Recording laws differ by country, state and industry. Some jurisdictions require all-party consent (everyone on the call must agree); others accept single-party consent. When in doubt, default to asking. Accountability for the recording sits with you, not with Shiken — so this guide gives you a simple playbook that works across contexts.
Visible bot mode — when Shiken joins Zoom, Meet or Teams as a bot, it appears as a clearly-named participant. There is no silent recording.
Bot-free local mode — record via computer audio without an uninvited guest in the meeting. A recording indicator is always visible in the Shiken window.
Pause and resume — pause the moment someone says "off the record." Paused segments are never transcribed or summarised.
A verbal ask at the top of the call. Quickest and most human. Works for every meeting type.
Written disclosure in advance. Intake forms, calendar invite descriptions, or a pre-meeting email. Best for client-facing workflows (sales demos, clinical intake, coaching contracts).
Environmental signage. Useful for in-person sessions: a card on the desk, a sticker on the door, or a line in the reception script. Invite patients or visitors to opt out before the conversation begins.
Say one of these at the top of the call. No need to memorise — just open this page.
Quick heads up — I've got Shiken running so we'll get a transcript and summary at the end. Happy to share it with you afterwards. Is that okay with everyone?
Before we dive in — I record my calls with Shiken so I can focus on the conversation rather than scribbling notes. It generates a summary and action items I'll send over afterwards. Any objections if I keep it running?
I use Shiken to pick up on things like talk time, filler words and how we're framing feedback — it's private to the two of us. Nothing leaves this conversation without you. All good to record?
I'd like to use Shiken to take notes during our conversation today. It helps me stay present with you instead of typing. The recording is secure, I'll review the notes before they go in your record, and you can ask me to stop at any time. Is that okay?
Shiken's on — transcript and action items will land in our shared workspace after. Shout if anything needs to stay off the record and I'll pause it.
Paste this into the description field of any meeting invite where you plan to record:
This meeting will be recorded and transcribed using Shiken so we can generate notes, action items and follow-ups. The recording is stored securely and only shared with meeting participants by default. If you'd prefer not to be recorded, reply to this invite and we'll disable it for this call.
No. In bot mode, Shiken joins as a clearly-named participant. In bot-free mode, a recording indicator is always visible in the Shiken window.
Hit pause immediately, or stop the session and delete the transcript. In bot mode they can also eject Shiken like any other participant.
Encrypted in Shiken's infrastructure, accessible only to you and people you explicitly share the note with. You can set retention and auto-delete rules in workspace settings. Shiken does not train models on your meeting content.
See also: Making Sure Shiken Actually Records Your Meeting for how to trigger recording reliably across desktop, mobile and in-person.