Best Practices for Zoom and Other Conferencing Recordings

Video conferencing platforms like Zoom, GoToMeeting, and Skype have made it much easier for us all to work remotely and still foster a feeling of connection to our colleagues and students. However, we must be mindful of how we apply this new technology to our daily work. One of the concerns surrounding virtual meetings is the temptation to record the event. Below are some important issues and solutions to consider before you commit to hitting record:

• When you record meetings, you are creating a record that may be released if requested under the Washington State Public Records Act or under Federal FOIA.
• Like any other record, meeting recordings must be retained for the legally approved retention period, which, depending on content, can be as long as six years.
• Content in video conferencing platforms is not easily accessible. This type of software does not provide good naming capabilities and can be very difficult to search. When faced with a need to retrieve information, this lack of searchability adds to the burden on departments and creates additional liability for the University.
• Zoom offers reporting capabilities for account owners that allows them to review data on their previously hosted zoom meetings. These details can include attendee lists, polling results, surveys, and Q&A results. It is vital for users to be aware that these usage reports are being created on all UW Zoom meetings. These usage reports can be accessed and retrieved for up to 12 months after the Zoom meeting has occurred, with a search range up to one month at a time. After 12 months, the report data is automatically deleted by zoom and is no longer accessible.
• Zoom and other video conferencing programs are not record repositories. While UW-IT provides these tools, they are not responsible for ensuring the legally approved retention period is met. Recordings stored in the Zoom cloud will be deleted automatically 120 days after the meeting is recorded. Deleted recordings are moved to Zoom Trash, where they are stored for 30 days and can be retrieved during this time. After that point recordings are no longer accessible. It is your office’s responsibility to ensure that any recordings with requirements for retention are saved to another location where they can be found, opened, and viewed for their full retention period.
• Zoom also offers Zoom AI Companion features to help improve productivity and collaboration. AI Meeting Summary, AI Smart Recording and AI Thread Summary for Team Chats are some of the features enabled in UW Zoom. This AI-generated content is also subject to the 120 day deletion policy from the UW Zoom Cloud. It is your responsibility to download content with retention requirements outside of the Zoom Cloud and retain the materials for their full retention period.

When hosting a meeting, consider whether you need to record and why. If you have not previously recorded similar meetings, don't record just because you can. Recording without a specific reason is not worth the extra liability and risk to the University and your office. This risk includes the possibility of public interpretation or misinterpretation of any verbal exchange at the meeting.

Notice & Consent

When you record a meeting, be mindful of laws that may relate to recordings (e.g., RCW 9.73.030 – Washington’s two-party consent requirements for private conversations). UW recommends against recording staff or one-on-one conversations, and when recordings include students or members of the public it is suggested you obtain consent from all participants or, at a minimum, notify all attendees that the event is being recorded. Refer to the UW Privacy Office’s Best Practice for Online Conferencing for more information regarding consent and privacy.

Applying Retention to Recordings and Report Data

The versatility of platforms like Zoom and Teams allows us to hold online meetings for a variety of different workplace purposes. It is the function and content of a recorded meeting which determines how long the recording must be retained. Below are some common examples with links to the University General Records Retention Schedule.

• Meetings: 
  • Informal Staff Meetings
  • Routine Staff and Internal Committees Meetings
  • Meeting Records of Governing/Executive/Policy-Setting Bodies
• Drafts - If you use the recording to later transcribe minutes that highlight decisions and conclusions from your meeting, the recording can be considered a draft and should be deleted once the minutes are completed and saved.
• Graduations & Other Events – retain for 6 years after the end of the calendar year then transfer the recording to University Archives. (Includes Informal Events)
• Formal Report Outs – retain for 3 years after the end of the reporting period then delete.
• Student Interactions – retention varies (See the General Records Retention Schedule entry for more detail).
• Individual and Team Brainstorming and Collaboration – retain until reference purpose served then delete.

Meeting usage reports that include attendee lists, polling data, surveys, and Q&A results are considered transitory and do not need to be downloaded or retained locally. They will be accessible in the Zoom platform for 12 months after the meeting has occurred in case you need to reference them, after which time they will be permanently deleted from the Zoom system.

Saving a Recording

If you need to retain your recording for longer than 120 days:

Transfer the recording to an enduring, shared location (such as a departmental network drive or OneDrive for Business). Organize recordings into folders by type of meeting. Include the event/meeting name and date in the file/subfolder name so that the recording can be found, if needed, as well as identified for deletion once the appropriate retention period is up. Apply retention and delete recordings (at least) annually using the date information included in the file/folder name.

Suggested file naming conventions include:

Please contact Records Management Services for more information given your particular situation.

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