Where Do Google Meet Recordings Go? (And Why Yours Is Missing)

Google Meet recordings go to the meeting organizer's Google Drive, in a folder called "Google Meet," with a sub-folder for each meeting. A link is also emailed to the organizer and to whoever started the recording, and added to the Google Calendar event. If you weren't the organizer, the Google Meet recording is in the organizer's Drive, not yours; Scribbl records Google Meet from your own browser, with nothing joining the call, and keeps the video, a transcript with speaker names and AI notes in your own Scribbl account, even on free Gmail.

The catch is the word organizer. The file goes to whoever created the calendar event, not to you, even if you pressed Record. Google changed the folder in July 2026: the old "Meet Recordings" folder was renamed "Legacy Meet Recordings" and moved inside the Google Meet folder, so older recordings are there. If you recorded a call and can't find the video, you are probably looking in the wrong Drive.

Where Google Meet recordings are saved

When you use Google Meet's built-in recorder, the finished MP4 is stored in one place: the Google Meet folder in the organizer's My Drive, in a sub-folder for that meeting. That is the Google Meet recording location for every meeting, whoever pressed Record. Not the person who clicked Record. Not every participant. The organizer. Google Meet never saves a copy of the recording in a guest's Drive, so to have your own copy of every Google Meet without asking the organizer, record it yourself with Scribbl, which saves the video, transcript and notes to your Scribbl account whoever organized the call.

Since July 2026, Meet puts recordings, transcripts and Gemini notes for a meeting in the same sub-folder, and all the meetings in a recurring series share one sub-folder. Attendees who have access to the files see shortcuts to them in their own Google Meet folder in Drive, but the file itself stays in the organizer's Drive. (Source: Google Workspace Updates, July 22, 2026.)

What Meet saves	Where it's saved	Who gets the email link	Added to the Calendar event
Recording (MP4)	Organizer's Drive, Google Meet folder, meeting sub-folder	The organizer and the person who started the recording	Yes, if recording started at the scheduled time
Transcript (Google Doc)	Same meeting sub-folder	The host, co-hosts and the person who started the transcript	Yes
Gemini notes (Google Doc)	Same meeting sub-folder	Whoever the organizer's sharing setting includes	Yes

Sources: Google Meet Help pages on recording, transcripts and Take notes for me, checked October 12, 2026.

How to find a Google Meet recording: Drive, Gmail and Calendar

To find a Google Meet recording, check three places in order: the organizer's Google Drive (My Drive, then the Google Meet folder), the email Google sends to the organizer and to whoever started the recording, and the Google Calendar event. The Drive folder holds the actual file, and the email and Calendar links are shortcuts back to it. If none of the three has the Google Meet recording because someone else organized the meeting, ask the organizer to share it, and record the next one with Scribbl so the video and transcript are in your own account.

1. 1

   Google Drive

   Open drive.google.com signed in as the account that organized the meeting. Click My Drive, open the 'Google Meet' folder, then the sub-folder for the meeting. Recordings from before July 2026 are in 'Legacy Meet Recordings,' inside the Google Meet folder. On a phone, open the Google Drive app and go to the same folder.

2. 2

   Your email inbox

   The organizer and the person who started the recording get an email with a link once the file is ready. Search your inbox for the meeting name or 'recording'.

3. 3

   The Calendar event

   If recording started at the scheduled meeting time, the link is attached to the Google Calendar event. Open the event and look in the attachments.

Google Drive

My Drive

• Google Meet folder
• Shared with me
• Recent

If you don't want to open folders one by one, type part of the meeting title into the Drive search bar. Recording files carry the meeting title and date in the name, so they're easy to find by title.

To share or download the recording, select the file in Drive, then use Share or More and Download. If you can see the file but can't download it, the organizer's download setting is blocking you, and only they can change it.

Who owns a Google Meet recording: the organizer, not you

This is the part most people get wrong. The recording is owned by the meeting organizer, meaning the person who created the Calendar event. It is not owned by the person who clicked Record.

