Someone Recorded My Zoom Meeting Without Permission: What Every Speaker Should Know

As genealogists, educators, and content creators, we spend countless hours preparing presentations. We research, write, design slides, and share our knowledge because we genuinely want to help others.

Recently, I learned a lesson I never expected.

Someone attended one of my weekly Zoom presentations, recorded my meeting without my knowledge, used AI to create chapters and an on-demand version, and then emailed me to tell me what they had created.

Not once did anyone ask for my permission beforehand.

Fortunately, after I contacted the company, they agreed to remove my meeting and the AI-generated content. I appreciate that they did so promptly. Had they not done so after I’d sent them the takedown letter, I could have then contacted the site’s web server. They are REQUIRED to shut down the site. (Thank you, DearMYRTLE)

What Bothered Me Most

What upset me wasn’t that someone used AI. I use AI in my own genealogy work and believe it can be an incredible tool when used ethically.

What bothered me was that no one asked.

My presentation—my original copyrighted work—was recorded, processed with AI, and repurposed before I was ever contacted. AI-generated chapters were created, an on-demand page was built, and searchable content was produced.

Only afterward did I receive an email explaining everything that had already been done.

The email then invited me to upgrade to a Premium account to unlock additional features and enhancements for that very meeting.

That didn’t sit well with me.

If someone had contacted me beforehand and asked, “Would you like us to record your presentation, create AI chapters, and host it on our platform?” I could have made an informed decision.

Instead, the decision had already been made for me.

For me, the issue isn’t AI.

The issue is consent.

As speakers and content creators, we should have the opportunity to decide whether our work is recorded, analyzed, repurposed, or used to promote another service — before it happens, not afterward.

Don’t Assume Your Zoom Settings Are Enough

I believed my Zoom settings prevented participants from recording. After this happened, I went back and reviewed every setting.

I discovered that Zoom’s recording options aren’t always as straightforward as they appear. There are multiple recording settings, and one in particular isn’t especially obvious. I had assumed my settings prevented participants from recording, but I found an additional toggle that needed attention as well.

Even then, after a Google search, I found out that disabling Zoom’s recording feature doesn’t necessarily prevent someone from using third-party software or AI tools to capture what’s happening on their screen.

Unfortunately, if someone is determined to record a presentation, there are ways to do it.

Changes I’m Making

This experience has changed how I’ll be hosting my meetings/webinars going forward.

Here’s what I’ll be doing:

• Reviewing my Zoom security settings regularly. Sometimes sites update things, and those updates might impact you.
• Continuing to require registration before attending. (I’ve always done that)
• Asking participants to identify themselves when they join. (Again, I’ve always done that).
• Requiring cameras and/or verbal identification for anyone I don’t recognize before allowing them to remain in the meeting. (This is new…I used to allow cameras to be off… hey, I’ve had bad hair days, or sometimes people have trouble with technology, but I won’t in the future).
• Clearly stating at the beginning of every meeting or webinar that recording, copying, screen capturing, or redistributing the presentation without my written permission is prohibited.
• Reminding attendees that all presentation materials remain my copyrighted intellectual property.

I don’t want to make my meetings/webinars less welcoming.

I simply want to protect the work that goes into creating them.

A Reminder for Fellow Speakers

If you present webinars—even free ones—I encourage you to spend a few minutes reviewing your Zoom settings and considering how you’ll handle unauthorized recordings.

Technology is evolving quickly. AI can now create transcripts, chapters, searchable content, clips, summaries, and translations in a matter of minutes.

Those tools can be incredibly valuable.

But they should be used with the creator’s knowledge and permission.

Why I’m Not Naming the Company

You may notice that I haven’t identified the company involved.

That was a deliberate decision.

Once I contacted them, they removed my webinar and confirmed it would no longer be available. I appreciate that they responded to my request. I, however, didn’t appreciate that they insinuated I needed tighter controls and took no responsibility for not asking.

My goal in writing this article isn’t to criticize a particular company. It’s to raise awareness among fellow genealogists, speakers, educators, and content creators that this can happen and to encourage everyone to review their meeting/webinar security.

There may be presenters who are perfectly happy to have their webinars recorded, processed by AI, and promoted in this way. That’s their decision to make.

The important point is that it should be their decision.

If you’re a speaker or educator and would like to know which platform contacted me so you can make your own informed decisions about your webinars and online presentations, you’re welcome to contact me privately.

As creators, we invest countless hours researching, preparing, and presenting our work.

The least we should expect is to be asked before someone records it, repurposes it, and builds a service around it.

A simple request for permission goes a long way.