SourceWhale is committed to protecting your data and maintaining high standards of privacy, security, and transparency. Our Notetaker feature is designed with recruiters and talent teams in mind - streamlining meeting documentation while respecting user and participant rights.
Recording modes: bot, botless, and in-person
SourceWhale's Notetaker can capture your meetings in three ways:
Bot mode: a Notetaker bot joins your video meeting (Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams) as a visible attendee to capture audio and generate notes.
Botless mode: no bot joins your call. Your SourceWhale desktop app records the meeting locally on your device, then uploads it for transcription and summarisation. Admins switch the team between modes; the change takes effect on the next working day.
In-person recording: the "Quick record" button in your desktop app captures face-to-face conversations that aren't happening on a virtual meeting platform.
The same privacy, consent, and compliance principles described on this page apply to all three modes.
Compliance & Data Privacy
SourceWhale is GDPR and CCPA compliant, with clear data processing agreements in place.
Our platform is built with data protection by design, enabling you to manage access and consent with ease.
Customers retain ownership of their data. Admins can request data access or deletion at any time.
If you have a specific request or need assistance with compliance-related actions, please contact us at support@sourcewhale.com
Access Requests
Users can download transcripts and summaries directly from the Meetings page. Admins can request data access or deletion at any time.
Users can also disable Notetaker on a per-meeting basis via the toggle on the SourceWhale Meetings page.
Participant Consent & Transparency
Ultimately, you are responsible for obtaining consent from participants where required by law. Regardless of whether you are legally required to do so, we strongly recommend that you always ask for consent before recording begins. This applies to bot mode, botless mode, and in-person recording alike.
SourceWhale provides the recording and note-taking tooling, but the responsibility for disclosing the recording and securing participant consent rests with you (the consultant or recruiter). SourceWhale is not responsible for a failure to inform participants or to obtain their consent. By starting a recording, you confirm that everyone in the meeting has agreed to be recorded and transcribed.
Best practices we recommend:
Notify participants in advance that the meeting may be recorded and transcribed.
Clearly explain the purpose: summarising the conversation and logging notes for follow-up.
Offer participants the opportunity to opt out, and do not record anyone who declines.
When possible, capture verbal consent at the start of the meeting so it's documented in the transcript itself.
Example intro for your calls:
"To help me focus on our conversation, I'm using SourceWhale's Notetaker to record and capture notes automatically. Let me know if you'd prefer not to have it on this call. Totally fine either way."
Recording Legalities
In terms of legality, rules for recording depend on local regulations. For a full breakdown, please visit our call and video recording laws and regulations help guide.
Note for botless and in-person recording: Because these modes capture audio directly from your device rather than through a virtual meeting platform, there is no platform-level "recording" indicator shown to other participants. This makes your advance notice to participants even more important.
Recording laws vary by jurisdiction, for example, some US states require the consent of all parties, while others require only one party's consent; the EU's GDPR imposes additional requirements around personal data.
Important: This page is for general information only and does not constitute legal advice. If you have specific concerns about your compliance obligations, please consult with legal counsel familiar with your jurisdiction and industry.
Controlling Notetaker Behaviour
Users have full control over how Notetaker behaves:
Decide which meetings Notetaker should join (e.g. toggling on individual meetings or all external meetings).
You can configure the Notetaker settings in the Meetings page within SourceWhale to enable or disable it, depending on your requirements.
Adjust CRM/ATS syncing preferences (admins only).
Set user-level permissions (e.g. admins can view all team meetings).
How can I control when the SourceWhale Notetaker joins my meetings?
If you’d like more control over how and when the Notetaker joins your meetings for example, requiring approval before it enters each video conferencing provider offers settings you can configure to manage this. Below is a summary of how it works across Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams:
Zoom
Waiting Room: If enabled, the meeting host must manually admit the Notetaker at the start of the meeting. If not admitted, the meeting won’t be recorded.
Passcode: Must be included in the calendar invite to allow access (usually added automatically).
Unsupported settings: Notetaker won’t be able to join if Only authenticated users can join or End-to-end encryption are turned on.
If your Zoom setup is managed by an IT admin, you may need their support to adjust these settings.
Google Meet
Meeting Access Type: This setting determines whether participants (like Notetaker) can join automatically or must wait for approval.
If automatic entry is restricted, the host must admit the Notetaker manually when the meeting starts.
You can adjust this setting when creating the meeting or through Google Admin settings for your organization.
Microsoft Teams
Notetaker is invited to meetings via calendar invite and joins as a guest.
If your Teams environment uses a lobby for external participants, the host must admit the bot manually.
These controls are managed in the meeting organizer’s Meeting Options or through your Teams Admin Center.