A few real situations follow from that:

• You're a guest in a client's meeting and you press Record. The file goes to the client's Drive. You get the email link as the person who started it, but the client controls who can open it.
• You're in the same company as the organizer. Google gives participants in the organizer's organization access to the recording automatically, and since July 2026 you see a shortcut in your own Google Meet folder.
• The organizer changed, or the meeting ran outside its scheduled time. The recording link goes to the original event creator, which is not always who you expect.
• You're from another company and didn't press Record. You get no email and no automatic access. The organizer has to share it with you.

Can't find it because you weren't the host? Keep your own copy with Scribbl

This is the dead end most people reach on this page. Google's recording lives in the organizer's Drive, and Google offers no way to pull your own copy out of it. If the organizer doesn't share it, or nobody pressed Record, there is nothing for you to find.

The fix for the next meeting is to keep your own copy. Scribbl is a Chrome extension that records Google Meet with nothing joining the call. It doesn't use Google's recorder, so it works when you're not the host, when you're a guest in another company's meeting, and on a free Gmail account. Nobody's admin has to turn anything on.

After every meeting, you get in your own Scribbl account:

• The video recording, with a link you can share.
• A transcript with speaker names, searchable by what was said.
• AI notes and action items, ready right after the call.

You never have to ask an organizer for a file again, and you never wait on someone else's Drive. Recordings are private by default, and Scribbl doesn't use your meetings to train AI for anyone other than you.

The free plan includes Google Meet, Zoom and Microsoft Teams, with 10 meetings a month. Scribbl Pro is $13 per user per month billed annually, or $20 monthly. Zoom and Teams use Scribbl Desktop for Mac and Windows. On Pro, you can connect Scribbl to ChatGPT or Claude and ask about past meetings, Smart Collections sort your meetings by themselves, and Automations do the follow-up, such as drafting the follow-up email or posting the notes to Slack. Automations ask before they change anything.

Whatever you record with, tell everyone in the meeting that you're recording. See do you have to tell people you're recording.

How long until a Google Meet recording is available

Google Meet recordings are not instant. Google has to process the file before it appears in Drive or the email goes out, and Google doesn't give a fixed time. Longer meetings take longer.

If you recorded captions, the video can be ready before the captions are. Google says captions can take several hours to become playable. If the file in Drive shows "Still processing," you can already download it: select the file, click More, then Download. (Sources: Google Meet Help, recording and troubleshooting pages.)

A single recording can run up to 8 hours. After that, Google stops it automatically.

What's in the Google Meet folder besides the video

A native Google Meet recording is an MP4 video file. Two things people expect to find with it:

• A transcript. The recording doesn't include one. Google's transcripts are a separate feature that someone has to turn on during the call, on some plans only, and they're saved as their own Google Doc in the same sub-folder. If a transcript is what you need, see the Google Meet recording transcript guide.
• The chat. When continuous meeting chat is off, Meet saves the in-meeting chat as an .SBV file in the organizer's Drive. See how to save the chat from a Google Meet.

A recording is a video you have to re-watch. It doesn't tell you what was decided or who owns the next step. Scribbl gives you the AI notes and action items along with the video, so you don't have to scrub through an hour of footage.

Why your Google Meet recording is missing

If you waited and the recording still isn't there, walk these in order:

1. It's still processing. Long meetings take longer. Check the email and Drive again later.
2. You're signed into the wrong account. A personal Gmail when the meeting ran on your work account, or the other way round. Switch accounts and check Drive and Gmail again.
3. You're not the organizer. The file is in the organizer's Drive. See who owns a Google Meet recording.
4. The organizer or the time changed. The link goes to the original event creator. Ask them.
5. It never recorded. Google's recorder needs a paid plan, recording turned on by the admin, and permission in that meeting. It doesn't work in breakout rooms or on an iPhone, and it stops working if Google Drive is turned off for the account. See why you can't record a Google Meet and how to record a Google Meet.
6. Someone deleted it. Deleted files sit in the organizer's Drive Trash for 30 days before Google deletes them for good. The organizer can restore it from there.

If the answer is 3, 4 or 5, the recording is out of your reach. That's the case for keeping your own copy with Scribbl.

