A decision made verbally in a call is easy to forget and hard to prove later. Recording a Lark call or meeting keeps the audio, video, and anything shared on screen, so nobody has to rely on memory or scattered notes afterwards.
Lark supports two kinds of recording. Local recording saves the file straight to a participant’s device, once an administrator has switched it on in the Lark Admin Console. Cloud recording captures the audio, speaker video, and shared content, then converts it into a Minutes file that participants can view online.
Note: Starter and Basic plan users can only make local recordings of one-on-one calls, not cloud recordings. The Basic plan is also limited to specific countries and regions.
Initiating a Recording
Record a one-on-one call
Either participant in a one-on-one call can start recording by clicking the record icon in the toolbar and choosing Cloud Record or Local Record. The other participant receives a prompt asking for their approval; once they approve, recording starts, both participants are notified, and whoever started the recording becomes the host.
Record a meeting: as host or co-host
In meetings, only the host and co-hosts can start a recording directly. Click the record icon in the toolbar, then choose Cloud Record or Local Record.
Note: Before members can make local recordings, an administrator needs to go to the Admin Console, open Product Settings, then Video Meetings, then Meeting Settings, and select Allow users to make local recordings.
Record a meeting: requesting as a participant
Regular participants cannot start a recording themselves, but they can request one. Clicking the record icon and choosing Cloud Record or Local Record sends a request instead. If the host is in the meeting they receive it; otherwise a co-host does.
The recording begins as soon as the host or co-host approves the request.
Stopping a Recording
The host or co-host can click Stop recording in the toolbar and confirm. Every participant is notified once recording stops.
Viewing the Recording
Recording content always includes audio, video, and anything that was shared during the call or meeting.
Viewing a cloud recording
Once a cloud recording finishes, the file owner gets a message from the Video Meeting Assistant with the meeting’s topic, date, and a link to the Minutes file.
Note: For a pre-scheduled meeting, the file owner is the meeting organiser. For an ad hoc meeting, it is the meeting host. For an instant meeting started from a meeting room, participants need to specify a file owner themselves.
Viewing a local recording
Local recordings save as an .mp4 file that belongs to whoever started the recording. There are three ways to find it:
Once a local recording finishes, the folder it was saved to opens automatically.
Or click Meetings, then the Settings icon, then Record, to open and view a local recording from the save location shown there.
Or select a past meeting in your meeting history to view its recording file directly.
Configuring Recording Settings
Set up automatic cloud recording in advance
Three places let you turn on automatic cloud recording ahead of time. When scheduling an event, click Settings next to Lark Video Meeting (or the Video Meeting Settings icon on an existing event), then Recording, then select Automatic cloud recording for meetings. This applies only to that specific meeting.
Alternatively, click Meetings in the navigation bar, then the Settings icon, then Record, and select the same option there. Or click your profile photo, then Settings, then Video Meetings, and select it from your personal settings. Either of these applies to every subsequent meeting you have recording permissions for.
Recording notifications
The same three settings surfaces also carry a Receive recording pop-up reminders option (with a further choice to also play an audio reminder). With it on, anyone joining a recorded meeting sees a consent notice before staying in the call.
Note: If an administrator has turned this on organisation-wide, members cannot turn it off themselves. External meetings always send a recording reminder regardless of this setting.
Set the cloud record layout
Layout can be set in advance from Meetings, then Settings, then Record, or changed mid-meeting: the host or co-host clicks the arrow next to the record button, then Change Cloud Record Layout.
Four layouts are available:
- Side by Side: Shared content and participants appear together. Without shared content, the current speaker fills the main window on the left with other participants on the right; with shared content, the content takes the main window instead.
- Gallery: Shows multiple participants at once (up to 9 on a single screen) alongside shared content when there is any.
- Full screen: Shows only shared content, or only the speaker window if nothing is being shared.
- Speaker: Shows shared content in the main window with the speaker window alongside it, or the speaker in full screen if nothing is being shared.
Disallow requests to record
Before or during a meeting, the host can stop regular participants from requesting a recording at all. When scheduling an event, click Settings next to Lark Video Meeting (or the Video Meeting Settings icon on an existing event), open Participant permissions, and deselect Request to record.
Or, during the meeting itself, the host or co-host clicks the Security icon on the toolbar and deselects the same option there.
Once turned off, participants who click the record button are notified that recording requests have been disallowed, and the host receives no further requests.
Practical Use Cases for SMEs and Startups
- Client and vendor calls: Keep a verifiable record of what was agreed, without anyone needing to take notes in real time.
- Training and onboarding: Record a walkthrough once and reuse it for every new hire instead of repeating the same session.
- Compliance-sensitive meetings: Use local recording and disallowed requests together to keep tighter control over who can capture a discussion.
- Cross-timezone teams: Let colleagues who couldn’t attend live catch up on the full recording, or the Minutes summary, on their own schedule.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What happens to a recording if the person who started it stops being the host?
Recording permissions transfer to the new host. The file itself still gets stored in the Docs of the event organiser or the person who originally started the meeting.
Will I receive the recording if I record a one-on-one call?
Only the person who started the recording receives the file.
If I record a meeting in several separate segments, how many recordings will I get?
One. Segments recorded at different times during the same meeting are combined into a single Minutes file, and only one recording is sent afterwards.
Will other people be notified if someone joins a call that’s already being recorded?
Yes. Once a third person joins a recorded one-on-one call, it becomes a meeting, and the new participant is notified that recording is in progress.
Will my voice be recorded if my microphone is off?
No. Audio cannot be captured while your microphone is muted.
What shows on the recording if every participant has their camera off?
If there is no shared content, the recording shows the active speaker in full screen. If there is shared content, that content fills the screen instead.
Can I review chat messages from a recorded meeting afterwards?
Yes. Bullet comments made during the meeting appear as comments on the corresponding line of the transcript in the Minutes file, and messages sent to a meeting group remain available in that group.
A Record of What Was Actually Said
Recording turns a meeting from something everyone half-remembers into something anyone can check. Set the defaults that suit how your team works, and the right people get the file without anyone having to ask for it.
Ready to Power Your Business with Lark?
Lark Meetings is just one part of an all-in-one platform that brings messaging, meetings, documents, approvals, and automations together for your entire team.
As the Platinum Partner for Lark in Malaysia, Exabytes offers tailored Lark plans, hands-on onboarding, and dedicated local support to help your team keep an accurate record of every important conversation.
