Recording and consent

You are responsible for obtaining consent

Recording and consent laws differ depending on where you and the other participants are. You are solely responsible for knowing and complying with the laws that apply to you, and for obtaining any consent required, before you record using Finche.

Finche does not determine whether consent is required for your situation, and does not obtain consent from participants on your behalf.

In Australia

Finche is operated by Hi Finche Pty Ltd, based in Australia. Here, recording private conversations is regulated by surveillance-device and listening-device laws that differ from state to state and territory to territory. In some places it is an offence to record a private conversation without the consent of everyone taking part. In others, a person who is part of the conversation may be permitted to record it. Separate rules can apply to using, communicating or publishing a recording, even where making it was permitted.

Because these rules are nuanced and can change, the safest and kindest approach is always the same: get the consent of everyone involved. Check the surveillance or listening device legislation in your state or territory, or seek your own legal advice, if you are unsure.

Outside Australia

Other countries, and individual states within them, have their own rules. Some require the consent of one party only, others the consent of everyone. For general background on recording laws in the United States, some people find this third-party overview useful: recording laws by U.S. state (Justia).

That is a third-party resource provided for convenience only. Finche is not responsible for its accuracy or completeness, it is not legal advice, and it does not cover every jurisdiction.

Letting people know

The simplest way to stay on the right side of this is to be open about it.

• Tell people you are recording before you start, every time someone else is involved
• Add a note to the meeting invite, or mention it up front, so there are no surprises
• If someone asks you to stop, or to delete a recording, do it
• Only record conversations you are genuinely a part of

Notices in Zoom and Microsoft Teams

If you record meetings held in Zoom or Microsoft Teams, those platforms offer their own participant notifications, which you can use alongside Finche to give clearer, standardised notice.

• Zoom. Account owners and admins on eligible plans can customise the recording consent disclaimer shown when recording starts, or when someone joins a session already being recorded. Learn more.
• Microsoft Teams. IT admins can customise the in-meeting recording and transcription notification, and the privacy policy URL shown to participants. Learn more.

These settings are administered by you or your organisation, not by Finche, and you remain responsible for determining what notice or consent your use and jurisdiction require.

What Finche captures and stores

When you record, Finche captures the audio and creates a transcript and a private summary for you. Your recordings, transcripts and notes are stored securely against your account, kept private, and never shared with anyone unless you choose to share them. You can delete a recording and its associated data at any time from inside the app.

For the full detail on how we handle your data, see the Privacy Policy.