two. If so, you may not need your own.
3. For internal meetings, check the policy. Some companies ask staff not to record all-hands because people speak more freely without it.
4. Keep it to yourself. A recording for your own notes is a different thing from one you pass around.

Recording laws are mostly written about conversations you take part in; a broadcast you only listen to is a different situation, and the answer varies by place. The terms of the event are usually the clearer rule. If in doubt, ask the organiser.

Record it

The webinar's sound comes out of your Mac, so any method that records system audio works. How to record your Mac's system audio compares loopback drivers, screen-capture apps and Core Audio process taps.

With Notey

Notey records your microphone and what your Mac plays as two separate tracks, and transcribes both on the Mac. It runs on Apple silicon Macs with macOS 26 or later.

1. Open the webinar in its app or in the browser.
2. Press Start in Notey when the webinar begins. Notey notices calls by the microphone being used, and in a webinar you usually never unmute, so it will not offer by itself. Recording a meeting that runs in the browser explains why.
3. Check the Them meter on the floating button moves when the speaker talks.
4. A red dot and the elapsed time show in the window, the menu bar and the floating button for as long as audio is being kept.
5. Press Stop when it ends.

Your microphone track stays quiet unless you speak, or the room is noisy. If you are in an open office, use headphones: on speakers, your microphone also picks up the webinar, and some of the presenter's words can end up credited to you.

Get something useful out of it

A recording of a two-hour town hall is only useful if you can find things in it.

The transcript. Notey transcribes as it records, on the Mac, in ten languages. For English, it reads the recording again on your Mac and keeps the words the recognisers agree on afterwards. The transcript is searchable, and any line plays the moment it was said.

Several speakers. Everyone on the webinar arrives on the Them track. After the recording stops, a pass tells the voices apart, and you can name them — the host, the CEO, the person who took questions.

Minutes, not a summary. For a long, structured event, minutes are usually more useful than a summary: topic by topic, in order, with where each part began. With an account and a plan, Notey writes minutes from the transcript, along with a summary, action items and the other kinds of note. Only the transcript text is sent for this, never audio, and everything the AI wrote is labelled. Meeting minutes vs meeting notes explains when you want which.

Your own questions. Ask Notey can answer "what did they say about the office move?" from the transcript, and says so when the transcript does not cover it.

Recording and transcription need no account and no network. The audio stays on your disk.

Habits that help

• Mute the rest of your Mac. A recorder of system audio hears every notification and every other tab. Turn on a Focus mode and close anything that plays sound.
• Write down the one thing you came for. A long event produces a long transcript. Note the time when the part you care about starts; it saves searching later.
• Keep only what you need. For an event you only needed notes from, copy the notes out and decide whether the recording needs to stay at all. It is kinder to the speakers and to your disk.
• Prefer the official recording. If the organiser publishes one, share that, not yours.

For the full walk-through of a call where you do speak, see how to record a Zoom meeting on a Mac.

Frequently asked questions

Can I record a webinar I am only attending?

Technically, yes — a recorder on your Mac captures what the Mac plays, whatever the webinar platform allows attendees to do. Whether you may keep the recording depends on the event's terms and the law where you are. Check before you share it with anyone.

Why didn't my notetaker offer to record the webinar?

Many notetakers watch for the microphone being used, because that is what distinguishes a call from a video. In a webinar you often never unmute, so nothing looks like a call. Start the recording yourself.

Does the organiser know if I record a webinar on my Mac?

No. A recorder running on your Mac is not part of the webinar and the platform cannot see it. That is why checking the terms is your job.

Is there a better option than recording?

Often. Many organisers publish their own recording and slides afterwards. If they do, use theirs and keep your own notes.