Recording lectures: what to check first (consent and school rules)

Recording a class is one of the best ways to take good notes. It is also a recording of people: your teacher, and often your classmates. Before you press record, a few things are worth checking. Most of them take five minutes, and they save you trouble later.

This guide gives general pointers, not legal advice. The rules depend on your country, your school and the situation, so when in doubt, ask your school.

Why it matters

A recording captures someone's voice and words, and a recording of people can be personal data under data protection law, such as the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Other countries and regions have their own rules, and some require the consent of everyone being recorded in certain situations.

On top of the law, most schools and universities have their own rules about recording classes. These are often stricter than the law, and they are what you are most likely to run into in practice.

The checklist

1. Read your school's rules

Look for a policy on recording in the student handbook, the course page or the syllabus. Universities often have one for lectures and a different one for seminars. Some allow recording for personal study, some forbid it, and many leave it to the lecturer.

2. Ask the teacher

Even when the rules allow it, ask. It is the simplest step and the most important one. Most teachers say yes when they hear what it is for. Ask once, at the start of the term, ideally in writing, for example by email, so you have the answer later. Something like this works:

"I'd like to record your classes for my own revision, so I can listen properly instead of writing everything down. The recordings stay with me and I won't share them. Is that all right with you?"

3. Think about your classmates

In a lecture, the teacher does most of the talking. In a seminar or a discussion, your classmates' voices are on the recording too. Let them know, and respect it if someone doesn't want to be recorded. Pause the recording during personal conversations, group work you weren't asked to record and anything said in confidence.

4. Know about accessibility

If you have a disability or a learning difficulty, you may have a right to record classes as a reasonable adjustment, even where recording is otherwise restricted. Ask your school's disability or student support service. They can arrange it with your teachers.

5. Keep it for your own study

A recording made for your own revision is one thing. Sharing it is another. Lectures are often the teacher's own work, and slides and materials may be protected by copyright. Don't post recordings, transcripts or notes online, and don't pass them on without permission.

6. Photograph the board, not people

Photos of the board, a diagram or a worked example are useful. Photos of the teacher or classmates are not needed for your notes, and they raise the same questions as a recording, and more.

7. Know where the recording goes

Before you use an app, check what it does with the audio: whether it is kept, where it is stored and who can access it. Delete what you don't need any more.

How ClamNotes handles recordings

ClamNotes is built to keep as little as possible:

• Recordings are not kept. Speech becomes text on your device as the class goes on. Audio and video files you add are also turned into text on your device, and only the text is kept. At Max quality (Pro), the audio is sent online to be turned into text, for the best accuracy, and the app says so when you choose it.
• Your notes stay yours. Notes, photos and files stay on your devices and in your own iCloud. We don't keep a copy of your notes, your files or the text of your classes, except notes you share as a link, which are kept encrypted for 30 days.
• No account. ClamNotes never asks for your name, email or phone number.

To write the note, the text of the class is sent to the AI, only after you allow it. The details are in the Privacy Policy.

ClamNotes' Terms of Use also ask you to record and photograph people only with the permission that the law and your school require, and to use recordings, photos, files and notes only for your own studies. That is good practice with any recording app.

In short

• Check your school's policy.
• Ask the teacher, in writing if you can.
• Tell your classmates, and pause when you should.
• Ask student support about accessibility arrangements.
• Keep recordings and notes for your own study.
• Photograph the board, not people.
• Choose an app that keeps as little as possible.