Zoom recordings go to one of two places. If you choose Record on this Computer, Zoom saves the recording to that computer's Documents > Zoom folder by default. If you choose Record to the cloud, Zoom saves it to the host's account. Cloud recording is available on paid plans, and you can access the recording through the Zoom web portal.
You can look for a recording in three places: the Zoom folder on the computer that recorded the meeting, the Recordings & Transcripts page in the Zoom web portal, and the Zoom Workplace app, which lists both kinds. If you use Zoom's built-in recording feature on a phone, the recording goes to the cloud.
If someone else recorded the meeting, you'll need them to share the file or link. You can also use a Zoom AI note taker to record meetings you attend, with the permissions described below.
Where to Find Your Zoom Recordings
Where a recording ends up depends on who recorded the meeting and which Record option they chose:
| Situation | Where the recording is saved | How to open it |
|---|---|---|
| You recorded to your computer (Windows, Mac or Linux), on any plan | The Documents > Zoom folder on that computer | In the Zoom Workplace app, go to Home > Open recordings > Computer recordings, or open the folder |
| The host or a co-host recorded to the cloud, on a paid plan | The host's Zoom cloud storage | If you're the host, sign in at zoom.us/recording and open Cloud recordings. Otherwise, ask the host to share the link. |
| You were a co-host and started the cloud recording | The host's account, not yours | Ask the host to share the recording link |
| You joined as a participant and did not record | You don't automatically receive a copy. | Ask the host to share the recording link |
| The host allowed you to record as a participant | The Documents > Zoom folder on your own computer | Open the folder, or the Computer recordings tab in the app |
| You used Zoom's cloud recording feature on an iPhone, iPad or Android device | The Zoom cloud, not the device | If you're the host, open zoom.us/recording in a browser. If you're a co-host, ask the host for the link. |
Table last updated: October 7, 2026.
On the free Basic plan, Zoom can only record to a computer. Cloud recording needs a licensed user on one of Zoom's paid plans: Pro, Business or Enterprise. Only the host and co-hosts can start a cloud recording.
Where to Find Zoom Recordings on Your Computer
Zoom uses the terms computer recording and local recording for recordings saved to your computer. These recordings are available on every plan, on Windows, Mac and Linux.
To open the folder directly:
- Open File Explorer on Windows, or Finder on Mac.
- Open the Documents folder, which is where Zoom saves recordings by default.
- Open the folder named Zoom, where each recorded meeting has its own subfolder.
The default paths are:
- Windows: C:\Users\[Username]\Documents\Zoom
- Mac: /Users/[Username]/Documents/Zoom
- Linux: /home/[Username]/Documents/Zoom
Each meeting's subfolder can hold up to four types of files:
- video[number].mp4: the video recording, including audio.
- audio[number].m4a: an audio-only copy of the meeting.
- playback[number].m3u: a playlist that plays the MP4 files in order, on Windows only.
- chat.txt: saved meeting chat messages.
Zoom's guide to recording file formats says a recording uses about 200 MB per hour of recorded video and about 20 MB per hour of screen sharing.
If you chose computer recording on your work laptop, check that laptop rather than your home computer or Zoom cloud storage. If you changed the save location, look in that folder instead.
How to Access Zoom Cloud Recordings
If you hosted the meeting, go to zoom.us/recording and sign in to your Zoom account. If someone else hosted it, ask them to share the recording link.
If you start from the web portal's home page instead, the path depends on which version of the portal you see. Zoom has been moving accounts to a new web experience since May 28, 2026, and accounts with subscriptions purchased online are scheduled to start moving on October 17, 2026.
The path in each version is:
- New web experience: click your profile picture, select My account, then Recordings and Transcripts.
- Previous web portal: click Recordings & Transcripts in the navigation menu on the left.
Then open the Cloud recordings tab. You can search by meeting ID or topic. If the recording has an audio transcript, you can also search for words spoken during the meeting.
If an older recording isn't in the list, widen the date range. Since a September 21, 2026 update, Advanced search shows only the last 12 months by default.
Where to Find Your Recordings in the Zoom Workplace App
You can also open your recordings from the desktop app, without going to the folder or the web portal.
To open your recordings from the app:
- Open the Zoom Workplace app on your computer and sign in.
- On the Home tab, below your list of meetings, click Open recordings.
Zoom opens the Hub on the Meeting recordings page, under My files. Your recordings are in two tabs: Cloud recordings and Computer recordings.
