Privacy notice for recording and transcription of online meetings

Personal information we collect about you

When you attend a meeting that is recorded and/or transcribed, we will process your personal data beyond the meeting itself. This will likely include your name, photo, associated contact details and your contributions to the meeting such as opinions, questions and comments made verbally or using the chat feature. Video footage may also be captured if your camera is enabled.

Why we need your personal data

Recordings and transcriptions may be used to assist in the production of minutes and notes for record of substantive discussions, to capture verbatim comments when required and for educational and training purposes. For privacy reasons, energy consumption, and as not to put an unnecessary drain on charity resources staff are instructed not to record or transcribe meetings unless this serves a clear purpose.

Our legal basis for processing your personal data

The lawful basis for processing your personal data is dependent on the meeting type and the reason for the recording/transcription. For most meetings the lawful basis under the UK GDPR will be Article 6(1)(f), when the processing of personal data is necessary for the charity’s legitimate interests or the legitimate interests of a third party, unless there is a good reason which overrides those legitimate interests.

For certain meetings you may be provided with additional privacy information.

What we do with your personal data

Recordings and transcriptions are available to the meeting host and other authorised staff. Some recordings may be shared more widely, for example if it relates to a training event, to allow others to access the training.

Where technically possible we have set the retention for meeting recordings to 20 days, alternatively Forward staff are expected to manually delete recordings within this timeframe. Please note: recordings may be retained for longer when specific purposes justify doing so.

• For information about how Microsoft uses your personal data, please refer to their privacy notice. Personal data is stored in the UK.

• For information about how Zoom uses your personal data, please refer to their privacy notice. Zoom recordings are saved on Forward’s core systems and thus saved in the UK, information will be processed by Zoom on their cloud servers with data centres in Germany and Switzerland.

Your rights under UK GDPR

You should be informed in advance of the intention to record and/or transcribe the meeting.

• On a MS Teams Meeting you will be notified at the beginning of the meeting that it is being recorded or transcribed through a pop-up announcement.

• In Zoom meetings participants are notified when a recording starts by displaying a recording indicator (a red dot or icon) and a consent disclaimer in the meeting window, and by playing an audio announcement.

You have the right to object to the recording or transcription. If you wish to do so you must inform the meeting organiser or chair in advance of the meeting whenever possible, or at the start of the meeting.  If you raise an objection, the meeting will proceed without being recorded or transcribed unless our legitimate interest to record or transcribe the meeting overrides your objections.

Your personal data will be in scope of your right of access and your other individual rights under UK GDPR. However, given the nature of recorded or transcribed calls it is unlikely that under Subject Access a person would be entitled to the entire recording or transcript – under Subject Access a person is only entitled to their personal data.

Automated transcripts or summaries, manual minutes and combinations of the two cannot always be accurate, neither is it reasonable to expect that the attendees in a meeting may never be mistaken. You have the right to request that incorrect information is corrected, and we encourage people to correct material inaccuracies or to complete information where this is appropriate. However, generally speaking, the objective of the processing of meeting recordings and transcription is to provide an accurate record of the meeting; if recordings, transcripts or minutes correctly reflect what was said in the meeting the legal right of rectification may not apply. Where reasonable we may however agree to add a clarifying statement to the files related to the meeting.

AI Notetaking Tools

AI Notetaking Tools are increasingly popular and, in some situations, invaluable. However, for the comfort and privacy of all attendees of our calls, our default position is that we will only allow Forward Trust tools to record or transcribe meetings that are conducted under Forward’s responsibility. Our primary reasons for this are:

• The uncertainty around the processing and storage of data by AI providers.

• The recording of participants’ names, faces, and conversations without informed consent.

• The ethical considerations of using AI to record, transcribe, and summarise meeting discussions, and to ensure our sessions continue to be a safe place for those we meet with.

• The environmental impact and carbon footprint of data processing centres, and the energy consumption to run and maintain them.

We are conscious however, that there are some who use AI notetakers for accessibility purposes. If this is how you use AI notetakers, please contact the meeting organiser or Forward’s Data Protection team.

More information

For more information please see Forward’s main Privacy Notice or Employee Privacy Notice, staff may also be interested to read Forward’s Audio Recordings Guidance .

Please contact the Data Protection Team if you have any questions, suggestions or concerns about data protection at the Forward Trust:
dataprotection@forwardtrust.org.uk

Changes to this notice

We may change this Privacy Notice from time to time. If we make any significant changes in the way we treat your personal information, we will make reasonable efforts to make this clear to you.

Change log:

·        November 2025 Notice published.