Google Meet recording vs your own copy with Scribbl

Scribbl

• Where it's saved: your own Scribbl account
• Who can record: anyone in the call, host or not, including guests in another company's meeting
• Setup: a Chrome extension; nothing joins the call
• What you get: the video, a transcript with speaker names, AI notes and action items
• Cost: free plan with 10 meetings a month, including on free Gmail; Pro $13 per user per month billed annually, or $20 monthly

Google Meet recorder

• Where it's saved: the organizer's Google Drive
• Who can record: the host, co-hosts and people in the host's organization
• Setup: a paid plan, and an admin has to turn recording on
• What you get: a video; transcripts and Gemini notes are separate features on some plans
• Cost: Business Standard or higher, or Google One with 2 TB or more; not free Gmail

Where Google Meet recordings go: FAQ

Where are Google Meet recordings saved?

In the meeting organizer's Google Drive, in a folder named Google Meet under My Drive, with a sub-folder for each meeting. Recordings from before July 2026 are in Legacy Meet Recordings, inside the Google Meet folder. A link is also emailed to the organizer and to whoever started the recording, and attached to the Calendar event if recording started at the scheduled time. If you weren't the organizer, the file is in the organizer's Drive, not yours; Scribbl records Google Meet with nothing joining the call and keeps your own copy of the video, transcript and notes in your Scribbl account.

I recorded the meeting, so why is it not in my Drive?

Because the file belongs to the organizer, not to the person who pressed Record. If you didn't create the Calendar event, the recording is in the organizer's Drive. Check the email Google sent you, look for a shortcut in your own Google Meet folder, or ask the organizer to share it.

Can I find a Google Meet recording if I wasn't the host?

Only if you started the recording (you get the email link), you're in the organizer's organization (you get access automatically), or the organizer shares it with you. Otherwise you have to ask the organizer. To have your own copy of every meeting, record with Scribbl, which saves the video, a transcript with speaker names and AI notes in your own account, with nothing joining the call.

What if nobody recorded the Google Meet?

Then there is no recording to find. Google only saves a file when someone presses Record, and only on plans that include recording. To make sure the next meeting is saved, use Scribbl's Chrome extension: it works when you're not the host and on free Gmail, and the free plan includes 10 meetings a month.

How long does a Google Meet recording take to show up?

Google doesn't give a fixed time. The file has to finish processing first, and longer meetings take longer. Captions can become playable a few hours after the video. If the file shows Still processing, you can already download it.

Does a Google Meet recording include a transcript or the chat?

No. The recording is a video file. Transcripts are a separate Google feature on some plans, saved as their own file in the same folder. The chat is saved as an .SBV file when continuous meeting chat is off. Scribbl gives you the video, a transcript with speaker names, AI notes and action items for every meeting it records.

Where do Google Meet recordings go on a free Gmail account?

Nowhere, because free Gmail doesn't include Google's recorder. Recording needs a paid Google Workspace edition such as Business Standard, or a Google One plan with 2 TB or more. On free Gmail, Scribbl records Google Meet and saves it to your own Scribbl account.

Sources

Checked October 12, 2026. Google Meet Help, Record a video meeting, checked again October 19, 2026.

• Google Meet Help, Record a video meeting (Google Meet folder, who gets the email, Calendar link, organizer or time changes, same-organization access, captions timing, 8-hour limit, .SBV chat file, plans that include recording)
• Google Meet Help, Troubleshoot recording issues in meetings (why recording is disabled, breakout rooms, Still processing and downloading early)
• Google Meet Help, Use Transcripts with Google Meet (where transcripts are saved, who gets the link, Calendar attachment)
• Google Meet Help, "Take notes for me" in Google Meet (where Gemini notes are saved, sharing setting, Calendar attachment)
• Google Workspace Updates, Google Meet now organizes your meeting notes, transcripts, and recordings in your Google Drive, July 22, 2026 (Google Meet folder, meeting sub-folders, recurring meetings, Legacy Meet Recordings, attendee shortcuts)
• Google Drive Help, Delete and restore files in Google Drive (30 days in Trash)
• Scribbl, pricing, as of October 2026