If you see Convert next to a computer recording, Zoom hasn't finished converting it to a playable file. Click Convert to complete the process.
Where Zoom Recordings Go on iPhone and Android
Zoom's built-in recording feature saves mobile recordings to the cloud, not to your phone. Zoom's mobile documentation says: "It is not possible to record locally from an iOS or Android device."
To record in the Zoom app on iOS or Android, you must be a host or co-host with a license on a paid account. Free Basic accounts cannot use Zoom's built-in mobile recording feature.
Once processing finishes, the recording appears in the host's Zoom web portal under Recordings & Transcripts. If you're the host, open zoom.us/recording in your phone's browser. If you recorded as a co-host, ask the host to share the link.
How Long Do Zoom Recordings Take to Process?
A cloud recording isn't available the moment the meeting ends. Zoom says cloud recordings "generally take about 2 times the duration recorded to process" and can occasionally take up to 24 hours. So the recording of a one-hour meeting can take around two hours to appear.
In MeetGeek's analysis of 1 million recorded meetings, 24.7% of Zoom calls ran an hour or longer. Recordings of longer meetings may therefore take several hours to process.
Zoom emails the host when processing finishes, if email notifications for cloud recordings are enabled. If a recording is still processing after 48 hours, contact Zoom Support.
Computer recordings work differently. Zoom converts the recording into an MP4 file after the meeting ends, so keep the computer on and awake until the conversion finishes.
Why Can't I Find My Zoom Recording?
If you can't find a recording, check the following:
- Recording never started: if no one started recording, there is no Zoom recording to retrieve.
- You are checking the wrong place: Zoom saves a cloud recording to the host's account and a computer recording to the computer that recorded it, so check the one that matches how the meeting was recorded.
- It is still processing: a cloud recording isn't listed until Zoom finishes processing it.
- Conversion did not finish: for a computer recording, check the meeting's folder for unconverted .zoom files, then follow Zoom's conversion instructions.
- You were not the host: a cloud recording is stored in the host's account, even if a co-host started it, so ask the host to share it.
- Part of the meeting is missing: if recording was paused and never resumed, the rest of the meeting was not recorded.
- Another tool recorded the meeting: if the recording notice came from an AI note taker and not from Zoom, the file is in that tool.
- The cloud storage was full: Zoom can turn cloud recording off once an account is over its storage limit, which is 10 GB per licensed user on Pro and Business plans.
- It was deleted: a deleted cloud recording can be recovered from the Trash tab for 30 days, if the account admin has enabled recording trash.
Zoom covers most of these, including how to convert .zoom files, in its guide to troubleshooting missing meeting recordings.
Can You Get a Zoom Recording If You Weren't the Host?
Yes. For a cloud recording, ask the host to share the link. If you recorded to your own computer with the host's permission, you already have your own copy.
A cloud recording is stored in the host's account, and Zoom does not give co-hosts or participants their own copy. The host shares a link from the Recordings & Transcripts page and decides whether viewers can download the file.
As a participant, you need the host's permission to record to your own computer. The host opens Participants, clicks More next to your name and selects Allow Record. Zoom then saves the recording to the Documents > Zoom folder on your computer.
Our guide on how to record a Zoom meeting if you're not the host explains each option in more detail.
Keep Your Own Record of Zoom Meetings with MeetGeek
If a client, partner or another team hosts the meeting, you may have to ask them for the Zoom recording.
MeetGeek saves your meeting recordings in your own workspace. It joins the Zoom meetings on your calendar and records them whether you are the host or a participant, as long as the host lets the note taker in. If you prefer not to add a note taker to the call, the MeetGeek desktop app and Chrome extension record without one. In that case, you are responsible for telling people that you are recording.
After each call you get a transcript and an AI meeting summary with the action items. Your Zoom, Google Meet and Microsoft Teams recordings are stored in one searchable meeting library, so you can find a meeting by searching for what was said. On paid plans, MeetGeek can also send the summary to tools like Slack, Notion or your CRM.
If you already record to the Zoom cloud and use a paid MeetGeek plan, you can send those recordings to MeetGeek through Zapier. Follow the setup guide to connect your Zoom cloud recordings to MeetGeek.
MeetGeek's free plan covers 3 hours of transcription a month, with an AI summary of every meeting. It stores the audio for 1 month and the transcript for 3 months. Video recording starts on the Business plan.
Where Are Zoom Transcripts Saved?
