Would you stay on a sales call if you knew you were being recorded without consent?
I was on a call with a founder and they asked me to turn on my camera on Google Meet.
I said no citing that they have brought in the call recorder without my consent. I consent for voice recording and summarizing, not video capture.
He said he needed it.
I said no problem, in that case I will have to cancel and leave the meeting.
But that’s not even the interesting part.
What’s interesting is why I said no.
More and more people are joining calls with AI note-takers, silent recorders, or “meeting assistants”, often without explicitly stating it.
Even if you don’t “accept” the bot, it doesn’t really matter anymore.
If someone wants to record, they will... one way or another.
And that creates a weird imbalance:
You’re being recorded
You didn’t consent
You don’t know how that data will be used, stored, or shared
Now compare that with how companies like Apple handle this.
When you call their support:
They explicitly tell you the call is being recorded
They control the storage and usage of that data
And importantly, they don’t allow you to record freely. If you insist on recording, they can refuse service.
Clear ownership and consent structure.
But in B2B calls today?
None of that exists.
Anyone can:
Record
Transcribe
Feed your conversation into AI
Store it indefinitely
All without saying a word.
So the real question is: Should business conversations move toward explicit mutual consent like Apple support calls? Or is silent recording just going to become the default and everyone has to adapt?
Let me know in the comments what you think about this.
Replies
What's weird is that once people know a call might be stored forever, they naturally speak a little differently. Do you think that quietly lowers the quality of real conversations?
This feels like one of those habits tech made easy before people really decided if it was normal. Do you think the tools shaped the behavior more than the users did?
I think the camera part changes the whole vibe because notes are one thing, but visual capture feels more personal. Do you think people treat audio and video consent too casually now?
What stands out to me is how fast "being recorded" is becoming the default expectations in work calls. Do you think most people have actually agreed to that, or just stop questioning it?
Nope. I would drop off.
It sounds more like a surveillance than a sales call!
That's what spam callers do in a meeting actually (Have pro-experience😶🌫️).
I would probably stay but I'd call it out immediately and renegotiate the terms of the conversation. What bugs me is the lack of disclosure — not the recording itself. Most AI note-taking tools are actually useful; I use summaries myself.
That said, as someone building Hello Aria (an AI assistant for WhatsApp/iOS, launching April 10th on PH), we think a lot about consent around AI-captured context. Our whole design principle is that the AI should only have access to what the user deliberately shares. Implicit data capture without disclosure is a fast way to break trust permanently, even if the intent is benign.
So yes, I'd stay — but you'd hear about it.
I agree with you 100%.
I had a video chat recently and I only found out about the recording after the fact when he asked me if I wanted a copy of the recording.
I was annoyed.
Assuming someone is okay with it without acknowledging it beforehand is quite disrespectful in my opinion. In addition to trust, decency that comes with being forthright was lost.
Definitely not the best way to establish a new relationship.
Now, I wait to see if they disclose the recording before I chime in to ask about it at every video call. I think it is a form of etiquette to get consent.
I'd stay but bring it up immediately: "Just noticed you have a recorder running - are you capturing audio, video, or both?" Most people ask properly after that. The issue isn't the recording itself (I consent to audio + notes), it's the assumption that consent isn't needed. AI note-takers have normalized this bad habit - people add Otter or Fireflies without mentioning it. The bar should always be: ask first, record after. We were deliberate about this building Hello Aria (AI productivity assistant for WhatsApp/Telegram + iOS, launching April 10th on PH) - when the AI summarizes or logs something, users see it. Transparency isn't optional when you're handling someone's conversations.
The question was framed "... being recorded without consent?" This implies I am not consenting to it. I'd demand the recording be stopped as well as deleted.
I do not consent = No. No wiggle room.