Where Zoom saves a transcript depends on how it was created:
- Audio transcript of a cloud recording: a VTT file listed with the recording in the Cloud recordings tab, created when audio transcription is turned on in the account's cloud recording settings.
- Meeting transcript used for Zoom's meeting summaries: the Transcripts tab of the Recordings and Transcripts page, if your admin lets hosts view transcripts after the meeting.
- Transcript you save during the meeting: a TXT file in your Documents > Zoom folder, created when you click Save transcript in the Transcript panel.
Recording to your computer does not automatically create a transcript file. Captions are a separate feature. Since late May 2026, participants can no longer save or download the captions shown during a meeting.
If you haven't set up transcription yet, see our guide on how to create a Zoom transcript. For the summaries Zoom writes itself, see our guide to the Zoom AI Companion.
How to Play, Share and Download Zoom Recordings
Once you have found a recording, what you can do with it depends on whether it is a computer recording or a cloud recording.
How to Play a Zoom Recording
- Computer recording: open the meeting's folder and double-click the MP4 file to play it in your default media player.
- Cloud recording: if you're the host, open the Cloud recordings tab in the Zoom web portal and select the recording to play it in your browser. Otherwise, open the link the host shared with you.
How to Share a Zoom Recording
- Computer recording: upload the file to a service like Google Drive or Dropbox and share the link, or email the file if it is small enough.
- Cloud recording, if you're the host: open the recording, click Share, choose who can open the link, and add a passcode or an expiration date if you need one.
How to Download a Zoom Recording
- Computer recording: the file is already on your computer, so you can copy or move it anywhere.
- Cloud recording, if you're the host: open the recording and click Download. The file goes to your browser's download folder, usually Downloads.
People you share a cloud recording with can download it only if you turn on Viewers can download.
How to Change Your Zoom Recording Storage Location
On any plan, you can change the folder where Zoom saves computer recordings. Changing this setting affects new recordings only; it does not move existing files.
To change where Zoom saves recordings:
- Open the Zoom Workplace desktop app and sign in.
- Click your profile picture in the top-right corner and select Settings.
- Click the Recording tab.
- Under Local recording storage, find Storage location and click Change to pick a new folder, or Open to view the current one.
Choose a folder on the computer itself. Zoom warns that saving recordings to a network drive can cause recording or conversion problems.
The same tab has other recording options:
- Record separate participant audio files: saves a separate audio file for each participant, up to 80.
- Optimize for third-party video editors: saves the video in a standard format that third-party video editors can open.
- Include timestamp: shows the date and time in the recording.
- Record video during screen sharing: includes participants' video thumbnails while a screen is shared.
Cloud recordings are managed in the Zoom web portal. To get there from the app, click Manage under Cloud recording storage in the Recording tab.
Key Takeaways
- Zoom saves a computer recording to the Documents > Zoom folder on the computer that recorded it, and a cloud recording to the host's Zoom account.
- Only hosts and co-hosts can start a cloud recording, which requires a paid plan. The free Basic plan supports computer recording only.
- Zoom's built-in recording feature on an iPhone or Android phone saves to the Zoom cloud, not to the phone.
- Cloud recordings take about twice the length of the meeting to process, and occasionally up to 24 hours.
- Co-hosts and participants do not get their own copy of a cloud recording, so the host has to share it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do Zoom Recordings Go Away?
Computer recordings stay on your device until you delete them. Cloud recordings can be removed in three ways: you or an admin delete them, an admin sets recordings to be deleted automatically after a number of days, or the account moves to the free plan. In the last case, Zoom sets the account's cloud recordings to be deleted after 30 days.
If the account admin has enabled recording trash, deleted cloud recordings remain in the Trash tab for 30 days before Zoom permanently deletes them. If recording trash is disabled, Zoom permanently deletes them within 24 hours. Download anything you need to keep.
What Is the Difference Between Cloud and Computer Recordings in Zoom?
The difference is where Zoom stores the file and who can access it:
- Cloud recordings are stored in the host's Zoom account and can be opened from any device, but they need a paid plan.
- Computer recordings are saved on the device that recorded the meeting, use that device's disk space, and are available on every plan, including the free one.
Where Do Zoom Recordings Go on a Mac or Windows PC?
On a Mac, Zoom saves computer recordings to /Users/[Username]/Documents/Zoom. On Windows, the folder is C:\Users\[Username]\Documents\Zoom. Cloud recordings stay in Zoom's cloud storage unless you download them to your computer.
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